A Fistful of Turquoise

One of my favourite colours is a turquoise, a description that encompasses sky-blue, cyan, robin’s egg blue, Tiffany blue and cerulean. Turquoise was first introduced to Europe from Turkey in the 17th century, and that is how it earned its name. The blue tones come from copper, and the green from iron, and shades run the gamut from sky-blue to green – just as that list above illustrates.

The stone itself has been prized for thousands of years for its unique colour, and is associated particularly with the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs. It was in fact one of the first gemstones to be mined: beads dating from about 5000 BC have been found in Mesopotamia (Iraq). These days the colour is mostly associated with Tiffany & Co (although somewhat ironically they mostly deal in diamonds).

I have a small collection of turquoise rings that I have amassed over the years. All of them bear varying amounts of limonite veining, but they are all slightly different shades. The first was gifted me by a friend; the second is a ring I made myself a decade ago; the third is a recent op shop find; and the last I bought in Barcelona many years ago. My turquoise hat is a vintage 1960s wool fedora.

Perhaps I love the hue because it reminds me of the serenity of a clear blue sky (some American Indians associated blue turquoise with ‘Father Sky’). However, I don’t wear swathes of the colour often, using it more as an accent in accessories, particularly jewellery.

Turqouise has through millennia been for different cultures a holy stone, talisman, or bringer of good luck – while I have had bad luck to lose the stone from one ring while wearing it. Good luck chased me down years later, however, and lead me to an almost-exact replica in a thrift store.

Photos: August 2016