Treated Turquoise - ready to mount on your finger
As Turquoise is more of a legend than of a simple gemstone, we start here with a myth, which the Zuni used to believe.
Treated Turquoise: A process by which the pores of the Turquoise stone are filled with a transparent substance such as mineral oil, paraffin wax, or plastic to improve the color and make it more desirable.
Natural, untreated turquoise with a bright luster and deep, blue homogenous colour - and no matrix veining is also highly collectible. The same holds true with turquoise that has known provenance.
Wax-treated turquoise: In the past, most of the turquoise from China was wax impregnated, a process that works like stabilization. Paraffin treatment only affects the surface.
Different colors of turquoise, varying from sky blue to nearly green occur in untreated turquoise. Turquoise Ring: Brown or grey streaks in turquoise are caused by the "matrix", or "mother stone", from which the turquoise is mined.
The up-side of 'Enhanced' or 'Natural Processed' turquoise is that the color remains stable over time as opposed to natural, untreated turquoise which can oxidize, turning green over a long period of time.
Despite the quality of those stones, it is still difficult to discover really good, untreated turquoise. There have also been superlative deposits uncovered in the American Southwest.
Enhancements
Turquoise is commonly impregnated with plastic, colorless oil or wax to improve color and increase durability. Untreated turquoise will eventually turn green.
More information on gemstone enhancements.
Turquoise ...
Different colors of turquoise--varying from sky blue to nearly green occur in untreated turquoise, since it is quite porous. Touching the stone leaves oils on it which alters the color of the turquoise over many years.
 See also: Cut, Jewelry, Gemstone, Jewel, Treated
  
|
RSS
