Moose Fact: Getting To Know Sleeping Beauty Turquoise
Considered as one of the most important American Mine turquoise in the world, the Sleeping Beauty turquoise is located in Globe, AZ, named after the mountain range where it is located. From a distance, it is said to resemble a sleeping woman with her arms crossed, hence the name.
Known for its unique color that ranges from chalky-blue, similar to ‘robin’s egg’ blue to sky-blue, to deep-blue, the Sleeping Beauty turquoise is for sure one of the most sought after gemstones in the turquoise world. According to research, the darker it is, the rarer it is. In the case of this type of turquoise, deep blue doesn’t mean it’s what others desire. It is been said that most jewelers and gemologists go after the sky blue color, not that light, not that dark, minimum to zero matrix.
The Sleeping Beauty Mine, which was also known as ‘Pinto Valley’ and ‘Castle Dome’, closed during the early 1960s and only reopened over the last decade to mine copper and turquoise. Up until recently, the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Mine was considered to be one of the world’s largest producers of natural turquoise. Unfortunately, due to the increased government regulations and costs in mining, the said mine had to close in the latter part of 2012.
It has made its history in the turquoise world because of its great quality and through the efforts of Monty Nichols. In the United States, the Sleeping Beauty mine was also one of the largest turquoise producers. Since its closure, the price for Sleeping Beauty turquoise significantly went up.
Mainly sold in the United States, the Sleeping Beauty turquoise stones are also shipped to different parts of the world to jewelry manufacturers. It’s been believed that there isn’t really a perfect and desired color of turquoise stone as it truly depends on who’s buying along with the type of jewelry the designers are making.
That being said, it has also been observed that some Americans prefer medium to sky blue turquoise, which is a perfect description of the Sleeping Beauty, while some Europeans go for light-blue ones. On the other hand, some Egyptians go for dark-blue ones. Ultimately, it truly does depend on the buyer.
Fun fact, did you know that there’s only a small percentage of the natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise that is hard enough to be considered gem grade? This is why when you stumble upon natural turquoise, it is usually at a high price point - which is why it is rare for jewelers, collectors, lapidary artists to get them because of its price. Hence, resorting to stabilized turquoise.
Stabilizing the stone means turning it more resilient and it might also slightly change in color. Some buyers opt for stabilized ones for affordability and durability purposes. Now, the Sleeping Beauty turquoise can be found in both natural and stabilized state, however, is also relatively rare due to its limited supply in the market.
The Sleeping Beauty turquoise is still, to this date, arguably one of the top turquoise preference for its high-quality.
Take a look at our Certified by Moose Sleeping Beauty Limited Collection in calibrated form here.
Check out our new Sleeping Beauty turquoise cabochons here.
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