Turquoise Collecting

Mike Ryan
Mar 4, 2022
1 min read

Turquoise has only two commercial applications. It may be included in jewelry, often fine handmade Native American jewelry, or it may be collected as a gem stone. In this video Mike discusses turquoise collecting and how collectors may choose to focus their collection.

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markbapst

Mar 05, 2022

Very nice collection Mike, and some very good points on collecting. I would add a couple of other points: buy from people you trust. When I started collecting, I was surprised to find how few miners actually collected. If the seller respects and loves turquoise as much as you do (whether miner or not), you are likely to get the real stuff. Much of my collection came from collections of other notable collectors (similar to your collection, I believe).

Second, be mindful of the provenance of "regional mines". Much gets sold as Pilot Mountain, Candelaria, Crescent Valley, Battle Mountain, etc. that have nothing to do with mines of those names. Rather, people are selling under those names, because they are…

Mike Ryan

Mar 05, 2022

Replying to

Trust is important in all relationships but it needs to develop. Yes the more well known, and expensive, the turquoise the more likely sellers may wish to attribute lesser turquoise to those mines in order to boost price. Lander Blue is a good example. Why would anyone attribute turquoise to obscure claims many of which were never claimed or worked as turquoise? Well to sell the turquoise, of course. I think I gave a gross undercount of the number of examples in your collection. That was from the last time we spoke over a year or more ago. Thanks for your support.