Now, hear me out because I’ve done a bit of research on the matter. Turquoise jewelry has seen a recent surge in price and value because of the depletion of turquoise mines across the Southwest. Likewise, diamond prices continue to be driven down, due to newer and better ways of creating artificial diamonds. Among that small amount of turquoise left in the mines, only around 5 percent of that figure meets the criteria for creating quality turquoise jewelry that you’ll find in high-end stores.
There have been many other circumstances contributing to the overall rarity of these stones. For example, there are government restrictions that protect mines and the surrounding rivers, as well as the cost of mining, in general, comes at quite the lovely penny.
Either way, you look at it, the price of high-quality turquoise only seems to be rising. The main supplier of turquoise jewelry is China. However, it’s hard to maintain quality control if that quality is controlled by another country. This is why I’ve heard so many horror stories of epoxied or painted rocks made to look like the nice natural gloss of turquoise.
For the record, always buy from places that advertise their mines and artists.
Why Turquoise Jewelry is on the Rise in 2016
There’s another significant reason why turquoise jewelry is on the rise in 2016, it’s because silver is commonly used as the setting for most jewelry that incorporates turquoise stones. Naturally, both the precious metal and stone are continuing to rise in value, making them more and more appealing to collectors and sellers alike.
However, the main reason I think turquoise jewelry is gaining ground again in 2016 is because of the new styles that artists are incorporating in their work. These designs reflect the modern fashions of today’s youth. Now, I’ve seen this trend a lot with celebrities too. Something about the mesmerizing blue stone just seems to strike a chord with modern fashion in general. Whenever I shop around, I find these very sleek silver rings in the shape of a curved feather with a nice turquoise stone set in the base, just very fine silverwork all around.
Many artists seem to be shifting gears from the classic design, which features a larger turquoise stone, to a more modest interpretation. Both are great in my mind, but younger crowds seem to be flocking to these thinner and more modern designs to start with. When they become more into collecting turquoise, they usually broaden their scope to include the classic designs as well. It’s just a lovely period of revitalization for turquoise.
Riding the Turquoise Train
If you’re thinking about diving into the world of turquoise jewelry, I would say now has never been a better time to start, in both terms of popularity and investing. So keep all this in mind the next time you see a celebrity walk the red carpet with a beautiful piece of turquoise jewelry that seems to catch the eyes of all that pass by.