~ANASAZI~
An ancient culture of people arriving in North America, around 1500 B.C. They were at first, nomadic, later settling in the southwest U.S. in what is now Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. They lived in large houses lined with stone and used large pits lined with stone to store grains and crops. Most of them were eventually absorbed in to the Pueblo Indian culture. They were basket makers, potters and sedentary agriculturists. Also, associated as cliff dwellers.

~BIWA PEARL~
(pronounced:Bee-wa {long E sound, short A sound})
Freshwater,elongated to round shape, very iridescent Pearls, from Lake Biwa in Japan.

~Dream Catcher~
"Today Dream Catchers are made by Native American artists from many Nations; a great deal of people are under the impression that the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota (called Sioux by others) originated the dreamcatcher...There are many Native American stories and legends about spiders and webs, but the Ojibwe (called Chippewa by others) originated the dream catcher..."
To read more about dream catchers, or the rest of this article, [which is quite interesting], click on this link:
Native Tech: Dream Catchers

~GRADUATED~
The beads in a necklace start very small and increase in size to large and then reduce in size to very small again. Many say heishi made in this form increases the value of the necklace.

~HEISHI~ or HEISHE
(pronounced:He-she {long E sounds})
These are beads made from small disk-shaped pieces or chips of shell. The pieces are drilled to make a hole in the center of each tiny piece, strung very tightly, then ground or sanded down to make a uniform strand, which is very smooth.
Graduated Heishi beads are made the same way, only the size of Heishi starts small and increases in size, and then decreases again, making a very smooth strand of beads.
Today, any shell, bone or stone which is made in this way, is referred to as Heishi or Heishe.

~JASPER~
Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of Silica, usually red, yellow or brown in color. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called Striped or Banded Jasper. Jaspilite is a Banded Iron formation rock that often has distinctive bands of Jasper. Jasper is basically Chert which owes its red color to Iron inclusions. The name means "Spotted Stone", and the stone was highly prized in Ancient Cultures. Jasper comes in many types, and colors or patterns and are named by the formation process, flow patterns or minerals from which they are formed.

~MATRIX~
Matrix is the term used for the Host Rock, Mineral or material in which a stone was formed. For example, "A Kingman Turquoise stone might be described as: "...a pale blue-green stone with golden matrix".

~QUARTZ~
Quartz is the most common mineral on Earth. It is found in nearly every geological environment and is a component of almost every rock type. It makes up about 12% of the earth's crust, occurring in a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. It is also the most varied in terms of variety and color. The name quartz comes from the Saxon word "querklufterz", which meant, "cross vein ore".
Rutilated quartz is found in Australia, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Norway, Pakistan and the United States.
Rutile is a major ore of titanium, which is a metal used for high tech alloys. It often forms needle-like crystal inclusions inside quartz. This form of quartz is known as rutilated quartz and it looks like small bars of imbedded gold. The name "rutile" comes from the Latin word "rutilus", meaning "red".
Because of the difference in hardness between the two materials and because of the way rutile forms inside quartz, this can be a difficult stone to attain a smooth surface without pits.
Rutilated quartz has been referred to as Cupid's darts, Venus hair stone and Fleches d'amour.

~NATURAL, RAW OR ROUGH~
This is any stone which comes directly from the mine. It is cut, shaped, polished, and set into jewelry, or carved into a form. Possibly it has only been drilled, polished, and hung on a necklace. This stone has had no man-made treatment or additives other than polishing compounds which show its luster. Most stones used in their natural state are very good to gem quality, hard and dense, with an inherent luster that does not lessen as it is exposed to its natural setting.

~SILVER~925~
The highest grade of Sterling Silver is called Fine Silver, 99.9% Silver. The most common Silver, is 925 Sterling Silver, which is 92.5% silver, and 7.5% copper. Copper makes the Silver harder. The symbol for silver is Ag. Pure silver, is nearly white, lustrous, soft, very malleable, and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Silver does not oxidize in air, but reacts with the Hydrogen Sulfide present in the air, forming Silver Sulfide or Tarnish.
Sterling silver plated means a piece has been dipped in silver, or plated. Nickle, brass or other materials are used in thin layers then coated with silver. This type of Silver is used often for findings in jewelry, as it is has been treated to prevent tarnish.

~TIGER IRON~
A stone, found to be naturally comprised of Tiger Eye, Red Jasper and Hematite.

~TURQUOISE~
Turquoise is Hydrous Phosphate of copper and aluminum. Its chemical make up is written: CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O. Turquoise is used extensively as a gemstone. It is opaque with a waxy luster. Blue Turquoise is highly valued for gems, but the stones are porous and easily absorb dirt and grease and can change to a less attractive green. Exposure to heat, sunlight, and chemicals, such as perfume, hairspray or pool chemicals, will also change the color of the stone.
Turquoise which is blue is usually found predominately surrounded by Copper.
Turquoise which is green is usually found predominately surrounded by Iron.
White Turquoise is rare, but is, in it's Natural state, surrounded by neither Copper nor Iron, and is very hard.
On th market, White Turquoises are usually Calcite, Mangesite, or Chalcociderite, not Turquoise.
STABILIZED
This is a natural turquoise, usually in nugget form, which is too porous or soft to hold a luster. It is submerged into a stabilizing compound, usually an epoxy resin. The natural capillary action of the porous stone draws this stabilizing compound throughout the stone. Then it is dried. It can then be cut, drilled, cabbed, etc., and prepared for jewelry. The turquoise has not been altered, but the pores of the stone have been filled with a clear resin that makes the stone usable. This type of turquoise allows wide diversity. For example, necklaces of tiny turquoise beads now can be made and tiny inlay is possible. Colors will not change because the pores are sealed. It is not practical to use a high-grade natural stone for heishi; a great deal of turquoise is wasted in the grinding, and the resultant bead will be fragile and eventually change color. Some stabilizing compounds can have color added. This causes the turquoise to become a color that is not natural to that stone. This is referred to as “color shot” or “color stabilized,” a misleading term that implies the natural color is “stabilized.” This, is not true; color has been added. The color enhancement can improve the appearance of the piece, but the value is less than that of natural turquoise.
TREATED
This form of color enhancement has existed for thousands of years. Pogue discusses writings on this subject that pre-date Christ. A common treatment is to submerge the stone in animal or vegetable oil and air-dry it, to give it a luster that did not previously exist. Unfortunately, this luster will not last long, and wearing the piece will likely leave oil stains. Even today, some turquoise merchants submerge the stone in water to enhance its color and weight.
FAKE AND SYNTHETIC
People have been "faking" turquoise for centuries using ceramic, bone, color-enhanced minerals, and more recently, celluloid and plastic, among other things. “Synthetic” turquoise, frequently chemically perfect, has appeared on the market in some quantity. This is literally stove-top turquoise--Man-Made. It has a very natural matrix created by placing stones in the “batter” or sprinkling in pyrite, etc. When the mix is cut, then cabbed, these foreign additives, which are real, add to the illusion that the entire stone is natural. Synthetics become fake if not properly identified.
Another very common way "fake" turquoise is being marketed and sold as turquoise, is the use of dyes. Have you seen Lime Green, Lavender or Pink Turquoise? It is really dyed Magnestite or other stone, then falsely called turquoise.

~YELLOW TURQUOISE~
Commonly called Yellow "Turquoise" because it occurs in the same mines as Turquoise. This Natural material is a lively blend of Quartz and Jaspers that comes in colors of opaque, lemon yellow with dots of blue and black, to darker shades of olive green and caramel browns and even a bit of red.
Yellow & Yellow/Green: Natural Lizardite from Tibet: Lizardite is one of the markets newest stones. It is a gorgeous canary yellow stone that often has a Magnetite or Lodestone as a matrix that forms a beautiful black spiderweb pattern. It has been sold in recent years to the retail customer as "Yellow Turquoise".

~CHINESE TURQUOISE~
Since many of the mines in the U.S. have been "played out" or closed, Chinese Turquoise currently represents about 85% of the U.S. Turquoise market. China has many Turquoise Mines, one of the largest being the Hubei Mine.

BIBLIOGRAPHY~~

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia--Sixth Edition© 2000
Wikipedia, the free dictionary
Durango Silver Co.
Native Tech
Sky Stone Trading

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