Royston Turquoise Jewelry
Five Natural Royston Stones Bracelet (#028)
Navajo Jewelry $300.00
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Five Royston Turquoise Bracelet - Verdy Jake (#028)
Navajo Jewelry $420.00
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Sterling Silver Bracelet with 5 Royston Turquoise Stones - Verdy Jake (#027)
Navajo Jewelry $420.00
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Sterling Silver & Royston Turquoise Bolo & Buckle Set (#01)
Navajo Jewelry $450.00
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Large Single Stone Royston Turquoise Navajo Bracelet - John Begay Jr. (#039)
Navajo Jewelry
Hand Stamped Sterling Silver Bracelet set with One Large Natural Royston Turquoise Stone Size - 6 1/2 Inner Circumference - 5 3/8" Opening - 1 1/2" $450.00
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Navajo Silver and Royston Turquoise Jewelry by Victor Begay (#019)
Navajo Silver and Turquoise Jewelry
Handstamped Sterling Silver Bracelet set with Natural Royston Turquoise Size - 6 1/2 Inner Circumference - 5 1/4" Opening - 1 1/4" Stone - 3/4" tall x 3/8" wide $415.00
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Royston turquoise
ranges in color from dark and pale blue to various shades of green.
Some of the dark blue turquoise has a slightly greenish cast, and some
is nearly pure blue in color. The dark blue turquoise and that with a
greenish cast are very fine grained and hard; the lighter colored ore
is generally softer. The best turquoise is often found in limonite
stained rock, and the pale blue, softer turquoise is found in light
colored, softer porphyry. The quality of the best pure blue stones from
the Royal Blue is equal to that found in any American mine and the
matrix is especially fine.
The
hard turquoise veins and nuggets are coated with a crust or stain of
dark to light shading, and at times include a yellow limonite. This
stain penetrates the turquoise along seams and branching cracks,
producing attractive patterns and contrasts of color. Some large
specimens have consisted of a patchwork of dark blue with a slightly
greenish tint, marked in places with a very dark red-brown matrix.
These cut gems can exhibit exceedingly wide variations of shading, and
the matrix contrasts are often striking. Great spider-webbing in green
or blue nuggets and unusual scenic turquoise pieces are a hallmark of
Royston
The mine was
discovered in 1902 by two prospectors named Workman and Davis, who
later sold the mine to William Petry for $3,000.00. Petry improved the
mine to the point of assuring its production, and, in 1907, sold it to
The Himalaya Mining Co., which was owned by Julius Tannenbaum of Los
Angeles and New York. Tannenbaum owned a number of mines in Nevada and
California. During 1908 and 1909, the property was systematically and
actively worked under the directions of Julius Goldsmith, Tanenbaum's
son-in-law. Tannenbaum died suddenly about 1910, and Goldsmith hurried
east to settle the estate. Shortly afterwards, he ordered operations
abandoned and about 1911 sold the mine back to Petry. Petry and W. I.
Miller, who had been Petry's mine boss, operated the mine for a time,
then leased it to Lee Hand and Bert Kopenhaver. Hand and Kopenhaver
worked the mine dumps for a time, then bought the mine outright from
Petry. Kopenhaver later sold his share to Charley Bona. Hand and Bona
worked the mine periodically, and in 1936 Bona sold his interest to Ted
Johnson. In 1940 Johnson sold his share to Lee Hand.
The
mine is now worked by the Otteson family. The Otteson story began in
1944 with Lynn Otteson. Lynn brought his family to Nevada to mine
turquoise and leased his first Royston claim from Lee Hand. At that
time, Hand owned approximately 30 claims in the Royston district. The
Otteson family has owned or leased turquoise claims in this district
for the past 60 years. The Royal Blue mine has been one of the major
turquoise producers in the state of Nevada. For some time, the mine
produced as much as 1,250 pounds of turquoise a month, and several
times has exceeded that amount.
Petry,
at the time he sold the mine to Hand and Kopenhaver, declared that the
Royal Blue had produced more gem quality turquoise than any mine in the
United States. He placed the value of cut stones taken from the mine at
more than $5 million. There is no adequate estimate of the value of
gems produced from the mine in the years since that time.
The
Bunker Hill is about half a mile north of The Royal Blue. In this mine,
turquoise occurs in altered quartzite and ranges from royal blue to
greenish blue with brown with white matrix. Turquoise is mainly in the
form of slabs from 1/16 of an inch to a full inch thick. The mine was
discovered in 1927 by Roy Palfreyman and Bert Kopenhaver, and was
originally opened as a small shaft about 20 feet deep. As the turquoise
was unearthed, the shaft was widened along the seam into a long stope,
which was eventually opened into a glory hole. Polfreyman and
Kopenhaver took out about $30,000 worth of turquoise, then sold to the
owners of the Royal Blue mine, who produced about $75,000 worth of
material. The mine eventually was incorporated into the Royal Blue
group of claims.
The
Oscar Wehrend mine, in the Royston district, is about 1/3 of a mile
from the main workings of the Royal Blue. The turquoise is in highly
altered rocks, where it forms seams, coatings and nodules as large as 2
inches thick. It is mostly soft, pale, and not of very good quality.
Its color and hardness can, however, be improved by artificial means.
Oscar Wehrend discovered the deposit in 1909, but much of the work was
conducted by Lee Hand. Production from the property has been small.
The
Royston Mine was originally worked as a silver mine in the late 1800s,
Large deposits of high quality turquoise led Tiffany's of New York to
incorporate quality green and blue turquoise stones from the Royston
Hills into their jewelry lines prior to WWII. There was a brief surge
of Royston turquoise production in the 1970s, and the Royston district
is still producing limited amounts of high quality turquoise. The
turquoise currently being produced from the Royston district is mined
by Dean and Danny Otteson, and is coming from the Royal Royston claim.
Royston
Turquoise; The Royston Mining District lies on the Nye-Esmerelda County
line, about 24 miles northwest of Tonopah, Nevada . In this area,
turquoise mines are scattered for nearly a mile along a shallow canyon.
Because it involves many small producers, the Royston district is one
of the better known turquoise mining areas in Nevada. Three of the
district's more important turquoise mines are the Royal Blue, Bunker
Hill and the Oscar Wehrend.
Twin Rocks Trading Post · P.O. Box 330 · 913 E. Navajo Twins Dr · Bluff,
UT 84512
Phone:
435-672-2341 · Toll-free
1-800-526-3448
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