1960s Zuni Natural Kingman Turquoise Pin (#11)

This 1960's silver and natural Kingman turquoise Zuni cluster broach is even more elegant today than it was almost 50 years ago.  It is amazing what a little maturity and a whole lot of love can do for a piece.  Hand-fabricated of sterling silver and tenderly set with 68 rain drops of high-grade turquoise, this pin is a classic beauty.

Kingman Turquoise:
Kingman Turquoise comes from a large open-pit copper mine in the Mineral Park Mining District, northwest of Kingman, Arizona and was one of the largest turquoise mines in this country. The area lies in high desert country at an elevation of 3,345 feet and is surrounded by three mountain ranges. The mining district around Kingman, Arizona has always been a large producer of turquoise, at one time the world's largest. First mined by Indians, this area was home to the most extensive prehistoric workings found in Arizona.

The modern production of turquoise dates back to the early 1880¹s when James Haas rediscovered these ancient Kingman area mines. Much of the turquoise occurred as seams, masses and veins. The color of natural Kingman turquoise can range from light blue to very dark blue and sometimes tints of green. The matrix is from white, light brown to black and frequently flecked with pyrite and sometimes quartz. The mine became famous for its rounded, bright blue nuggets with black matrix. Few turquoise mines produced nuggets, especially of this quality. In its high-grade form it has always been considered among the top quality American turquoise. With so many thousands of pounds of good quality turquoise produced in the Kingman area over the last one hundred years it is hard to believe that today very little high-grade Kingman turquoise is available.

Other names for Kingman turquoise: Ithaca Peak , The Wall, Tiffany, Courtland, Az., Gleeson

Most desirable: Deep Blue with molybdenum pyrite; Real blue with pyrite; Bird's eye; Water Web; Nuggets