Hi all, it’s been rather quiet on the site, so I thought I’d post this. I bought it at the Eiteljorg art market a few years back from Kewa artist Florentino Bailon. He said it’s a natural turquoise stone from NV, but didn’t know which mine for sure.
I was looking at all his stuff (he had amazing stones), and he pointed this one out. He said it was one of the more unusual stones he had seen, and had enough of it to make two rings. I’ve googled a lot of turquoise for fun, but have no clue. So have at it for fun y’all!
So for those who are interested, I googled Shattuckite. There are definitely similarities (especially in the above attached photo), but I can’t find that it’s ever been mined in NV which is where the artist said the stone was mined.
Well there ya go. Could be that. I’ll be curious to see if Jason weighs in. Thanks for finding it.
I have another ring from him that looks more like typical turquoise, but is very dark green, and I’m curious as to what people might think on that one too. I’ll post it some other time. He had a table full of the most amazing stones.
Turquoise or not it is a beautiful stone. Shattuckite is a rare mineral. Although my wife and son say I am turquoise crazy, I love all types of stones and minerals. I certainly would be quite happy to have a nice specimen like that. We are headed to North Carolina tomorrow to see friends and family, but especially to collect gemstones. We have found some really nice sapphires and rubies among other gemstones in the past.
Thank you! I love the stone. Almost every time I wear it somebody comments on it. The artist was excited to show it to me; like I said earlier in this post, he said he’d never seen a stone quite like it before. Maybe he just assumed it was turquoise. It really does look like the picture you attached, and I’d never heard of it, so I didn’t know it was rare. I learn something new here constantly.
I’ve always been mostly interested in turquoise, but my husband likes all kinds of rocks, so I’m learning to appreciate more types. I’m always looking at Native American jewelry, and he’s always looking for rock stores. We found a great mineral Museum in Houghton, Michigan, (UP) which was part of the local university.
Generally I don’t buy Native American jewelry just because of a stone, except sometimes rings. This was one I bought just for the stone.
Hope you have a great trip and find some awesome stones. Be sure to post them!
I bought a cuff by Frank Patania, Sr. that was sold as Lapis. I found out later that it was shattuckite. Mine is a different color and could actually be mistaken for Lapis. I learned about this stone from researching that cuff. Great ring!
@Ziacat absolutely gorgeous!!! Shattuckite is a beaitiful stone and it is a beautiful ring. Like others here, I love all the stones out there! All so unique in their own ways.
@markyboy57 how was your trip to my state ? While we don’t have much in the way of turquoise here, some record emeralds and gold have been found here along with rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. It’s a fun day trip to do some mining.
So looking at Tarafawn75’s new ring (which is gorgeous!) sent me down the rabbit hole of turquoise pics online. This ring of mine does look like Shattuckite, but then I saw this Kingman which also looks similar. The artist (Kewa) was pretty adamant it’s natural turquoise (I bought it from him at the Eiteljorg Indian Art Market), although he thought it was from NV, so that doesn’t make sense for Kingman. Wondering if Jason thinks it’s possibly turquoise.
Thanks, Jason. The artist wasn’t as sure about it being from NV, but he was sure about it being turquoise. Makes me happy, because it’s such an unusual stone. He had rings made from stones from all over the world, and he seemed to know what every one of them was.
While we don’t have much in the way of turquoise here, some record emeralds and gold have been found here along with rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. It’s a fun day trip to do some mining.