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Post by whalecottagedesigns on Oct 23, 2024 20:56:16 GMT -5
Hi Folks,
On my learning journey, I am finding it hard to find good information and reference material on Chinese Turquoise. My own knowledge is pretty limited, and would like to find out a bit more.
Does anyone know of any good books, articles or suchlike on specifically Chinese Turquoise? The mines, variation in material and names for patterns etc. I have found a little bit, but not much.
There are a quadzillion resources on American Turquoise, but the rest of the world, not so much.
The only bits I have worked with are from the Red River Canyon mine bought directly, and it is pretty lovely material.
And yes, I know, everyone likes to dump on Chinese Turquoise, and I realize 90% of what is in the common market is fake to fakeish, but I find the pukka stuff I have worked with quite beautiful, and it is almost affordable to me.
Theo
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Post by pebblesky on Oct 23, 2024 22:19:08 GMT -5
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Post by orrum on Oct 24, 2024 6:09:22 GMT -5
X2
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Post by whalecottagedesigns on Oct 24, 2024 7:15:57 GMT -5
pebblesky Thank you kindly, in particular, the second one is gold! I am buying directly from a particular mine, and have to stabilize the turquoise myself, when needed. And it is beautiful, and the lady I deal with there is just wonderful. And for now, luckily for me as my pockets are small, the prices are still outrageously good, but that will change. So anyone else who is not buying, is doing me a huuge favour! Bless them!
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 24, 2024 13:01:38 GMT -5
Hi Folks, On my learning journey, I am finding it hard to find good information and reference material on Chinese Turquoise. My own knowledge is pretty limited, and would like to find out a bit more. Does anyone know of any good books, articles or suchlike on specifically Chinese Turquoise? The mines, variation in material and names for patterns etc. I have found a little bit, but not much. There are a quadzillion resources on American Turquoise, but the rest of the world, not so much. The only bits I have worked with are from the Red River Canyon mine bought directly, and it is pretty lovely material. And yes, I know, everyone likes to dump on Chinese Turquoise, and I realize 90% of what is in the common market is fake to fakeish, but I find the pukka stuff I have worked with quite beautiful, and it is almost affordable to me. Theo I am a huge fan of Chinese turquoise. I remember some years ago, I could get decent "cabs" of it for a decent price on eBay. They usually needed to be recut, but they were still worth it. I can't afford any US turquoise.  |
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Post by whalecottagedesigns on Oct 24, 2024 19:14:41 GMT -5
rockjunquie I agree! And from my global reading perspective, I get the impression that across the world, folks seem to think that the Firoze Persian Turquoise (now Iran of course) is the most desirable by a thickish hair based on its history, robin's egg blue beauty and clarity, followed by American and Chinese to about a similar standard. The most beautiful dark matrix spiderweb Chinese looks pretty darn similar to the most beautiful American ones. However, the Chinese have massive untapped mines and resources, while I get the impression that the American resources (excluding places like maybe Kingman) are pretty much used up. And the Chinese variation in colour and pattern is pretty amazing! But the Chinese prices are starting to rise now, based on demand and their more global inclusion in general. There have been articles saying that some Chinese mines are used up and are closing, but there are still others opening etc. (including the Red River Canyon guys in Hubei Province I am buying from, they just opened up more, and it is hard, not chalky, and does not need stabilizing apparently). Then there is the other sources like Tibet (where they prefer green instead of blue), and maybe Egypt, but I have no knowledge at all about their sources or mines. Still learning. Theo
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 24, 2024 20:53:34 GMT -5
The only turquoise I know is Hubei. Like most materials I buy it is knowing and trusting the seller. In 1972, I was in the air force and there was a trip organized to Hong Kong. In Kowloon there was a large department store run by the Chinese government. It had herbs, clothing and a jewelry and fine arts department. I bought two necklaces for my mother. One was Persian Turquoise and the other was semiprecious beads. My wife inherited them and gave them away later.
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Post by whalecottagedesigns on Oct 24, 2024 22:01:53 GMT -5
stardiamond Persian Turquoise is pretty precious! My wife worked as a principal at a school in mainland China for a year or so, and I went to go visit once. China is quite mind blowing. The big bosses all have that other political stuff going on, but the common normal Chinese folk are seriously hard working and very capitalistic! And they do not waste money. I mean, obviously I am speaking in general terms. I can remember driving from the opposite side of Hong Kong in a taxi up to where she was teaching, and for two hours, we were driving on a highway in between high rise buildings. Non-stop, the whole way! That was 15 years ago, and well before we got into the dark arts of lapidary, otherwise I would have been on a Turquoise quest. :-)
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