Iranian Turquoise, blue drops hiding in the heart of the ground.

"Blue, original and precious..". These are the words that people say about turquoise stones, these beautiful blue drops hiding in the heart of the ground, desired by the people in the past and now. Turquoise is usually found in the barrens with a high percent of copper in the soil and is created by the effect of copper oxide on phosphorus stones or animal’s fossils and that is why these rare and mysterious stones are found in blue or green. Turquoises in pure blue are much more precious than green ones.

Iranian turquoise is so excellent that it is used as a scale for measuring the quality of other turquoises in the world. Iranian turquoise is extracted from a mine located 53 kilometers on the northwest of Neishabour (in Khorasan province), which is 7000 years old but there is still much turquoise in it, waiting to be extracted! Some other turquoise mines are available in Khorasan and Kerman province, but Neishabour's is one of the most exclusive mines in the world and 30-40 tons of turquoise stone is extracted out of it, every year.

15 to 20 percent of the mined turquoise is carved and formed as a gemstone. There are about 300 studios in Neishabour for modeling them in different sizes and shapes like domes or squares for marvelous rings, earrings, necklaces and luxurious dishes like jars and goblets. Shaping turquoise stones in nice forms and using them on precious objects is an old Iranian handicraft branch.

The oldest piece of carved turquoise from Neishabour mine is a statuette of a cow, which is 7000 years old and it is kept in National Museum of Iran.

                                                           Spotting a good turquoise:

Turquoise stones are in Persian blue, light blue, green-blue, yellow-green and gray-green. Turquoises in Persian blue are the most-prized ones and the yellow-green pieces are least precious, although some people believe that the green turquoises are more beautiful.

There are some dark stains on turquoise stones that look like spider nest. If the stains are in an ordered shape it will increase the beauty of the turquoise but if they are spread in an unorganized form, it will be considered less valuable.

                                         How to keep a piece of turquoise bright and clean:

Polish the stone with a kind of resin, which doesn’t harm the turquoise, once in a while.

Do not wash the turquoise with alcohol.

Do not keep the turquoise in touch with oily skin or cosmetics.

Do not keep the turquoise, exposed by the sunshine.

Clean the turquoise with a piece of cotton textile or leather.

A piece of turquoise on a nice, silver ring.