I recently bought a strand of vintage turquoise beads. I am not sure they are real. Any tips on how to tell?
Turquoise
- Thread starter Hermesaholic
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If they are persian they are sky blue, but that would be super expensive as persian turquoise are very rare and pricey these days. Most Persians are Arizona mined knock offs. If it has black lines they are probably real. If the back is white they are real. Pic would slap I have bought a lot of turquoise before
Hm, depends mostly on what you paid. But 90% of Tourquoise beads sold are not natural. I know because my mother is a jeweler and our gem stone supplier told us. It´s very hard to get real ones and if you can find them, they are super expensive.
If they are native american and are dead pawn, then you are probably ok. A native american dealer can let you know if they are real. A lot of stones today are made of ground up turquoise mixed with an acrylic binder. It's important to know that the place you purchased from is legitimate and backs their merchandise. A picture might help to identify the origin of your piece.
thanks--an evil-bay find. i really love it but would love to know more about the beads. it is supposedly platinum/diamond and turquoise. i am sending off to be cleaned, assessed and re-strung.
Please let us know what the jeweler says. Obviously, this is not native american. However, in the first photo, there is obviously some variation within the beads as far a veining goes and among the color of the beads. That makes me think that they are real.....hopefully. At any rate, it is beautiful!
UPDATE: completely natural turquoise beads probably middle east as no black matrix and lighter color. Platinum and diamond unmarked
clasps create two short necklaces or one long!
