One of the suppliers that I use for jewelry-making materials sends out informational links every Friday about different gemstones.
Here is this week's writeup on different kinds of Turquoise. They also discussed it last week (the link is in this week's article) and will discuss it some more next week.The kinds of turquoise mentioned this week include natural (of which less than 1% of Turquoise that is mined is capable of being sold in this way), enhanced, and stabilized.
http://www.wire-sculpture.com/jewelr...utm_override=1
The reason why the majority of Turquoise needs some form of treatment is that it is a very soft stone, likely to break if used in jewelry without these treatments. Some of the treatments also help preserve its natural color (which, left untreated, will fade to a green color with exposure to light, sweat, etc.).
There are multiple types of treatments and synthetic Turquoises, which is probably why more than one article is required to describe it all.
The more we learn to ID what real Turquoise looks like, the better we will be able to ID when there is another stone dyed to look like it, such as Howlite (which is itself becoming less common now) and Magnesite.
I'm passing this link along as an FYI, since I know a lot of us are very fond of this lovely stone and its equally lovely energies.
As for myself, I make sure and list the stone that I'm REALLY using. If it's a dyed Howlite or Magnesite, both of which I have used to make pendants, I will say so when I list the jewelry item. I do make some earrings that use real Turquoise beads, and I list those as such. I want people to know precisely what they are investing their funds in, when they make a purchase. So will other scrupulous vendors.
But if you see what appears to be an utterly superb piece, that's listed at a surprisingly low price. do some more research on the stone. Also, get familiar with some of the nicknames for imitation Turquoise. For example "Chalk Turquoise" is another name for dyed Howlite.
Make a point of looking through gemology and geology sites, not just new age sites, when learning about crystals. These sites will provide invaluable knowledge about what stones look like in a natural AND enhanced state.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.
. Enjoy reading this article.
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