Keep Turquoise In Top Condition

There are many places to buy turquoise and turquoise jewelry. Perhaps you bought it on vacation, or at a traveling jewelry fair, or maybe online. Turquoise can be expensive. Especially if it is authentic natural turquoise. Maybe you bought the rare White Buffalo Turquoise, one of the rarest and most valuable turquoise stones available.  Maybe a beautiful silver and turquoise pendant or maybe a nice ladies cuff bracelet. It would stand to reason then that you would want to take good care of your newest addition to your jewelry collection.

Turquoise, however, is a little different than other gems. It is a much softer stone. On the Mohs hardness scale it only reaches just below a six. Because of its softness it is more fragile and requires special care.

First you want to keep it from being in water for prolonged periods of time. So if you have a turquoise ring, you will want to take it off before doing dishes. Take off turquoise bracelets and necklaces before going swimming or any other activity where you will be in water for prolonged periods of time.

Second you must keep it from cleaning products. I know that when you see it getting dirty you will be tempted to clean it using the same jewelry cleaning chemicals as you would use on your other jewelry, but you must not. Especially ammonia. It will streak it and ruin the color. The color will change with agi naturally. There are a couple old wives tales about turquoise changing color. One says that a change in the color means that death is near. Another says that if you return the stone to the earth for a time, it will regain its original color.

To clean the turquoise, use a damp soft cloth. Because it is so porous, it easily accumulates grime and dirt. Do not wear it when working outside or in dusty areas as it will easily get trapped inside the porous surface of the turquoise.

Lastly, keeping in mind that turquoise is much softer than other jewelry like diamonds or sapphires, it is a good idea to keep your turquoise jewelry apart from your other harder gems. Also be careful while wearing it to not knock it against hard surfaces.