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Stunning turquoise has been used to make jewellery for many thousands of years and is considered to be one of the most precious and beautiful naturally occurring stones on earth. Today’s turquoise jewellery is often given at Birthdays as it’s one of the most well-known birthstones, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear it if it’s not yours! There’s a huge variety of turquoise jewellery to choose from that not only looks great, but could even have a positive effect on your health and good fortune. So if you’d like to know more about this fascinating stone then read on to find out everything you need to know about the significance of Turquoise.
What is Turquoise?
The word Turquoise comes from the Greek for ‘Turkish’ as it was first discovered and used in the Mediterranean country within jewellery and other forms of decoration. It was the Greeks who first transported gemstones out of Turkey and helped to make them popular across the world.
Turquoise can be grey, blue or green in colour and is made from copper aluminium phosphate. It is the only gemstone within the phosphate family and is mostly aluminium with a small amount of copper, which is what give the stone its distinctive hue. When the stone has been formed around iron the colour tends to be greener.
It takes millions of years for turquoise to be formed. This happens when a chemical reaction is caused by water leaking through rocks containing certain minerals such as aluminium and copper. The volume of minerals within a rock will determine the colour it becomes.
Just like diamonds, natural turquoise can be polished or cut and are graded by carat weight, clarity, cut and colour.
Turquoise Colours
Turquoise can be found in a huge variety of colours ranging from yellow through to dark blue. The colour of gemstones can be assessed in three ways.
- Saturation – This measures the colour intensity and can be rated dull, strong or vivid.
- Tone – this measures the darkness or lightness of hue, either light, medium or dark.
- Hue – This refers to the first impression of the stone’s colour.
Turquoise and Birthstones
- Turquoise is considered a birthstone for people born during December.
- It’s the gemstone used to commemorate 5th and 11th wedding anniversaries.
- Turquoise is the birthstone for Sagittarians, but they can also choose Citrine, Lapis Lazuli, Rubies, Blue Zircon, Blue Topaz and Beryl.
The Symbolism of Turquoise
Turquoise is believed to be associated with a number of different properties. For example it can represent:
- Good fortune, happiness, success and prosperity.
- Strength, regeneration, open communication and protection against diseases
In addition, turquoise is believed to have a healing effect on health problems relating to infections, depression, teeth, asthma, lungs and throat.
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