Worn as lucky charms amongst the Rio Grande and Navajo tribes, turquoise stones are given different names according to their origins and colors.

Anything Blue review – Blue turquoise stones to father ‘Sky’, green turquoises to mother ‘Earth’

Sleeping Beauties are the most common. Broken Arrows are greener. Dry Creeks and Morencis are bluer, while Lander Blues are almost black. The biggest nuggets, with black or gold matrices, are called Number 8s. Ever heard of Easter Blues? Very rare, they come from the Blue Mountain mines in Nevada, USA.

Native-American inspired jewelry brand Harpo, who sources stones in Nevada and Arizona, knows all about the legend of the turquoise.

‘Coming exclusively from the USA, mainly from Nevada or Arizona, our turquoise stones differ depending from their deposit as much by their colour and density.

The turquoise being a fossilized phosphate, it feeds from oxydation of its various surrounding minerals, mainly iron, copper and aluminium, which all will give it its final tint.

Vast amounts of turquoise-made objects have been found on various sites of the American West, confirming the important spiritual symbolism for the ancestral Pueblo people, as well as their Zuni descendants and other Rio Grande tribes who associate the blue turquoise stone to the father ‘Sky’ and the green turquoise to the mother ‘Earth’.

Early on, Zuni fetishes were sculpted in turquoise to elevate and bring out their strenght and power. The Kachina dancers from the Hopi and Zuni tribes wear turquoise necklaces and offer turquoise powder to the gods to accompany their prayers.

Other South-West peoples such as the Navajos believe turquoise carries special powers, and that turquoise jewellery brings good fortune to who wear it.’

Harpo and the Legend of Turquoise – Anything Blue

Read more about the Legend of Turquoise @Harpo + More pictures on Pinterest

See also Navajo earrings, turquoise @Harpo