Chinese Turquoise

Unlike American turquoise which is usually identified by the specific mine, Chinese turquoise has historically simply been referred to as "Chinese turquoise", even though there are several different areas that produce the stone. Turquoise has been mined in China for over 2000 years, evidenced by its use in many pieces of art and carvings from some of the earliest dynasties.

Chinese turquoise ranges all across the spectrum from deep greens to dark blues and even yellows. The best and most collectible material is dark blue with excellent spider-webbing. Most of the matrix is dark brown or black.

Today, most of the turquoise produced in China comes from the Ma'anshan and Hubei provinces. The Hubei province includes the Yungai (aka the famous Cloud Mountain) and the Zhuxi mines. Other popular types include Moon River, Red River, Bamboo Mountain, Gobi, Sky Horse, Bao Canyon and Labashan, just to name a few.

It is said that for every well known American mine, there is a Chinese counterpart producing similar material. Popular examples are the Number 8 and Lander Blue mines because of the spider-web matrix, but Chinese turquoise can even be mistaken for Royston, Kingman, Bisbee, and more because of the massive variations in color and matrix.

In the mid-1980s when Chinese turquoise started coming to the US market in large quantities, unscrupulous dealers would often sell Chinese turquoise as Number 8, Lander Blue or many other famous mines, asking for the much higher prices commanded by these American counterparts. This practice greatly hurt the image of Chinese turquoise, and still puts off potential buyers today even when labeled correctly. Still, with the rising demand for natural turquoise, the best natural Chinese turquoise is quickly rising in price and demand. The majority of Chinese turquoise sold today is stabilized or treated but fills a large part of the demand in America due to the scarcity of American turquoise. The best natural Chinese turquoise is often withheld from the American market, making it quite rare and valued by collectors.

Click here to shop our collection of Cloud Mountain Hubei Turquoise Jewelry.