I made this ring using old-stock top gem grade Bisbee Turquoise from the famous historical mine at Bisbee, Arizona. 'Bisbee Blue' is widely considered to be among the finest turquoise ever mined on the planet for its intensity of color, vivid blue hue, highly contrasting matrix, and slight translucency. The best of Bisbee is a vivid, shining blue that is paralleled by only a tiny fraction of the turquoise that has ever been mined on earth. Bisbee is also America's most famous turquoise mine, and possibly the world's most famous, even though it has had no significant primary extraction of the gemstone since the 1950s to 1960s and most of the final tailing material was recovered no later than the 1970s. The mining activity around the town is primarily focused on copper, and the turquoise was only ever recovered as a secondary product associated with copper production. This is an old stock stone, originally cut 40 to 50 years ago. I have refined the cut and polished it, and I made the sterling setting to display it. This piece of American history was a pleasure and honor to work with. I hope you enjoy wearing it as much as I enjoyed working with the stone and making the setting. Thanks! --- About the Artist: I have been designing, hand crafting, and restoring silver and gold jewelry since 1994, and generally work from my small studio in the woods near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I've made thousands of pieces of jewelry in my lifetime, continuing artisan traditions in metal, wood, fabric, and stone that go back many generations in my family to our Irish and Scottish ancestors. My work has appeared in dozens of galleries and several publications over the years. Metalwork and stonework are passions for me. When not making jewelry, I write educationally about rocks and history, drawing upon a background in the sciences, a degree in archeology from SMU in Texas and a PhD in geoscience (Space and Planetary Science) from the U. of Arkansas. I also still do occasional scientific work in earth science fields. I've closed my in-town gallery and returned to the internet after over 15 years away from doing any significant online sales, and a lot has changed. Please be patient with me as I rediscover online selling and how to handle shipping and postage from home. I look forward to encountering many of my existing customers online as well as meeting some new ones. I want to thank you sincerely for supporting me and every other artist and small business as we adapt to this rapidly changing business environment. Your purchases help pay my bills - and I love you for it!
