What is heishi turquoise?
More and more frequently, however, heishi (pronounced hee-shee) has come to refer to hand-made tiny beads made of any natural material. Coral and stones such as lapis, turquoise, jet, pipestone and serpentine are also used to create exquisite contemporary heishi necklaces.
How can you tell real turquoise?
Turquoise is naturally a soft stone, but howlite (the turquoise imitation), is even softer. This means that if you scratch your stone and it scratches easily, you most likely have a piece of howlite. But if it’s very difficult to scratch your stone, you’ve got genuine turquoise!
What do heishi beads look like?
Heishi beads are always disc-shaped. Each bead begins as a tiny flat piece of shell or stone. A tiny stringing hole is drilled through the fragment. These jagged pieces are then strung together on a wire and sanded into evenness using a fine-grained sandstone, followed by sandpaper.
What is dyed stabilized turquoise?
What is stabilized turquoise? Soft, low grade, turquoise that has undergone a stabilization process to enhance its hardness and color. During this process, the stone is put under pressure, causing it to absorb a clear epoxy or plastic filler. This results in a harder stone that is suitable for use in jewelry.
What is a Sleeping Beauty turquoise?
Sleeping Beauty turquoise is noted for its solid, light blue color with no matrix. Sleeping Beauty turquoise is the favorite of Zuni Pueblo lapidaries and silversmiths for the purity in color. This mine was one of the largest in North America. Now, one of the most prolific mines in the US has been closed!
What is a heishi bead?
Heishe or heishi (pronounced “hee shee”) are small disc- or tube-shaped beads made of organic shells or ground and polished stones. They come from the Kewa Pueblo people (formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo) of New Mexico, before the use of metals in jewelry by that people.
Can turquoise be worn everyday?
The brilliant coloring of turquoise will add a stunning burst of color to any outfit. Wear it every day to uplift your mood, or wear a necklace close to your heart to enjoy its extensive healing and meditative properties.
What is heishi bead?
How do you stabilize raw turquoise?
Turquoise is stabilized by soaking it or pressurizing resins or acrylic compounds into the pores of the stone, resulting in affordable, higher quality stones and finished jewelry. Lay several sheets of newspaper on a work surface. Pour 1 pint of acetone into a clean, dry glass jar.
Which turquoise is most valuable?
The most-prized turquoise color is an even, intense, medium blue, sometimes referred to as robin’s egg blue or sky blue in the trade. The traditional source for this color is the Nishapur district of Iran, so you’ll also hear it described as “Persian blue,” whether or not it was actually mined in Iran.