Okay, folks, let’s dive into something I messed around with today – figuring out how much a turquoise stone is worth. It’s not as simple as you might think!
First, I grabbed a few turquoise pieces I had lying around. I’ve got a couple of small, polished stones and one bigger, rougher piece. I think I got them at a gem show a while back, but honestly, I couldn’t remember what I paid for them.
My Little Experiment
So, I started by hitting up the internet. I typed in “turquoise value” and “how to value turquoise” into the search bar. Wow, talk about a rabbit hole! There’s a ton of info out there, and a lot of it is, well, confusing.
I learned that a bunch of things affect the price:
- Color: Apparently, the more intense and even the blue color is, the better. Some have that classic “robin’s egg blue,” while others are more greenish.
- Matrix: This is the stuff that’s not turquoise – the other rock mixed in. Some people like a lot of matrix, some like none. It’s a personal preference thing, but it does affect the price.
- Origin: Where the turquoise came from matters. Certain mines are known for producing really high-quality stones, and those are worth more.
- Treatment: I found out some turquoise is “stabilized” or “treated” to make it harder or improve the color. Natural, untreated turquoise is generally worth more, it seems.
- Carving and size:Finally I realized the size or the carving will have impact to the price.
I spent a good hour just reading through websites and forums. I even watched a couple of videos of people appraising turquoise. It was kind of fascinating, actually.
After all that digging, I tried to apply what I learned to my own stones. It was tough! My little polished ones are a decent blue, but they have some matrix. The bigger, rough one is a bit more greenish. Honestly, I’m still not 100% sure what they’re worth.
I figured out one thing for sure, though: I need to do more research! I think I’ll take my stones to a local gem shop and see if someone there can give me a better *’s a learning experience, and I’m definitely more curious about turquoise now than I was this morning!
