The rarest, most valuable turquoise in the world

[puerco-bellies]

I just got a call today from Joe Dan Lowery of the Turquoise Museum in Albuquerque N.M. The week before X-mass I sent him 11 nuggets of Lander Blue rough. There is some Lander Blue turquoise on the market, but I am one of only two people (Three if you count the person or persons I got mine from) that has this type of turquoise in the rough.

I stumbled on a small stash of it on a turquoise buying trip in the Southwest. In the world of turquoise there are a lot of fakers and takers so when someone tells you they have X variety you have to take it with a grain of salt.

I met a person out here from family of turquoise traders that have been doing business with the Nations for several generations. After some initial business she mentioned that she had some lander that she might be willing to part with. I had seen the real deal on quite a few occasions via a friendship with a very notable Native American silver smith.

When she showed me the nuggets I was certain that it was the real deal. We agreed on a price and that was that. Due to an upcoming turquoise buy I am going to part with a couple of nuggets, for money to buy more 200 times more turquoise. In order to demand the top market price ($200 a carat) I had to have my specimens certified by a leading authority, hence Joe Dan who wrote the book on turquoise (Turquoise Unearthed).

He said that the nuggets I have are of particular high quality. He is sending back the samples with a certificate of authenticity and now I can market two nuggets through a friend who has contacts in a foreign country with a cadre of fanatical collectors who are willing and able to pay top dollar.

This is a picture of 10 of 11 nuggets of Lander Blue. The rarest of the rare.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear puerco-bellies!

Wow, that stuff is gorgeous!

I'm just drooling all over my keyboard!

Wish I could afford something...

We'll have to see about that!

Thank you for the pic...

Yummmmmm.........

:9

[dropkickpa]

2. Gorgeous!!

Blue is always such a striking color in nature.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Do you mind if I snag that pic?

Want to send it to a jewler friend of mine.

[puerco-bellies]

5. Not at all

Please let me knows what he or she thinks.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. I will stay in touch --

thanks.

[Infomaniac]

4. Oh! Those are gorgeous

I love turquoise and I am just drooling over those stones.

[Ptah]

6. Those are spectacular specimens, puerco-bellies.

Your work is world class.
Have you ever been to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Shows?

http://www.rockhounds.com/tucsonshow/reports/tucson2007/p8.shtml

[puerco-bellies]

12. The person who runs that show does one here in So Cal

Usually at the Hilton in Costa Mesa. Most of the same vendors, he makes them do the So Cal one if they want to do the Tucson show. I will eventually hit that one, but for now the Quartzite/Stoddard Wells one is my usual yearly show.

[Joe Fields]

8. Do you trade for or buy all of your tuquoise, or do you hunt for it, too?

[puerco-bellies]

13. A little trading mostly buying.

I have to get a good deal or it's not worth it to me. Next April I'm headed out to the Royston Mining district in Nevada to collect my own.

[Joe Fields]

20. I own several pieces of turquoise jewelry, from rings, bracelets,

belt buckles, and even a nice turquoise belt, but none of my turquoise is as spectacular as those stones you have. All I can say is WOW.

[ThomCat]

9. Would you shape those stones at all

or find a way to work with the natural shape?

They're beautiful, but I don't know how you could use them. They look like they'd be fragile.

[puerco-bellies]

15. They are high quality, very hard stuff.

One of the stones will be cut in half, with each one going in to a wedding ring for Ali and me.
I will sell two, and the others will be sliced if possible, polished, and set in gold. That is in the future. I am not good enough to set my higher quality turquoise like these and some Godber, Bisbee, Royal Blue Royston, Damele, Royal Web, to name a few of the high quality stones I've been collecting.

[VenusRising]

18. I LOVE that you are making your wedding rings!

Zodiak Ironfist made our wedding rings and I treasure mine so much more because he designed it and made it himself.

:loveya:

[VenusRising]

10. That is beautiful!!

My favorite one is the one on the farthest left.

Just gorgeous!!

I'm sure that your work will be all that these beauties deserve.

:hi:

[puerco-bellies]

16. Thank you.

I don't feel like I can do these stones justice just yet. I will work with them, but not for a year or more.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. Pretty!

:hi:

[puerco-bellies]

17. They really are.

I was incredibly lucky to make the contacts that I have.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Holy bajoomy, that's attractive...

What do you do with them? Do you cut them and polish, or keep them as-is due to the rarity? I don't know and am intersted (pardon me if I've spoken heresy!)

:thumbsup:

[puerco-bellies]

19. A couple will be sold in the nugget form.

The rest I will eventually cut and polish. Everything in it's time.

[Fire Walk With Me]

21. Sorry, I should have read the entire thread prior to posting questions you'd previously answered.

Congrats and have a blast with these! You're obviously meant to work with them.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. I've never seen any turquoise like that.

WOW!!! I have a couple of GIA certificates (Diamond Grading and Colored Stone Grading) but didn't know that it came in that matrix type stuff. Gorgeous.

[puerco-bellies]

23. When you see matrix patterns like that.

It is usually referred to as spiderweb. I don't know the mineralogy of lander, but I'm guessing ryolite, and possibly a carbonate (the light to white stuff) make up the matrix

[lost-in-nj]

24. WOW stunning

I'll bet they make gorgeous jewelry

and don't forget to show us your rings when you make them!!!


lost

[Callalily]

25. Your Lander Blues are

truly magnificent. Congrats on the cert of authenticity!

[xchrom]

26. how cool is that? -- they're really beautiful. nt

[Rockholm]

27. Absolutely Beautiful!

[TheCentepedeShoes]

28. That is gorgeous

[peacefreak]

29. Those are just beautiful.

They will be a joy to work with.