Arizona is the most important turquoise ground in the United States, and it is where our own collection starts. The state's copper belt runs from Kingman in the northwest down through Globe, Bisbee and Morenci in the southeast, and turquoise forms in the same rock as the copper. That geological accident is why Arizona turquoise exists at all — and why so much of it is now finite.
Kingman. The Mineral Park mine near Kingman is one of the oldest turquoise workings in North America and one of the very few American mines still producing today. Bright blue, usually with a black or silver-grey matrix. Because it is still active, Kingman is the Arizona stone you can most reliably find again.
Sleeping Beauty. Mined near Globe, and known for a clean, even sky blue with almost no matrix — the stone most people picture when they think of Southwest turquoise. The mine stopped producing turquoise in 2012 and turned to copper. Everything on the market now comes from stone pulled before that date.
Bisbee. A by-product of copper mining at Bisbee, known for deep blue with a distinctive red-brown matrix. Long finished as a commercial source, so what circulates is older stone and it is collected accordingly.
Morenci. From the Morenci copper mine in southeastern Arizona, recognisable by a high blue color and irregular pyrite flecks that read as silver in the stone. Also no longer commercially mined.
Every piece here is handmade with natural stones and set in sterling silver or 14K gold. Most are one of a kind. For more on reading a stone, on natural versus stabilized turquoise, and on care, see our Turquoise Guide.
Silver Star Jewelry is family owned in Old Town Scottsdale, at 7257 East First Ave, and has been since 1979. Open every day: Sunday through Thursday 10:30 to 6:00, Friday and Saturday 10:30 to 7:00. Call (480) 949-1101. Free shipping within the US on orders over $99; 14-day returns and exchanges.