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TURQUOISE JEWELRY CARE |
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CARE AND PROTECTION OF
YOUR FINE TURQUOISE JEWELRY: Turquoise jewelry does require a little extra care to maintain, but its well worth the small effort required. The most common dangers to turquoise are of two types: The first is direct damage caused by scratches or sharp blows. This is due to its relative softness as a gemstone, but any gem can be damaged by sharp, hard impacts. With a little caution, it is easy to prevent this type of damage - avoid heavy work when wearing your turquoise. The second problem is color changes, which can caused by oils, soaps, lotions or other household chemicals. Because all natural turquoise is at least a little porous, things like oils, soaps and other chemicals can get into the stone and can change its color. The pores of the stone will even absorb the natural oils produced by the skin causing it to turn a greenish color over time. In even the hardest turquoise, deposits collecting in the pores of the stone can eventually cause a color change. Similarly, spider web patterns are often darkened by natural oils. Therefore, just a little care should be taken to protect the stones from situations where they may be exposed to oils, grease and chemicals - again, its best to avoid heavy work when wearing your turquoise. Once a stone changes color, unfortunately it's changed for good. If your turquoise is greenish to begin with, you may not notice nearly as much of a color change under normal circumstances. |
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It's not a situation where turquoise is simply too fragile to wear, or that you have to constantly baby it and watch out, but it is worthwhile to remember that a little care is called for when wearing natural gem turquoise under everyday use. The small percentage of turquoise which is very hard and of a pleasing color has a high value - you want to preserve that color and beauty. Stones which are hard enough to cut and polish to a high luster as natural gems which need no treatment, are more resistant to alteration due to their natural hardness. Once you own a beautiful turquoise gem, you will want to enjoy your jewelry for a lifetime, and with a little care you can. Here are a few helpful hints on keeping your gems looking just like the day you purchased them. |
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1) Always remove your turquoise rings and bracelets before washing
dishes, gardening, painting the walls, automotive repairs or any other
household dirty work. Household bleach can radically and permanently
affect the color of turquoise. 2) Hand lotion can change the color of a stone. So put on any perfume, lotions, etc. first, then put on your turquoise. 3) Never use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner on your turquoise. 4) Don't wear turquoise in the swimming pool or hot tub, as the chlorine or bromine used in keeping the pool clean, can dramatically affect its color. 5) Don't wear turquoise in the shower because soaps can affect it. 6) If possible, avoid the use of chemical
silver polishes with turquoise jewelry or be very, very careful not to get them
on the stone. The acids present in some chemical polishes can change your
stone's color as well. |
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| If you would like to see some photos of our Nevada turquoise mines, and get a feel for what a turquoise mine looks like out in the field, then take a look at our TURQUOISE MINE TOUR PAGE. If you'd like to see our silver turquoise jewelry, or just get a piece of natural Nevada turquoise for yourself, you can take a look here: TURQUOISE JEWELRY If you'd like to see some of the turquoise cabochons that have been produced from our mines, you can take a look at this page: TURQUOISE CABOCHONS | |
Please note that the author, Chris Ralph, retains all copyrights to this entire document and it may not be reproduced, quoted or copied without permission.
NEVADA OUTBACK GEMS TURQUOISE AND JEWELRY
