SILVER WHITE TURQUOISE BRACELET

The original white turquoise was discovered and mined on the Nevada Shoshone Indian Reservation in the early 1990's. The white coloration of the stone was very different from the normal blue to green color of turquoise so there was some doubt to it actually being turquoise. Shortly after its discovery, the stone was assayed and the final determination was made that it was indeed turquoise. It was not until several years later that the stone was actually first used in the making of jewelry in combination with sterling silver. White turquoise jewelry then began to appear with more frequency. The black veins or “matrix” running through the stone can vary from very light matrix to very heavy matrix. The asthetic value relating to the balance of  white coloration and matrix  in the stone is a personal preference as some people prefer more white and some prefer more matrix.

The Navajo and Zuni tribes were the first to start utilizing this beautiful stone in their Native American jewelry. A white turquoise bracelet will frequently be made to match in stone appearance to other sterling silver jewelry items such as a white turquoise pendant or perhaps a white turquoise necklace or white turquoise ring. Since the appearance of the stone has a wide variation, it is often not easy to get an exact match in coloration and matrix when purchasing matching sets of white turquoise jewelry. However, many people would say that it is the uniqueness and differences in each stone that set them apart and make them truly appealing, especially so when combined with some of the finest examples of Native American sterling silver jewelry that can be found today.