The gemstone Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminum and comes in the colors blue, blue-green and blue.  Turquoise has a Mohs scale of 5-6 and can be fractured.  By comparison diamond has a Mohs (hardness) scale of 10.  The color of Turquoise has endeared it to humanity for thousands of years, from ancient Persian and Egyptian cultures to South American and North American societies.  In the United States, large sources of turquoise are found in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada Turquoise is especially prominent in Native American Indian arts and crafts with the best known Native American turquoise jewelry being made by Navajo Indians, Zuni Indians, Hopi Indians and Santo Domingo Indians.   In addition to functional items such as buttons, turquoise beads and chunks are used to make necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  Some of the most beautiful turquoise jewelry is made from turquoise inlays in silver with a variety of Native American designs.  The famous Sleeping Beauty Turquoise comes from a mine in Sleeping Beauty Mountain in Globe, Arizona and has a pure blue color without any matrix and commands premium price.  Other sources of Turquoise include South America, china and Tibet.  Our collection of turquoise jewelry reflects the cultures and arts of the USA, China, Tibet and Peru.

 In holistic medicine, the color turquoise is believed to have a calming effect on patients, and is particularly used to treat patients prone to panic attacks or mania. Mainstream psychiatric hospitals also use turquoise and other light shades of blue and green to calm patients by painting the walls in these colors. Turquoise is also used as the birth stone for the month of December.

Rose quartz is a type of quartz which exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually considered as due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese. The first crystals of rose quartz were found in a pegmatite found near Rumford, Maine, USA, but most crystals on the market come from Minas Gerais, Brazil.   In jewelry, Rose quartz is usually cut in cabochons or round beads for necklaces and bracelets.  The gemstone is also commonly used for carvings.In holistic medicine, rose quartz is believed to enhance harmony with the self, allowing one to get to know the inner true self and thus to live in harmony within and without.