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Monday, December 04, 2006

Wild About Turquoise

(Lapidary Journal) Liz Kuhns writes:


Suddenly the vibrant hues of turquoise are taking the fashion world by storm — yet again. Flashes of bright blue is to be seen everywhere, mixed with silver, amber, coral, jade, and all sorts of media. The color is everywhere, but the stone is not; those bright flashes may be natural turquoise, but also might be any of a number of imitations — glass, plastic, other stones of similar appearance, or even dyed organic matter, such as coconut husks.

It is the natural turquoise mineral though, that has withstood the test of time, surging in and out of the fashion limelight like a pendulum, yet never really losing its popularity, just being more popular at certain times than others. From as far back as 6,000 B.C., turquoise has been mined, traded, and revered by ancient cultures in Egypt, Persia, Turkey, and China as well as in the New World, by the Aztecs, Incas, and tribes of the southwestern United States and Mexico.

More info @ http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/feature/may03str.cfm

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