Royston turquoise comes from the Royston district in Nevada, near Tonopah — a small group of mines that has been worked on and off for roughly a century. It is not an Arizona stone, and collectors who know it do not want it to be. Royston is prized for something Arizona turquoise rarely does: it runs two colours at once.
A single Royston cabochon will shade from deep blue through to a warm olive or apple green, often across a couple of inches, wrapped in a heavy golden-brown to chocolate host matrix. Cutters call the banded material Royston Ribbon. Because the colour shift happens inside each individual stone, no two cabochons match, which is why Royston shows up so often in big statement cuffs and bolo ties where one large stone has to hold the whole piece together.
How to judge it: the best Royston has a definite, confident colour break rather than a muddy transition, and the brown matrix should be firm and well-polished, sitting flush with the stone rather than crumbling or pitting below the surface. Strong contrast between the blue, the green and the host is what separates a good stone from an ordinary one. Even colour is not the goal here — character is.
Our Royston collection runs to more than 160 pieces, handmade with natural stones in sterling silver. Most are single-stone designs where the cabochon is the whole point. A good number are one of a kind; sold pieces stay listed so you can ask us about something comparable.
If you like the way host rock reads in a finished piece, see also boulder turquoise and Dry Creek turquoise, or browse the full turquoise collection and the Turquoise Guide. Family owned in Old Town Scottsdale since 1979 — visit 7257 East First Ave or call (480) 949-1101. Free US shipping over $99.