Over the years here on Orchid there have been numerous discussions
regarding turquoise. Several members have expressed views that there
is no longer any quality turquoise (hard natural vs stabilized) to be
found from American mines since so many have been shut down. I agree
that it has become harder to find good quality hard natural
turquoise;however, there are a number of factors to be looked at
besides just the number of mines that have been shut down. One has to
only look at the galleries in Santa Fe as well as visit the annual
Indian Market there to realize that the artists that show their
jewelry at Indian Market and sell through the galleries there,that
they are getting good quality hard natural turquoise somewhere.Also,
many of the artists have not completely turned their backs on good
quality stabilized turquoise.There is after all stabilized and then
other stabilized.One of a number of reasons that there is difficulty
in getting this good hard natural and quality stabilized turquoise is
I believe that there are more and more fine American Indian artists,
college educated, art school educated,well trained both in America
and in other countries,so that these artists are getting first crack
at the limited amount of this quality turquoise from the suppliers
that contract with the mines that are producing. There is one of my
suppliers that I would like to share with those of you that are
looking for nothing but hard natural turquoise (that’s all he sells).
He is Bob Brucia at http://www.nevadagem.com no vested interest and
all the regular disclaimers,just a satisfied customer.He has a money
back gaurantee if not satisfied.With this in mind,his material is not
cheap,remembering that none is stabilized,all hard natural.Another
supplier recommended to me several years ago by another Orchid
member, Sam Patania Jr., is Gram Cabbing, not cheap either but all
quality hard natural turquoise. I hope this helps some of you that
are like me wanting good quality material and are willing to pay the
price for it.
Best wishes,
John Barton
PS Feel free to contact me offline and I can send you a jpg of some
of the material I have purchased.
Over the years here on Orchid there have been numerous discussions
regarding turquoise.
I’ve had good luck with mail ordering from Thunderbird Supply in
Gallup, NM. When I call, I ask to speak to the stone buyer. They only
have small lots from various mines of natural turquoise. The amount
is too small to advertise in their catalog. You give them an idea of
what kind of turquoise you want with your specifications, like:
natural, matrix, spiderweb, blue color tending more towards the blue
side than green, thumbnail size, oval, matched in pairs. They come
back with what they have available at that time, the mine it comes
from, and the price per gram or carat.
The same goes for the rest of their stones. Want spiny oyster? They
have it in orange, red and purple. Need tufa for casting? Tell them
what you intend to cast with it and they’ll make sure you get the
sizes you need that are appropriate, fine grain or coarse grain. Want
rough material for cutting? They’ve got it.
Usual disclaimers. Just a satisfied customer for around 30 years.
They’ve been in business for longer than that.
As a turquoise miner and friend of Bob Brucia’s, I must say that all
of the above is both truthful and valuable. And I am happy to add
that Natural Nevada Turquoise is not a totally elusive thing. I
myself have been involved with the Stone Mountain Mine since I was a
boy, And we have been lucky enough to find a lot of hard, fine grade
Natural Nevada Turquoise. We have always been crucial on keeping our
stones “untainted” and in thier natural form. Naturally we met up
with Bob Brucia a few years ago.Our material can be found on the open
market at http://www.nevadacassidys.com. Right now it is mainly older
stock and we are running a sale. Anyhow to get back on point,
I believe that most of the mines that are producing good material
today are generally “small” deposits. Especially in Nevada. This, in
a sense has driven a climate where not too many well-funded
individuals are producing good amounts of rough natural turquoise.
Thus no one is marketing their heads off to show everyone where the
stuff can be bought. Natural Nevada Turquoise is not as scarce as it
may seem, however and is still being produced today! To name a few
deposits, Yerington area(includes Stone Mountain)…
Lander/Eureka Counties still have a lot of turquoise that is still
claimed and periodically mined, new claims are still popping up. The
Apache turquoise mine is producing these days, based out of Austin.
And just down the way there is another few deposits, Damale(Godber,
drycreek area). I have heard of varscite still being found, and
knowing the nature of it, turquoise will still be found somewhere in
that same zone in the future.
The Candelaria/Pilot Mtn area still has turquoise, I am not certain
if these newer deposits have anything to do with the previous ones. I
think many of them may be slightly off the old digs on undug ground.
It is a large area to dig on, especially with hand and pick.
Central Nevada I have heard about in the last few years, and I am
interested to see if we don’t hear about new digs from these areas in
the near future as well. Carlin areas - Mina - Tonopah
I hope this helps and that all you turquoise lovers out there can
get some natural turquoise in your hands.
Be Well
Canyon Cassidy
Nevada Cassidys
P.O. Drawer 528
Silver City, Nevada 89428
(775) 847-0753