Sleeping Beauty turquoise comes from a mine in the copper country east of Phoenix, near Globe, Arizona. It is the stone most people picture when they picture turquoise: an even, clean sky blue with little or no matrix — no dark webbing, no brown veining, just solid colour. That purity is why it became the preferred stone for Zuni needlepoint and petit point, and for inlay work where the silver is meant to carry the design and the stone is meant to be quiet.
The mine stopped producing turquoise in 2012 and turned to copper, which is what that ground is really full of. Nothing new has come out of it since. Every Sleeping Beauty piece made today is cut from stone that was already above ground before that date, and good material has grown steadily harder to find. It is the clearest example we can point to of a turquoise whose supply is simply finished — unlike Kingman turquoise, which is still actively mined and which we can still restock.
How to judge it: look for even colour across the whole stone, a smooth domed polish with no pitting, and a tight bezel with no gaps. On needlepoint and petit point, the stones should sit in orderly rows with consistent size and colour — that regularity is the entire point of the technique and the hardest part to execute well. Chalky, washed-out or blotchy blue is lower grade.
We carry more than 450 Sleeping Beauty pieces: rings, cuffs, needlepoint bracelets, pendants, earrings and squash blossom necklaces, all handmade with natural stones and set in sterling silver or 14K gold. Many are one of a kind, so pieces marked Sold stay on the site — call us and we will tell you what similar we have on the floor.
See also our turquoise collection, Arizona turquoise by mine, and the Turquoise Guide. Silver Star Jewelry is family owned in Old Town Scottsdale since 1979 — 7257 East First Ave, (480) 949-1101, open every day. Free US shipping on orders over $99; 14-day returns and 30-day exchanges on online orders.