Cerillos Turquoise, the gold was good (understatement) but this was neat!

Dustedyou

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So we went out to hit a spot for "Sandstone gold" Placer gold from the pleistiocene Gorgeous 95 degree weather.. lol drank 5 gallons of water ..kiddos melted ..
no one wanted out of the shade except the wife! YAY! lol but as we topped the mountain we found a huge pile of ore chucked out during the silver run of 1887,
and low and behold there is Cerillos Turquoise staring me in the face.. 80 lbs and a mile later we got it to the truck.. and i got in some picts today! Let me know what you think!

IMG_20130903_111705_356.jpg IMG_20130903_111712_374.jpg IMG_20130903_111737_843.jpg IMG_20130903_111830_930.jpg IMG_20130903_111857_457.jpg IMG_20130903_111942_456.jpg
For anyone not knowing the importance of Cerillos Turquoise here is a little background:

780 AD native americans mined the turquoise for the Chief and medicine man (they conssider the blue to be teardrops from the sky gods fallen to earth.), this practice continued till ocupation of the Santo Domingo Pueblo in 1680 when one of the mines in cerillos collapsed killing 33 indians and they revolted killing off several hundred Spanish conquistadores and friars.

The mines were used clear thru till the silver rush of 1887, where the prospectors would throw out the turquoise or grind it for the silver and gold.

Tiffany & Co.'s history with New Mexico
What does ultra-chic Tiffany's have in common with New Mexico? More than you'd expect.

The Tiffany mine named after Tiffany's of New York delt with American Turquoise CO till 1914 when it bought them out.

A New Mexico turquoise mine. The American Turquoise Company sold almost all of its turquoise directly to Tiffany & Co.
From late-1800s Tiffany-Blue turquoise to a spectacular early 20th century silver service, Tiffany's ties to New Mexico are among the surprises awaiting visitors to the New Mexico History Museum, which opened May 24.

For the Tiffany tales' beginnings, go back to 1837, when Charles Lewis Tiffany founded Tiffany and Young, a fine-goods emporium that introduced a novel idea of the time: the non-negotiable selling price.

In that same year, Tiffany introduced the famous "Tiffany Blue Box" — a cherished trademark of Tiffany & Co.

In 1889, George F. Kunz, the company's renowned gemologist, won an award in Paris for a collection that contained a sample of New Mexico turquoise. In 1892, Kunz announced that certain colors of turquoise had come to be considered "gem quality" — namely, the Tiffany Blue color.

According to a New York newspaper: "That is a turquoise far and away the finest in America, and it came from these new mines in New Mexico. It is worth $4,000. ... t is probable that gems to the value of $200,000 a year may be obtained from this mine."


Clearly, Kunz had recognized the possibilities of further branding the Tiffany Blue color by maintaining almost-exclusive rights to the turquoise he made suddenly valuable.

In that same year, James P McNulty came to Cerrillos, New Mexico, to mine turquoise, eventually landing with the American Turquoise Company, which owned the claims to a number of mines. The turquoise mined in Cerrillos at the time was of a very specific color — Tiffany Blue — and the ATC sold almost all of its turquoise directly to Tiffany & Co.
 

tamrock

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Fantastic finds. Enjoy the history also. I did some place hear a bit on the Tiffany Blue, I think it was on Antiques Road Show. I go buy a Turquoise diggings in southern Colo. Its just off Hwy 142 the road that goes from 159 over to Manassa Colo. Home town of Jack Dempsey.
 

gold tramp

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I don't know Dusted looks like malachite, auzurite, little chrys ? you trying to pull a fast one on us ?
stay safe out in the bush.............
 

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Dustedyou

Dustedyou

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I don't know Dusted looks like malachite, auzurite, little chrys ? you trying to pull a fast one on us ?
stay safe out in the bush.............

Lol I've been informed its "driveway turquoise" not enough turquoise in it to be worth anything..Lol haha but I found the source... so I will be getting more and better quality..he he.
 

dawnhvr

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dawnhvr

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Dustedyou

Dustedyou

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all are quartz and the sparkly is Mica m8!
 

DesertNuggets

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Dawn this isn't a rock ID thread. If you want him to ID a rock for you do it in his rock ID thread. Stop ruining other threads..
 

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Dustedyou

Dustedyou

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thanks m8's been busy as all get out this past week... YAY time on a yield .. and Built my forge!
 

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