25 Turquoise facts

Turquoise stones
  1. The Persian word for turquoise is «ferozah» or «firozah», which means victorious. 
  2. Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O.
  3. The word “turquoise” is believed to have been derived from the French term “pierre turquoise” which means “stone of Turkey” or the German term “turkisher steins” which means “Turkish stones”.
  4. In fact, turquoise came in Europe through Turkey, but its origin was Persia, where it has been mined for thousands of years.
  5. Even the finest of turquoise is fracturable, reaching a maximum hardness of just under 6, or slightly more than window glass.
  6. Turquoise is associated with both the fifth and eleventh wedding anniversaries.
  7. The blue color of turquoise was thought to have powerful metaphysical properties by many ancient cultures.

  8. In modern day, turquoise is mined in a number of places including the United States, Iran, China, and Tibet. 
  9. Turquoise is insoluble in all but heated hydrochloric acid.
  10. Turquoise is one of the oldest known gem materials. The Egyptians were mining turquoise in the Sinai as early as 5,500 BC.
  11. Despite its low hardness relative to other gems, turquoise takes a good polish.
  12. In modern day, turquoise is mined in a number of places including the United States, Iran, China, and Tibet.
  13. In Tibet even today, turquoise is by far the most popular of all materials used for personal adornment, and still play an important part in religious ceremonies.
  14. In ancient Persia it was once believed that the wearing of turquoise talismans would protect the wearer from death.
  15. In ancient Mexico, turquoise was reserved for the gods and could not be worn by mere mortals.
  16. Turquoise is formed, over a span of millions of years, by a chemical reaction that occurs when water leaks through rocks which contain specific minerals such as copper and aluminum.
  17. In the United States South West, the Apache believed that turquoise helped warriors and hunters to aim accurately.
  18. The bible mentions the presence of turquoise on Aaron’s breastplate in the book of Exodus.
  19. In Asia, turquoise was considered as effective protection against the evil eye.
  20. The medieval scholar Amoldus Saxo wrote that turquoise helped preserve eyesight, and Muhammed Ibn Mansur noted his belief in the protective powers of turquoise in his Arabian writings dated circa 1300 A.D.
  21. Turquoise was also thought to promote prosperity and is, alternating with zircon, the birthstone for December.
  22. In 17th century England, gentlemen would not step out in public without wearing turquoise jewelry. The wearing of turquoise jewelry was considered to be a sign of a well-dressed gentleman.
  23. The Zuni believed that it protected them from demons. Another belief was that turquoise had the power to protect the wearer from injury from falling, especially falling from horse-back, and that it made the horse more sure footed.
  24. In recent times turquoise, like most other opaque gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market.
  25. Turquoise is quite porous and subject to impregnating and dying.
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