American Turquoise Cabochons

This is an information page on American Turquoise Cabochons by Durango Silver Company, located in Durango, Colorado USA. We have been Turquoise Miners, Collectors and Turquoise Cabochon Cutters for over forty years. This page has some good photos, information and links to other pages directly related to this subject. Some of the most collectible and highly revered Turquoise in the world comes from the southwestern region of the United States of America. You will see many different colors of natural American Turquoise with many different styles and colors of natural matrix. American Turquoise Cabochons come in many different shapes, sizes, styles of cut and backed and unbacked.

Most American Turquoise Cabochons are cut in America by American stone cutters. 95% off all the Turquoise Cabochons cut by American gemstone cutters feature a thin layer of backing to provide a shock pad, as well as to allow the majority of the gemstone to sit above the bezel and be seen. In the olden days most gemstone cutters would leave all their American Turquoise Cabochons un-backed. This lead to many cracked stones in Turquoise Jewelry. Tiffany and Co were some of the first people to stabilize Turquoise. Their answer to soak the stones in resin to harden the stones. This is called "Stabilized Turquoise". Many Turquoise collectors and jewelers do not like Stabilized Turquoise and so, the practice of backing the NATURAL TURQUOISE become much more popular as the gemstone is left natural and un-disturbed. Now most collectors look for backing on highend American Turquoise Cabochons to show that it is authentic and was cut in the USA. The only reason that cutters do not back stones is if the cabochon(s) is meant to be used in a setting where metal does not cover the back or for wire wrapped jewelry. Below are examples from a few of the more famouse American Turquoise mines.

This photo above shows you many variations of Bisbee American Turquoise Cabochons with natural spiderweb matrix. There are fourteen cabochons with red matrix, the red coloring is caused from high iron content, it is rare in Turquoise and it is highly collected by Turquoise Connoisseurs. John Hartman of Durango Silver Company purchased the Bob Mathews and Cecil Mickelson collection in 2001. Bob Mathews had the only legal contract to excavate Turquoise from the Bisbee Mine and did so with his brother-in-law, Cecil Mickelson from 1966 to 1978. Turquoise of this quality is very rarely seen and quite valuable, we are always in the market for high-grade Bisbee Turquoise as well as all other rich blue Arizona Turquoise, rough or cut. You can read more about Bisbee Turquoise on our Bisbee Turquoise website - Bisbee Turquoise. Today, the Hartman family may have the worlds largest collection of authentic natural Bisbee Turquoise. One thing for certain is that the Bisbee American Turquoise Cabochons that John and Dillon Hartman cut are authentic, natural Bisbee Turquoise!

We invite you to view our Bisbee Turquoise Slide Show to see many more variations of Natural Bisbee American Turquoise Cabochons. Check out our Bisbee Turquoise Video too!

If you are interested in purchasing the finest quality Bisbee Cabochons, we invite you to view what we have to offer or learn more on our Bisbee Turquoise for sale page.

The American Turquoise Cabochons in the photo above are beautiful examples of green toned Turquoise from the Royston Turquoise Mine located northeast of Tonopah, Nevada. If you are one who likes green gemstones, Royston Turquoise can't be beat as high grade Royston is dynamic and enchanting. We invite you to visit our presentation on the Royston Turquoise Website. If you have natural high-grade Royston Turquoise rough or cut, we are interested in purchasing it from you! If you are interested in purchasing the best Royston American Turquoise Cabochons available, Durango Silver Company is the place as we are cutters of Royston Turquoise - check this page out, Royston American Turquoise Cabochons.

Quality American Turquoise Cabochons

Turquoise was one of the first gemstones known to man, it was discovered over 7,500 years ago in Egypt. Turquoise Stones cut into cabochons have been found in the tombs of ancient royalty, including King Tut. It has been coveted by spiritual leaders, pharaohs and royalty worldwide since its discovery. Turquoise was found by the Native Americans of the American Southwest around 200 A.D. and has had a historic past in this region of the world as well. It is interesting that the Native Americans had the same beliefs as others in different regions of the world - "Turquoise was put on this earth by the great ones above and it has spiritual as well as a metaphysical powers, it brings happiness, health and good fortune to its bearer".

Below, you will find several good examples of high quality American Turquoise cabochons.

Above and to the left is a Turquoise Cabochon from the Blue Gem Turquoise Mine located south of Battle Mountain Nevada, it was in production between 1934 until 1970. This Blue Gem Cabochon was hand cut by Dillon Hartman from the Durango Silver Company Blue Gem Turquoise collection. There were actually two Blue Gem Turquoise Mines, one was located near Battle Mountain, Nevada and the other near Tonopah, Nevada. The Blue Turquoise with this coloration is from the northern Blue Gem Mine located near Battle Mountain. Blue Gem Turquoise has become very scarce and is rarely seen for sale.

Above and to the right is a Turquoise Gemstone from the southern Blue Gem Mine located near Tonopah, Nevada. This Tuquoise Mine was located in the Royston Hills District, it produced a lot of high quality Turquoise from about 1935 to 1965. The Blue Gem Mine gave way to many other great Turquoise deposits such as the Royston Turquoise Mine and the Easter Blue Turquoise Mine. There are many shades of blue/greens to lime and emerald greens that came from this mine - in general, this Turquoise is very hard and takes a glass like finish. This specimen above was cut by John Hartman from the Durango Silver Company Blue Gem Turquoise Collection. Again the Tonopah Blue Gem Turquoise Mine has been out of production for many years and this type of Turquoise has also become hard to find.

Above and to the left is an outstanding Manassa Turquoise Cabochon from the Kings Manassa Mine, located near Manassa, Colorado. Bill King, owner of the Kings Manassa cut this stone years ago. John, Dillon and Bill go way back and cherish many great experiences from their colorful past. The Manassa Turquoise Mine is believed to have been discovered by Native Americans nearly 2000 years ago. There may still be Turquoise in the mine, however, Bill has exhausted his search as the time and expense has overcome the amount of Turquoise being found. As you can see, this is fabulous Turquoise with a historic past, it is rare to find and very collectible. Learn more about Manassa Turquoise

To the right is a Turquoise Cabochon cut from the Pilot Mountain Mine, which are located northeast of Tonopah, Nevada. This grade of Pilot Mountain Turquoise is rarely seen as it is very scarce at the mine itself. Dillon and John Hartman mined this rock near the top of the Pilot Mountains many years ago - the rich deep blue in this fine Turquoise stone is spectacular! This Turquoise grew in very fine seams or crevices in its host rock. It is shocking blue in person, it shows pretty well in this photo but it has more zat in person.

The Morenci Turquoise Stone above and to the left has beautiful iron pyrite matrix, the iron pyrite sparkles like Silver and is very attractive. Iron pyrite was found in about 20% of the Morenci Turquoise taken out in the 1960's and 70's. When I cut this Morenci Turquoise Cabochon in the mid 1970's, I was overwhelmed with the beauty and I still have it today. Morenci Turquoise has that Arizona true blue coloration and is highly sought after by Turquoise collectors. The mine has not been producing Turquoise since the late 1970's.

Above and to the right is a Morenci Turquoise Cabochon with wonderful character, it has what is called water webbing. Water Webbing in Turquoise is webbing in a darker color of the Turquoise instead of host rock. This gemstone came from a rock I purchased from the Brown Turquoise Company in 1974, located in Gallup, NM, at that time. Back then I was buying beer box flats of Morenci Turquoise and as I remember, I was paying about 120.00 per pound, it was mostly wafer material, I also purchased larger rocks that were deep blue with heavy iron pyrite spiderweb matrix for $250.00 per LB, however, the highgrade was very limited and you were privileged to get it.

Above and to the left is a natural Kingman Turquoise Cabochon from the Kingman Mine located near Kingman, Arizona. The colbaugh's ran into a large cash of spiderwebbed Turquoise rough in 2009 and have been finding small pockets of it periodically since. There are many variations in this spiderweb Turquoise from blue-green to rich blue with black spiderweb matrix. High Grade Natural Kingman Turquoise often has water webbing, red spiderwebbing and black spiderwebbing, it is available as it is located in the mine and years of mining will go by when they will find no Turquoise as good as some they have been finding lately.

Above and to the right are three American Turquoise Cabochons from the Number 8 Mine that was located near Battle Mountain, Nevada. This Turquoise was mined by Cutler Edgar in the late 40's and well into the 1960's. Estell (my wife) and I were very fortunate to mine Stormy Mountain Turquoise with Cutler, he had great stories about Turquoise mining and was a humble person. We got hundreds of pounds of Turquoise from Cutler in the 70's - Stormy Mountain, Number 8 and more. These Number 8 American Turquoise Cabochons came from Cutler Edgar.

American Turquoise Cabochons Available

John and Dillon cut natural American Turquoise Cabochons on a daily basis, the more we sell - the more we cut. We have a very substantial collection of natural rough Turquoise that we have mined and collected over the past 40+ years. As we began in business as Turquoise Stone Cutters, we guarantee our cut stones to be exactly what we say they are. In addition, having cut well over a million carats of natural Turquoise, we have become leading authorities on Turquoise and it characteristics - John has been cutting Turquoise since 1972 and Dillon has been cutting Turquoise since 1992. We specialize in American Turquoise, but we also cut Tibetan Turquoise, Chinese Turquoise, Egyptian Turquoise and Mexican Turquoise. If you are serious about obtaining exceptional quality American Turquoise Cabochons, talk to us!

Above and to the left is a Bisbee Ribbon Turquoise Cabochon, this type of Bisbee Turquoise is scarce. We cut this from a seam of Turquoise in the host rock, you rarely see Bisbee cut like this. The blue is deep and rich in color and runs through chocolate brown matrix and also includes smoky brown matrix.

Above and to the right is spectacular Bisbee Blue Turquoise Cabochon that is very large and has smoky chocolate brown matrix. Smoky Bisbee Turquoise is very desirable by Turquoise Collectors and it is not often available, especially in a stone as large as this.

Above and to the left is a beautiful Black Spiderweb Kingman Turquoise Cabochon hand cut by Bill King of Manassa, Colorado. This is a great example of natural high-grade Kingman Turquoise and it was cut by a very famous Turquoise miner, Bill King - Bill has been the owner for the King's Manassa Mine for over 50 years. He has been a Turquoise Stone Cutter since he was a young boy, he is now in his 70's. You can view additional information by clicking on the link in this paragraph.

Above and to the right is a pair of Kingman American Turquoise Cabochons with black spiderwebbing and they were cut by Bill King as well. These are two beautiful black spiderweb stones that match in size, shape, color and matrix configuration, if you are looking for a good pair of matching beauties for cuff links or earrings here is a great pair. You can view additional information on these cabochons and even purchase them if they are still available by following the link in this paragraph.

Also, Check out other Kingman American Turquoise Cabochons to see what we currently have available.

Above and to the left is a large rectangular Royston Turquoise Cabochon in blue with tan, golden and chocolate brown matrix. It also has beautiful water webbing and shades of green coloration on one side of the stone. This stone would make a great Bracelet, Buckle or Pendant. It weighs 53 carats and measures 1 3/8 inches long X 1 inch wide.

Above and to the right is a nice collection of Royston American Turquoise Cabochons showing a good range of the higher grade of Royston Turquoise. Each of the cabochons in this Royston Turquoise Cabochon Lot is unique with natural color and features light brown matrix. Check out this page for other Royston American Turquoise Cabochons.

Above and to the left is a rare old Persian Turquoise Cabochon with red spiderweb matrix. This is a large spectacular specimen is considered to be TOP GEM GRADE! It weighs 64.5 carats and measures 31 mm (1.25 inches) x 25 mm (1 inch) and it is has a 11.45 mm high dome - This Persian Turquoise came from old Turquoise Mines in Persia. Rarely available new Persian Turquoise comes from a number of mines in modern day Iran. The stones from all mines show a great color variation. Many mines were worked around Nishapur, 225 miles east of the southern end of the Caspian Sea, close to old caravan routes. Persian Turquoise has been highly coveted in the middle east for centuries. Firm evidence exists that Persian Turquoise these mines were heavily worked beginning in the 10th century, but there is also evidence that some of the mines near the surface may have been exploited as early as 2100 B.C. Persian Turquoise has been used in jewelry for thousands of years and will most likely continue to be used for thousand of years more.

Above and to the right is a truly rare gemstone, an Authentic Lander Blue Turquoise Cabochon! This is a six carat A grade cabochon of natural Lander Blue Turquoise from Nevada. Lander Blue Turquoise is the most valuable Turquoise in the world. This ULTRA RARE, top gem grade American Turquoise cabochon was bought in the 1970s from one of the original mine owners Marvin Syme. This natural Lander Blue Turquoise cab is a deep blue color and features fine, tight black spider web matrix, and the tell-tale golden brown matrix associated with genuine Lander Blue Turquoise. These stones have been lightly backed for easy of setting. The Lander Blue turquoise mine in Lander County, Nevada was first claimed in 1973, after it was sold to the owners by the discoverer Rita Hapgood, and produced some of the most beautiful spider-webbed turquoise ever discovered. Today it is considered the rarest and the most valuable turquoise known. Lander Blue was a very rich pocket discovery and has been referred to as a “hat mine,” a term used to describe small floats of turquoise because they could be “covered with a hat.” Less than 110 pounds (roughly 2 buckets) of this beautiful spider-web Turquoise was ever mined. This stone was cut by the miner in the 1970's and at that time they did not believe in filling the natural divots in the stones. - See more information on this Lander Blue Cabochon here.

Above and to the left is a Spider webbed Damele Turquoise Cabochon. This Damale or Damele Turquoise Cabochon contains: 29 cts of yellow American Turquoise from Nevada, USA. This type of Damele or Damale is hard to find. Most of what is called Damele or Damale Turquoise is actually variscite, this cabochon is Turquoise, not variscite.

Above and to the right is a beautiful hand cut Egyptian Turquoise cabochon by John and Dillon Hartman of Durango Silver Company. Until recent years this materials has been lost, sitting in the dessert un-mined. The mines have been re-opened, but the availability is limited and there is no idea how much Turquoise the ancient mines will yield as they have been mined heavily by the Ancient Egyptians. - View more info on this Egyptian Turquoise Cabochon and see other Spiderweb American Turquoise Cabochons available here.

This is a great hand cut oval shaped Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Cabochon in a clear sky blue color. This is a long oval that would be great for a ladies ring, a nice ladies Turquoise Ring! It weighs 11.5 carats and measures 10mm x 30mm. If you like the photo, you will love the stone in person.

Above and to the right is a very nice authentic White Buffalo Turquoise Cabochon. The white Turquoise is brilliant and the black manganese is black/black, so the contrast is outstanding. The cut of the stone is made at a slight angle so when the stone is set, it will not fall out of the setting. The polish on this stone is a high quality mirror finish and superior to what you will get from most other stone cutters, we use the finest finishing equipment. This stone weighs 24 carats and measures 15mm x 32mm. View additional information on this White Buffalo Turquoise Cabochon on its presentation page. Also, view the White Buffalo American Turquoise Cabochons we currently have available from Durango Silver Company.

Above are some ultra high grade natural American Turquoise cabochons from the Blue Wind Turquoise mine in Nevada, USA. This was a small hat mine and produced a very small amount of Turquoise. What it did produces was acceptional. Learn more about Blue Wind Spiderweb Turquoise Cabochons

We invite you to view our exceptional, authentic American Turquoise Cabochons Available today!

We invite you to learn more about American Turquoise Cabochons by following the links in our Learning Center to other informational pages we have written on different topics directly related. In addition, we invite you to join our E-Mail Newsletter - about once every other month we send out a Newsletter to inform our members of what's happening with Durango Silver Company, new products, specials for our members only and more. We also have a monthly drawing from our member base to give away free Turquoise Jewelry from our company. Please take a moment to become one of our friends by signing in below. We hope you have enjoyed our presentation onAmerican Turquoise Cabochons and have gained some useful knowledge from it.