Beautiful Iran Turquoise : )

Wanted to share a new find this pretty piece of turquoise. A nice person from the middle east I talked with on a gem site we share told me it comes from Iran and in Arabic is written “Allah is the Greatest”. It’s been fun learning about different places and things all because of a little stone : )

Here is a look into the Neishabour Turquoise Mine located in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran and a short documentary video

cool photos http://www.payvand.com/news/16/dec/1177.html

I have looked and looked to find a finished stone remotely close to one in pendant with no luck. Did find listed a 9 inch x 7 inch x 5 1/2 inch piece of Neishabour Turquoise (not to say this is the same stone as mine but it has same color : ) Would love Jason to make comparison just for fun. Thank you, sara

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gemstone-38-250-Carats-Jeweler-Turquoise-Iran-s-Khorasan-Prov-Bisbee-Lander-Blue/173155011671

1 Like

I think maybe this seller is misrepresenting, he is using Bisbee and Lander Blue names to identify what is definitely not Bisbee or Lander Blue Turquoise.

My thought was seller was comparing the quality to Bisbee and Lander Blue? Think I saw China use the same references to describe color in turquoise. What would you grade the stone in the pendant. Would you know a bit about the host rock also? Thank you Jason.

Bisbee is like every other turquoise, it has a high quality rock and a low quality rock, in the whole listing I see no reference. Only a small amount of Lander was found and it is supposedly all good. It is just used in the title so when someone is looking for Bisbee or Lander Blue this will hopefully show up. Hardness along with color is what we would look for in a stone to determine its quality. This listing shows chemical makeup. In all my years of being around people who deal in turquoise I have never heard someone give me this break down. Persian turquoise has been here a very long time and you can purchase it here locally. In John Adair’s book he talks about Hubbell ordering this stone and it being the first used in Navajo silver. I have never seen a piece over $10 a carat, and have seen it under a $1 a carat. A general rule is you would have an 80% yield if this was cut into stones, which makes it $70 plus a carat. Plus the rock doesn’t look like either Bisbee or Lander Blue. Sorry for the long rant, this listing doesn’t make much sense.

I haven’t seen Persian turquoise look like the rock in the pendant. The stone is not a consistent color, the matrix isn’t even. It is pretty to look at, but it isn’t a high dollar stone. I do like the way you get lots of different colors.

2 Likes

Not a rant : ) Lots of good info. Thank you

Cool Pendant! The Persian turquoise I’ve seen are usually cut with high domes and have a chocolate like matrix. But there is great variation in quality from light blue to green with matrix to intense robin egg blue. I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Top quality Persian is very hard to find, it’s usually set in gold; and as you can imagine most of the best stuff stays where it’s mined because its also highly valued in Iran. The exception is I think when you buy antique Victorian or older jewelry with turquoise, that’s most likely Persian in origin, at least that’s what I believe.

3 Likes

Thank you for the info : ) All very interesting! I love the stone in the pendant -so many wonderful colors and patterners. If you happen to come along anything you know comes from this part of the world, it would be great to see the examples. Sara

If you find yourself with 52 minutes of uninterrupted spare time this video documentary goes much deeper into the history and origins of Persian turquoise.

Very informative, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Here is the short link direct to you tube : https://youtu.be/dD4O4E4p-Ao

2 Likes