Cripple Creek Turquoise Jewelry
Cripple Creek turquoise jewelry comes from a rare association of gold and turquoise with a story as interesting as the turquoise itself. Located in the beautiful foothills south of Pikes Peak, the Cripple Creek mine has produced some beautiful turquoise, although production has been limited. Twin Rocks Trading Post features Cripple Creek turquoise jewelry made by Navajo artist, Will Denetdale. A very hard material, running to over seven on the Moh’s hardness scale, Cripple Creek turquoise was found in what is now the richest gold mining camp in history, While its production has been overshadowed by the clamor for precious metals, some of the turquoise recovered has been of such quality that it rivals, pound for pound, the value of the gold recovered in the area. (Continued below.)
Cripple Creek Turquoise Tab Necklace - Ray Lovato (#40)
Santo Domingo Jewelry $495.00
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Navajo Clip On Cripple Creek Turquoise Earrings - John Begay Jr. (#063)
Navajo Jewelry $300.00
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Cripple Creek turquoise is found as both vein material and nodules. Color varies from blue-green to a true turquoise blue color with brown matrix and sometimes with a golden limonite matrix.
The mine is located in Teller County, Colorado, near the town of Cripple Creek. Map Reference: 38°44'45"N, 105°10' 45". Miners searching for gold in the area also discovered turquoise. The Cripple Creek District, discovered in 1891 by cowboy Bob Womack, was the last of the great Colorado bonanza camps. It has yielded over 600 metric tons (22 million troy ounces) of gold from its 500 mines, making it the third most productive gold district in the history of the United States. At least 120 mineral species have been reported including turquoise.
There are two separate turquoise mines currently active in the area, and although they have been operated by different families, both mines market their turquoise under the Cripple Creek name and supply a variety of colors and matrices to the Indian jewelry industry. The town of Cripple Creek is 23 miles west of Colorado Springs and ten miles southwest of Pikes Peak. Covering only a few square miles, the Cripple Creek mining district lies to the east of the town of Cripple Creek and north of the community of Victor.
Artists who create Cripple Creek Turquoise Jewelry:
John Begay, Jr. |
Ray Lovato |
Twin Rocks Trading Post · P.O. Box 330 · 913 E. Navajo Twins Dr · Bluff,
UT 84512
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