Fred Guerro Turquoise, Silver Leather Bolo Tie
Located in Pleasant Hill, CA
Featuring a beautiful blue turquoise in matrix (stabilized), 55 X 37 mm to 20.9 mm X 9.0 mm, set in a silver notched and wire twist frame mounting, 65.5 X 50.0 mm, with a fold over l...
Turquoise, Silver
Large Navajo Turquoise Ring Fred Guerro
Located in Webster, SD
It is the creation of the late Navajo silversmith Fred Guerro. Size 6 The face measurements 1 inch east to west and 1 9/16 inches north to south.
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Turquoise Cuff Bracelet Navajo Fred Guerro
Located in Webster, SD
It is the creation of the late Navajo silversmith Fred Guerro. The face of this bracelet measures 1 3/4 inches and tapers down to 1/2 of an inch.
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Rare Large Southwestern Sterling Navajo Turquoise Necklace Fred Guerro
Located in Webster, SD
It is the creation of the late Navajo silversmith Fred Guerro. This necklace measures 21 inches end to end and 13 inches when clasped.
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
The thought of vintage and antique turquoise jewelry often conjures up images of striking Navajo bracelets and necklaces worn with a denim shirt and cowboy boots. This all-American look has been celebrated by fashion designers like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on their runways and in ad campaigns. In the October 2016 issue of Vogue magazine, Tom Ford said he only wears turquoise jewelry at his Santa Fe ranch. So what is it about this gorgeous blue-green stone that makes us wish that we were born in December?
It’s not surprising that turquoise is abundant in New Mexico and Arizona because, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), it needs to be in “dry and barren regions where acidic, copper-rich groundwater seeps downward and reacts with minerals that contain phosphorus and aluminum.
Turquoise is not found in a single crystal but is a combination of microcrystals. Its appearance, waxy and opaque, is attributed to its structure and composition. “It’s an aggregate of microscopic crystals that form a solid mass. If the crystals are packed closely together, the material is less porous, so it has a finer texture. Fine-textured turquoise has an attractive, waxy luster when it’s polished. Turquoise with a less-dense crystal structure has higher porosity and coarser texture, resulting in a dull luster when it’s polished,” notes the GIA. Since no one wants to set a dull piece of turquoise, porous turquoise is often treated to make the stone more attractive.
In the United States, there have been discoveries of turquoise from 200 B.C. It is not just loose turquoise stones that have been found, but entire suites of jewelry from prehistoric times. In the late 19th-century, the Navajo Indians, who learned silversmithing from the Spanish, started to make beads out of turquoise and eventually combined it with silver around the 1880s. Initially this jewelry was for ceremonial purposes, but it became fashionable once the tourism in the Southwest picked up in the beginning of the 20th century.
Find antique and vintage turquoise rings, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories on 1stDibs.