#stoneeducation

[mariasdesigns-blog]

Do you know the history of Turquoise? I learned yesterday that prior to 1890, turquoise was thought to be worthless by the European Americans. Turquoise was sacred to the indigenous tribes and had been worn by them for thousands of years, and therefore seen as non-valuable to Westerners. Around 1890 a small group of American businessmen heavily marketed the stone and created a fashion frenzy and elevated market value. Subsequently, American businesses started taking the turquoise mines from Native American lands. Today natural turquoise from Arizona mines is as expensive as many high end gemstones like tourmaline and aquamarine. #turquoise #gemstones #southwesthistory #jewelry #nativeamerican #stoneeducation #gembusiness #mines