Kingman Turquoise Arizona's Blue Gold

I've been thinking about the stones I work with lately; where they come from, the hands that pulled them from the earth, the land that held them for centuries before they became jewelry.

Today I want to tell you about one of my favorites: Kingman turquoise and share a piece that carries its story.

**The Mine**

The Kingman Mine sits in the high desert of northwestern Arizona, in the Cerbat Mountains near the town of Kingman. It's one of the oldest and most productive turquoise mines in North America. People have been pulling that brilliant blue stone from the ground there for over a thousand years.

Long before it became a commercial mine, Indigenous peoples knew about Kingman. They recognized the power of that blue; the way it mirrors the sky, the way it carries the spirit of the earth. Turquoise has always been more than decoration; it's protection, It's connection, it's a talisman.

The modern Kingman Mine opened in the early 1900s, and it's still producing today, though good quality Kingman is becoming harder to find as the mine plays out.

**What Makes Kingman Special**

Kingman turquoise is known for its color range from pale robin's egg blue to deep, saturated sky blue. Some stones have that beautiful dark matrix spider-webbing through them. Others are clean and bright, like a clear Arizona sky.

Every stone is different. Every piece tells its own story.

The turquoise from Kingman is also known for its hardness, it takes a beautiful polish and holds up well over time. That's why silversmiths and jewelers have loved working with it for generations.

**The Piece**

When I was shown this slab of Kingman Turquoise by a friend, I knew exactly what it wanted to become. A simple sterling silver cap accented with coral and rustic embellishments that lets the stone speak for itself.

When I work with Kingman turquoise, I'm holding a piece of Arizona in my hands. I'm connecting to a lineage of makers and miners and the land itself. And when you wear it, you carry that with you; the strength of the stone, the resilience of the earth, the story of transformation.

See the pictured pendant here.

That's what I love about this work. It's not just about making something beautiful, it's about making something meaningful.

More soon,  
SuzAnne

P.S. — Turquoise is December's birthstone, but honestly? You don't need a birth month to wear a stone that speaks to you. If it calls to you, it's yours.