1970's Blue Gem turquoise bracelet

Navajo handcrafted bracelet.Featuring a single piece of turquoise from the Blue Gem mine in Neveda. This rare single stone bracelet has a simple design that is elegant and easy to wear. The design is typical of 1970's Navjao jewelry.  It is made up of medium guage silver with a tapered shape that creates a smooth inside cuff area for a comfortable fit. It has a medium weight. The sterling silver has a natural patina to it. 

Material: Sterling silver & Blue Gem turquoise

Tribe affiliation: Navajo

Time period: 1970's

Inside Measurement: 5-1/4" with a 1" opening * This bracelet will fit wrist sizes 6" to 6-1/2 "

Width measurements: 5/8" tapering 3/16"

Stone:  The Blue Gem Turquoise Mine was in the Copper Basin area southwest of Battle Mountain, Nevada, USA. Production of this turquoise mine started about 1934 and continued until the 1970's. Blue Gem Turquoise is still some of the finest turquoise ever found, and unlike most turquoise mines, most of the turquoise found there was of gem-quality. There is a distinctive aqua color that some people associate with Blue Gem turquoise, although it produced a great variety of colors, especially when intense blue was combined with deep green in one stone.

The mine no longer exists due to the extensive copper (and gold) mining operations of the Copper Canyon Mining Company (all of the copper was extracted by 1968). Doc Wilson owned the Blue Gem Turquoise Mine from 1938 - 1981 when he leased it to Lee Hand. Lee Hand owned and operated the mine until 1970 when he sold his interest to the Elquist family of Battle Mountain, Nevada.

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How to size your wrist and try a bracelet on