Turquoise
turquoise
A hydrated copper aluminium phosphate that has been mined in Sinai and Iran for over six thousand years and in the American Southwest for at least a thousand. It changes colour as it absorbs oils from the skin, which means an old turquoise is a record of who wore it.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
The great majority of commercial turquoise is treated. Stabilisation (plastic or waterglass impregnation) is near-universal for chalky material; dyeing (often Prussian blue), waxing and oiling are common; 'block' or reconstituted turquoise is powdered stone in resin; and dyed howlite and magnesite are sold outright as turquoise. Untreated natural turquoise is a small fraction of the market.
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
5-6 Mohs
Formula
CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O
Family
phosphate
Where it comes from
Iran (Nishapur), USA (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico), China (Hubei), Egypt (Sinai), Mexico, Chile
What it is
A hydrated copper aluminium phosphate that has been mined in Sinai and Iran for over six thousand years and in the American Southwest for at least a thousand. It changes colour as it absorbs oils from the skin, which means an old turquoise is a record of who wore it. Most of what is sold under the name is dyed howlite.
What it is confused with
howlite, magnesite, dyed-howlite, chrysocolla, amazonite, reconstituted-turquoise, block-turquoise
Opaque sky-blue to green-blue with a waxy, slightly dull luster, it does not take a glassy polish. The matrix is the key feature: brown, black or rust-coloured host-rock veining that runs in irregular, angular, discontinuous networks (spiderweb) with the veins varying in width and sometimes stopping abruptly. Colour is often subtly mottled with paler and darker zones. Genuine material shows the matrix penetrating into the stone in three dimensions, visible on any chipped edge.
Commonly faked · check before you buy
How to tell
Turquoise is 5, 6 and resists a steel knife on the harder material; dyed howlite and magnesite (3.5) are cut easily by a knife and show colour concentrated in the veins with a white core visible under a scratch. Acetone on a cotton bud lifts blue dye from howlite and leaves turquoise unchanged. Look at a drill hole: dyed stone shows a white interior.
The great majority of commercial turquoise is treated. Stabilisation (plastic or waterglass impregnation) is near-universal for chalky material; dyeing (often Prussian blue), waxing and oiling are common; 'block' or reconstituted turquoise is powdered stone in resin; and dyed howlite and magnesite are sold outright as turquoise. Untreated natural turquoise is a small fraction of the market.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Turquoise is a phosphate, 5-6 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Turquoise for every sign
Aries
Most of what sells under the name is dyed howlite.
It absorbs oil from skin and changes colour permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green. That same porosity is why medieval Persian sources said it warned its wearer. Most of what sells under the name is dyed howlite. The real thing has been mined in Sinai for six thousand years.
Taurus
That is why antique turquoise is green.
Six thousand years of mining in Sinai and Iran, a thousand in the American Southwest, and it is still porous enough to change colour from the oil on your skin. That is why antique turquoise is green. It carries specific meaning in Dine and Zuni practice, which are living traditions.
Gemini
An old turquoise is a record of who wore it.
Take it off before you wash your hands. Turquoise is porous and absorbs oil and soap permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green and new turquoise is blue. An old piece is a record of whoever wore it, and most of what carries the name is dyed howlite.
Cancer
A stone porous enough to record what touched it.
Medieval Persian sources say turquoise cracks or changes colour to warn whoever is wearing it, which has an obvious basis in a stone this porous. In Dine and Zuni practice it carries specific meaning, and those are living cultures rather than folklore. Sunscreen turns it green permanently.
Leo
An old turquoise is a record of who wore it.
It absorbs oils from skin and shifts colour as it does, so an old turquoise is a record of everyone who wore it. Blue goes green, and it stays green. Most of what carries the name in shops is dyed howlite, and most of the genuine material has been resin-stabilised.
Virgo
Antique turquoise is green because skin oils soaked in.
Check the drill hole first. Dyed howlite shows white inside, while turquoise carries its matrix three-dimensionally down into the body. Skin oils soak in permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green, and why the medieval story about a stone changing colour to warn its wearer has a physical basis.
Libra
An old turquoise is a record of who wore it.
Old turquoise takes up oils from skin and changes colour over years, so a worn piece is a record of who wore it. The matrix should run into the stone in three dimensions, visible on any chipped edge. Most of what sells under the name is dyed howlite.
Scorpio
An old one is a record of everyone who wore it.
Porous enough that sweat, oils, perfume and sunscreen soak in and turn blue material green permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green. An old one is a record of everyone who wore it. Untreated stone is a small fraction of the market and most of the rest is dyed howlite.
Sagittarius
Recorded as a travel stone that cracks to warn its wearer.
Persian and European sources record it as a travel stone that cracks or changes colour to warn its wearer, which has an obvious physical basis in a mineral that porous. Nishapur in Iran has been worked for six thousand years. Most of what sells under the name is dyed howlite.
Capricorn
An old stone is a record of who wore it.
Porous enough that skin oil, perfume and soap change the colour permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green. It has been mined in Sinai and Iran for six thousand years, and it carries specific meaning in living Diné, Zuni and Puebloan practice. An old stone is a record of who wore it.
Aquarius
Blue turquoise goes green with wear.
Medieval Persian and European sources say it cracks or changes colour to warn its wearer, and the porosity gives that belief an actual mechanism, since sweat and sunscreen both alter it permanently. Blue turquoise goes green with wear. Most of what carries the name is dyed howlite.
Pisces
An old piece is a record of whoever wore it.
It is porous, so it takes up sweat and sunscreen and changes colour permanently, which is why antique turquoise is green. An old piece is a record of whoever wore it. Most of what carries the name is dyed howlite and most of the rest is stabilised with plastic.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
air
Planet
Jupiter
Chakra
throat, third-eye
Signs
sagittarius, aquarius, pisces, scorpio
What tradition says
In crystal lore, turquoise is a protective travel stone said to crack or change colour to warn its wearer of danger, an attribution recorded in medieval Persian and European sources, and one that has an obvious physical basis in the mineral's porosity. It carries deep and specific significance in Diné (Navajo), Zuni and Puebloan traditions, which are living cultures, not folklore.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Keep it out of direct sun. The colour goes and does not come back.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Porous: water, sweat, oils, perfume, soap and sunscreen all discolour it permanently, usually turning blue material green. This is why antique turquoise is green. Wipe dry, remove before washing, keep out of strong sun.
Contains copper, but as a stable insoluble phosphate. Not a handling hazard. Do not make elixirs, treated material can also leach resin and dye.
Common questions
What does turquoise mean?
Turquoise is carried for protection, communication and calm. A hydrated copper aluminium phosphate that has been mined in Sinai and Iran for over six thousand years and in the American Southwest for at least a thousand.. Tradition links it to the throat, third-eye chakra.
Is turquoise real or fake?
The great majority of commercial turquoise is treated. Stabilisation (plastic or waterglass impregnation) is near-universal for chalky material; dyeing (often Prussian blue), waxing and oiling are common; 'block' or reconstituted turquoise is powdered stone in resin; and dyed howlite and magnesite are sold outright as turquoise.. Turquoise is 5, 6 and resists a steel knife on the harder material; dyed howlite and magnesite (3. 5) are cut easily by a knife and show colour concentrated in the veins with a white core visible under a scratch.. The great majority of commercial turquoise is treated.
Can turquoise go in water?
No. Turquoise dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
- Read: the crystals you cannot put in water →
- Read: the crystals that fade in sunlight →
- Read: fake crystals and the four tests that settle it →
Uncommon · sky blue, robin's egg, green-blue, apple green, with brown or black matrix
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
Is it real?
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works