HUGE 2 1/4\"LONG NAVAJO STERLING SILVER BISBEE SPIDER WEB TURQUOISE RING SZ:10
![HUGE 2 1/4\](img-large/g/cEcAAOSwk5FUu157/s-l1600/HUGE-2-1-4-LONG-NAVAJO-STERLING-SILVER-BISBEE-SPID.jpg "HUGE 2 1/4\")
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HUGE 2 1/4\"LONG NAVAJO STERLING SILVER BISBEE SPIDER WEB TURQUOISE RING SZ:10 :
$349.99
Bisbee Turquoise
BisbeeTurquoise was mined for many years as a byproduct of copper production in the enormous open pit mine and surrounding areas oped by Phelps Dodge Corp. The vast majority and the highest quality turquoise was found in the famous Lavender Pit copper mine. Bisbee turquoise is famous for its deep sky blue color and its purplish-chocolate brown matrix. The chocolate brown spider-webbed stones with deep sky blue color are among the most prized turquoise stones ever available. Overall, Bisbee turquoise ranges in color from pale to dark green and from pale to deep dark blue and occur occasionally in perfectly clear form as well as with matrices of tan to dark brown. The clear and deep sky blue stones come closest of all American turquoise to turquoise equaling the perfectly clear sky blue Persian stones which are so highly valued in Europe. The Europeans and Middle Easterners much prefer gold jewelry to silver and the contrast between the clear sky blue stones against the gold is considered more attractive than blue stones mottled with matrix material. In the United States, where silver Indian jewelry has been popular for many years, consumers notice the clear blue stones appear to wash out against the silver color and as a result, matrix-ed stones are preferred.
When the copper mine was open, mine management strongly discouraged its miners from stopping work activities to pick up pieces of turquoise which were exposed during the movement of copper ore. Not surprisingly, many miners over the years took out a lot of turquoise anyway often, it is told, in their lunch pails. Meanwhile turquoise rights were sold to one company on an exclusive basis to minimize disruption of the copper mining operation. After the mine closed, the company has continued to have the exclusive rights to search through the ore dumps for pieces of turquoise ore. As a result, Bisbee turquoise supply has long been lacking to meet its demand. Because of the relatively short supply and because of its unique beauty, Bisbee turquoise has remained one of the most expensive on the market.
HUGE 2 1/4\"LONG NAVAJO STERLING SILVER BISBEE SPIDER WEB TURQUOISE RING SZ:10 :
$349.99