Turquoise

Turquoise (pronounced tur-koiz or tur-kwoiz)

(1) A fine-grained secondary opaque mineral, a basic hydrous copper aluminum phosphate often containing a small amount of iron, sky-blue to greenish-blue in color (also as the rare form turquois).  It occurs, usually in reniform (kidney-shaped) masses with surfaces shaped like bunches of grapes, especially in aluminum-rich igneous rocks such as trachyte.  In its polished blue form (it occurs also in a yellowish-green hue) it is prized as a gem.  Formula: CuAl₆(PO₄)₄(OH)₈·4H₂O.

(2) A color in the blue spectrum, described usually as bluish green or greenish blue and known also (for commercial purposes) as turquoise blue.

(3) A gemstone (categorized as a semi-precious) made of the mineral, the hues tending to blue traditionally more valuable than the greens.

(4) One of the birthstones for the month of December and associated with the zodiac signs Sagittarius and Capricorn.

1300s or 1600s:  The origin is contested.  Some etymologists trace it from the seventeenth century when it was picked up from the Middle French turquoise, from the Old French (pierre) turquoise (Turkish (stone)), the construct being turc (Turk) +‎ -oise (the feminine of -ois and the suffix used to form adjectives related to a particular country, region or city, their associated inhabitant names, and the local language or dialect), simply because the mineral ( mined near Nishapur in the Khorasan region of Persia) first reached Europe in the hands of the Turkish traders (from the modern-day Republic of Türkiye) of the Ottoman Empire (thus essentially the same manner in which the bird known as the Turkey gained its name) .  Others claim it dated from the fourteenth century as an adaptation of the Middle English turkeis & turtogis (Turkish) which in the 1560s was replaced by the French turqueise.  Those supporting the later etymology claim the gemstone was first brought to Europe from Turkestan or another Turkic territory.  Pliny the Elder (24-79) called the mineral callais (from the Ancient Greek κάλαϊς) and to the Aztecs it was chalchihuitl.  It was cognate with the Spanish turquesa, the Medieval Latin (lapis) turchesius, the Middle Dutch turcoys, the German türkis and the Swedish turkos.  Adjectival use began in the 1570s and it came to be used a colour name in the 1850s.  The use of the spelling turkies is archaic and turquois is rare.  Turquoise is a noun & adjective ane turquoisish, turquoisey, turquoisy¸ turquoised & turquoiselike are adjectives; the noun plural is turquoises.

Turquoise and diamond cluster dangle earrings (circa 1890) in 14 karat gold with cabochon cut sky blue Persian turquoise surrounded by 24 cut diamonds (total 3 carats).

Turquoise is often used in jewelry although some pieces sold as “turquoise” can be artificial and actually only turquoise-colored (with the dual meaning of the word it’s essential to read the small print).  Turquoise used in jewelry is often cut in the form of a cabochon (an oval shape polished but not faceted) and these, in a variety of sizes, are popular for pendants, broaches and earrings.  Turquoise was mentioned in the writing of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo (circa 1254–1324) who saw examples while in China and in the US, turquoise jewelry is especially associated with Native American artisans, particularly from tribes of the south-west including the Navajo & Hopi.

Lindsay Lohan rendered with turquoise hair (left), in turquoise blue waters (centre) and wearing turquoise blue (right).

As a descriptor of color, turquoise is commonly used but it’s inexact, even by the standards of commercial color charts and what some call turquoise others might describe as teal or cyan and the mineral itself exists in quite a range.  The various shades of blue anyway exist in quite a spectrum including: Alice blue, aqua, aquamarine, azure, baby blue, beryl, bice, bice blue, blue green, blue violet, blueberry, cadet blue, Cambridge blue, cerulean, cobalt blue, Copenhagen blue, cornflower, cornflower blue, cyan, dark blue, Dodger blue, duck-egg blue, eggshell blue, electric-blue, gentian blue, ice blue, lapis lazuli, light blue, lovat, mazarine, midnight blue, navy, Nile blue, Oxford blue, peacock blue, petrol blue, powder blue, Prussian blue, robin's-egg blue, royal blue, sapphire, saxe blue, slate blue, sky blue, teal, turquoise, ultramarine, Wedgwood blue & zaffre.

1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB (short wheelbase) California Spider.

In March 2023, at the annual auctions on Amelia Island, Florida (the old four-day Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance) 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider sold for US$18,045,000, passing under Gooding & Co’s hammer.  The SWB Spiders have for years be prized but this one attracted a premium because of aspects which attested to its particular rarity, being one of only 37 (some say 47) of the 106 made with the (soon to be unlawful) Perspex-covered headlights and the only one the factory finished in azzurro metallizzato, an eye catching turquoise.  In the way the Italian language manages like no other, azzurro metallizzato sounds much better the the literal translation “metallic sky blue”.  The car was prepared especially for the 1962 New York International Auto Show and remarkably, after being damaged in an accident in 1971, was sold the following year for US$2400 (around US$18,000 adjusted for inflation), so in fifty-odd years it has appreciated around a thousand-fold.  There was of course a repair and restoration bill to be paid in 1972 but however it’s analyzed, the thing has proved a good investment.  Although in the public imagination Ferraris are most associated with red (and the classic rosso corsa (racing red) is just one of many reds the factory has offered), shades of blue have always been popular and over the years there have been dozens.