Cultures all over the world have treasured turquoise for its color and rarity for thousands of years — from Native American jewelry and Aztec and Mesoamerican art to King Tutankhamun's death mask.
Turquoise: the ornamental blue stone that is becoming rarer with each passing year
Revered by Aztec kings and Egyptian pharaohs, and a sacred stone for the Native American people, turquoise has been prized for thousands of years.
01 April 2021
by
CLAIRE ROBERTS
An opaque mineral with a waxy lustre that is worn as a gemstone and collected as an ornamental stone, it is enjoying a welcome renaissance in the world of jewellery, with designers falling for its dreamy blue charms in droves.
The word turquoise is derived from the old French word for “Turkish”, referencing the traders who originally exported Persian turquoise to Europe. So vivid and recognisable is its hue that it quickly became more widely used to describe the colour that sits somewhere between blue and green. A gift from the gods believed to bring good fortune to its owners, turquoise continues to be regarded as a potent talisman, with the power to attract prosperity and success.