NEVADA BLUE
Nevada Blue belongs with the finest turquoise to come out of Nevada. Once known as the Pinto or Watts mine, the Nevada Blue is near the crest of the Shoshone Range in Lander County, Nevada. The deposit was discovered by Jim Watts in 1901 and later sold. Access to this mine is extremely difficult. In its high-grade form the colors range from a medium to a dark blue with a black or brown spider webbing.

Nevada Blue turquoise was well marketed in the 1970’s and was used by many of the Southwest’s greatest silversmiths. The April 1979 issue of ‘Arizona Highways’ magazine will attest to that fact with its pages filled with Nevada Blue turquoise in museum quality jewelry.

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NUMBER EIGHT
The Number 8 turquoise mine is in the Lynn mining district in Eureka County, Nevada. The mine is considered depleted and has not produced turquoise for a number of years, although much is still available through collections and other holdings. Earl Buffington and Lawrence Springer filed the first formal claim on the property in 1929. Not long after that time the mine began going though a number of owners which included; Ted Johnson, Doc Wilson, Myron Clark, Lee Hand, the Edgar brother and Dowell Ward. All are important names in Nevada’s turquoise mining history. In 1950 the Edgars with a bulldozer began looking for copper. What they did uncover was a deposit of some of the finest spider web turquoise ever found in Nevada. The pocket produced more than 1,600 pounds of the very highest-grade turquoise, a discovery that is still being talked about today.

The color of Number 8 varies from light blue, blue with shades of green to beautiful dark blue. It is found with a black, golden, red or brown matrix. With the black and red spider webbing being the most valued. Besides its beautiful turquoise, Number 8 has also been known for the large nuggets the mine produced. One nodule of high-grade turquoise that was sold to C.G. Wallace weighed more than nine pounds. Another uncovered was one of the largest turquoise nodules ever found. On June 23, 1954, T.G. Edgar, J.M. Edgar and Marvin Symes discovered a specimen that weighed 150 pounds. It was of good color and hardness and classified as gem quality.

Today Number 8 turquoise is one of the most valuable stones that can be collected and one of the most beautiful that can be used in jewelry. High-grade Number 8 turquoise is by far some of the finest turquoise to ever have come out of Nevada.

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ORVIL JACK see BLUE RIDGE MINE page

PERSIAN
Little needs to be said about Persian turquoise, as it was long considered the finest turquoise in the world. It has always been the gold standard of quality. The beautiful blue color of Persian and its rarity in today’s market makes this wonderful turquoise highly valued. Mines in the northern areas of Iran have been producing turquoise for many centuries. For over 800 years Persia (Iran) produced the bulk of the world’s turquoise using the simplest of hand tools made from stone then later with picks and crowbars. The oldest continuously operated mines known were operated in the Ali-Mursa-Kuh Mountains near Nishapur, Khorasan, Iran. They were known to have operated at least since 1000 AD and it is possible since 2100 BC.

The rich blue color of the turquoise has always been prized and produces superb cabs in its flawless form. Many feel that when Persian turquoise is found in its matrix form with the fine colors of the limonite that it is just as beautiful.