When I first found this forum, I mentioned in my introduction that I worked for the L.W. Hardy Turquoise Co. Inc. at both the Pinto Valley and Sleeping Beauty mines. I was questioned by several folks about the legend of the lost vein of super high-grade turquoise at Sleeping Beauty mine.
I promised to share my story of the lost vein. So…
The Lost Vein of Sleeping Beauty
In the summer of 1977, I was working at the Sleeping Beauty mine for the L. W. Hardy Turquoise Company on a crew of 9 Men. I was the bulldozer operator for the team and my job was to move the muck to expose turquoise as well as provide rips for any turquoise “pickers” to help better expose veins of turquoise as needed.
Jesse DeAnda was a picker on our team that day and requested a rip over a vein he was having difficulty getting to. After I did the rip, the ground exploded with the highest-grade turquoise either of us had seen at Sleeping Beauty and we both grabbed a 5-gallon bucket and went to work. As we were pulling out ½ pound chunks of crazy high grade we began to gather a crowd around us which drew the attention of the mine bosses. This crowd lasted about 10 minutes before everyone was sent back to work in their own areas.
When I try to define this high grade in this instance, I am comparing it in my mind to the very best Kingman turquoise I was familiar with. And that just doesn’t get any better in my estimation.
A little of my history: My uncle had the largest retail turquoise business in Globe, AZ at that time, and also owned the Indian jewelry concessions at many of the Sears stores for over 10 years in the 70s and 80s. He was also well known in the Gallup, NM area as well as being respected in many of the Native American pueblos, Zuni Pueblo being one of his favorites.
In the 70s, he and I cabbed up thousands and thousands of carats of turquoise for trading with the Navajo and Zuni artisans and Gallup jewelry businesses. The thing I remember the most was that he may take 4000 carats of cabbed turquoise to Gallup and the surrounding pueblos and would come back with nothing left over and orders for another 10,000 carats the next month. We always ran behind the demand. He always told me that the thing that our customers liked about our work was that we would not sell a cab that had any scratches on it. In other words, under a 10-power loop, none of our stones would have any scratches. They also liked the fact that our stones were easy to bezel set. We took a lot of time to ensure every cab was usable and we didn’t overuse the liquid steel backing material meaning that our customers paid for turquoise, not backing.
Enough about me, but I just wanted to stress that I have a little history with turquoise.
Anyway, the mine bosses came over to our workings and ordered that we were to excavate the vein carefully and get everything pea size and above. Our tailings would later be screen sifted for the really small chips and slivers to be used for inlay work, as the Zuni utilized those tailings. We worked that vein for at least 10 days and when all was said and done, we took about 100 pounds of that glorious turquoise out of that area (not including a 63 pound nugget we dug out at the terminus of the vein and we never ran into any more of it. It was the talk of the mine for at least two more years when I left for broader horizons. So, the truth is folks, that vein was never lost, it just petered out!
The huge nugget that we found was such an attraction that Mr. Hardy himself came to the mine to take possession of it and whisk it back to the Hardy Kingman HQ. It is my understanding that Hardy placed it in the Arizona State Fair that year for observation by the public before having it cabbed up. That nugget was some of the bluest spiderweb and was composed of thousands and thousands of super small nuggets compressed together. I would have loved to see it slabbed as it was the same grade as the other turquoise we mined out of that vein.
As I said, we worked that vein for at least 10 working days and the vein measured about 10 feet on the east side of the nugget and extended to about 15 feet on the west side.
The day that Mr. Hardy came to Sleeping Beauty he gathered everyone around Jesse and I and the vein we were working and told all three crews that anyone who could mine him at least a 5-gallon bucket of this high grade turquoise, he would reward them with a 14K gold and Turquoise watch cuff identical the one he was wearing. He then took it off and passed it around and let us handle it. I remember how crazy heavy it was and that it had a red-faced watch in it. He told us that he paid $5500.00 to have it made, including the watch. “Get him a bucket of that turq and receive a gorgeous gold cuff complete with the watch.”
At the end of the day, that one vein was the only one found like it at Sleeping Beauty and both Jesse and I both earned a 14K watch cuff. Needless to say, we were both excited and were promised by the mine foreman that Hardy said that our cuffs would be awarded at the annual Christmas party held in December which was about 6 months away at that time.
As the year moved on, the Christmas party was on the horizon and our crew chief confirmed that we would indeed be receiving our awards. As fate would have it, I came down with the flu and missed the party. My crew foreman was a good friend and promised to pick the watch cuff up for me.
The next morning, my friend called me to tell me that neither of the watch cuffs materialized at the party and that no questions were asked out of fear people would lose their jobs. As you can imagine, nothing was ever said or done. I worked for Mr. Hardy another two years and went on to greener pastures. I have to say that for many years, I wondered about the lost 14K gold and turquoise watch cuffs of Sleeping Beauty. LOL
I have another story about Mr. Hardy’s watch cuff that I may share later, but this story is long enough for now. If you have seen any of the photos I’ve posted here you can likely figure it out. 
Well, that’s all I remember about the Sleeping Beauty Lost Vein. It was a memorable couple of weeks for sure.
I do want to say a very public thank you to my friend Bmpdvm as she recently sent me a gorgeous cab from the lost vein! When I picked it up in my hands after receiving it, that was the first time I had seen or handled a specimen of it in 48 years! Thank you, my friend! It will be treasured!
