Necklace set with Golden Hills turquoise -ANA 1442

Beautiful Golden Hills turquoise necklace set by Navajo artist Thomas Francisco. Set in solid sterling silver. The necklace measures 16" with a 2" extension. Each of the 7 stones are set in a saw cut design. The earrings are on a dangle wire and measure 1"1/4 in length. HANDCRAFTED NECKLACE SET BY NAVAJO ARTIST THOMAS FRANCISCO GOLDEN HILLS TURQUOISE: In the Russian hills of Kazakhstan sits the GOLDEN HILLS mine. The Turquoise is only mined in the winter months during the freezing cold and snow as rains flood the mine during the summer. The location of the mine is remote and difficult to bring equipment in and out of. It is the only Turquoise known to have the unique coloring of bright blue with a Lavender undertone. Special stone available this year is Kazakhstan Turquoise, or Golden Hills Turquoise. A rare color for turquoise, Golden Hills Turqouise comes from a deposit in the Altyn Tyube mine in Kazakhstan. These stunning gems have a light blue hue to them, and a reddish, burnt umber matrix. The Golden Hills mine is known for producing large quantities of dioptase, a gem very similar to turquoise in color and strength, mimicking emerald in its magnificent green color. The turquoise deposit was found most recently 2013 and was most notably featured at the Tucson Gem and Jewelry show in January of 2014.