How to tell if turquoise is real

Quick checks for real turquoise

• Look: opaque blue to green, with a waxy shine and some variation in color.
• Matrix: if there are dark veins, they wander through the stone instead of repeating like a print.
• Chips: look at any damaged edge. Real turquoise is blue-green inside, not chalky white.
• Hardness: turquoise is 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, harder than howlite or magnesite and softer than quartz.
• Dye: blue color on a cotton swab or cloth means a coating or dye.
• Price: a large, vivid, flawless stone for a few dollars is almost never natural turquoise.

Natural, stabilized, reconstituted and imitation turquoise

Turquoise is a hydrated copper aluminum phosphate. GIA describes it as a porous, semitranslucent to opaque stone that forms in dry regions where copper-rich groundwater reacts with minerals containing aluminum and phosphorus. Because it is porous and fairly soft, a lot of it is treated before it reaches a shop. IGS notes that most turquoise on the market has been enhanced, and some researchers estimate up to 98 percent.

So "real" can mean four different things. The label matters because the price depends on it.

1. Look at the color and the matrix

Turquoise ranges from sky blue to blue-green and apple green, and the color is rarely perfectly even. Look for soft shifts across the stone, small pale patches or slightly darker zones. A flat, electric blue that is the same everywhere is a warning sign, because dye gives a uniform look.

Matrix is the host rock that stays in the stone, and it shows as brown, black or gold veins. In natural turquoise the veins are irregular and often fade at the edges. In dyed howlite and magnesite the dark web is usually the original gray veining of the white stone, and the blue dye tends to gather in the cracks beside it. Printed or molded fakes repeat the same pattern from bead to bead.

2. Check the surface and the edges

Real turquoise is opaque to slightly translucent, with a waxy to dull-glassy shine that is softer than glass. A mirror-like, see-through or sugary sparkle points to glass or plastic. Turn the stone under a lamp and look for pores, tiny pits or fine cracks, which are normal in turquoise.

Edges and drill holes tell the most. On a chipped corner or a bead hole, real turquoise stays blue-green. Dyed howlite and magnesite are often pale or chalky white under a thin layer of color, and the dye can be seen sitting in the pores. Look at a hole under good light with a 10x loupe if you have one.

3. Feel the weight and the temperature

Turquoise feels cool and stays cool in your hand longer than plastic. It is dense for its size but not unusually heavy: GIA gives a specific gravity near 2.76, with a range of about 2.4 to 2.9. Plastic and resin are much lighter and feel warm almost at once.

This check helps against plastic, not against stone imitations. Howlite and glass are close in density, so they feel similar. Use weight to rule out resin beads, and rely on the other checks for the rest.

4. Try a careful scratch check on a hidden spot

Turquoise rates 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale. Howlite is about 3.5 and magnesite about 3.5 to 5, so a steel pin or knife tip scratches them more easily. A knife is around 5.5, so it may leave a faint mark even on real turquoise, which is why this test is only a rough guide.

Do it on a hidden spot such as the back of a cabochon, press very lightly, and stop if the stone marks. Never scratch a polished face or a piece you may sell. Treated turquoise can also be sealed with wax or resin, so the surface may feel harder than the stone beneath.

5. Swab for dye, and think twice about the hot needle

Dyed stones can give up color. Moisten a cotton swab with a little acetone or nail polish remover and touch a hidden spot. If blue transfers to the swab, the color is a dye or a surface coating. Natural color does not come off.

There are two catches. A clean swab does not prove the stone is natural, since dye can be fixed or the stone can be stabilized. And acetone can dull or soften the wax and resin on a treated piece, which is why GIA warns that solvents and heat can damage turquoise. Dealers also use a hot needle to melt plastic, but stabilized turquoise contains resin as well, and the test leaves a mark. Most owners should skip it.

6. Check the price and the seller's words

Fine natural turquoise is scarce. GIA says to buy from a jeweler you trust because turquoise is commonly treated, and IGS says most of it receives some enhancement. A large, vivid, matrix-free bead strand at a very low price is far more likely to be dyed howlite or magnesite than natural stone.

Read the wording. "Howlite turquoise", "blue howlite" or "turquoise-colored" tell you it is not turquoise. A seller who calls a piece "natural" should be able to say whether it is stabilized. The US FTC Jewelry Guides treat misleading names and undisclosed treatment as deceptive, so a clear answer is reasonable to ask for.

7. Know when you need a lab

Home checks sort obvious fakes from plausible turquoise. They cannot reliably tell natural from stabilized stone, spot some dye treatments or identify reconstituted material. GIA's papers on identifying impregnated and resin-filled turquoise describe lab techniques, not home tests.

For anything you plan to buy, insure or sell, ask for a report from a recognized gem lab. It names the material and lists the treatments found.

Stones that look like turquoise

Many blue-green materials pass for turquoise at a glance. Some are lovely stones when sold under their own name. The problem is the label. Hardness values are typical ranges.

Stabilized turquoise: still real, but priced differently

Most people who ask whether turquoise is real are really asking whether it is natural and untreated. The two are not the same. Stabilization fills the pores with resin or a similar filler so soft stone can be cut and worn without crumbling, and it can deepen the color. The Zachery process is another proprietary treatment that GIA lists among those used on turquoise.

Stabilized turquoise is real turquoise and it is often good jewelry. It is worth less than untreated stone of the same quality, though, and sellers should say it is treated. Reconstituted material is a step further, since it is bonded from powder and is not a single natural stone.

Checking turquoise jewelry and Southwestern silver

You cannot scratch-test a set stone, so look closely instead. Check the weight against a similar piece, look at the color around the setting where dye and glue can collect, and look into any drill hole. In silver, check for a hallmark. Handmade Southwestern pieces often have uneven stones and the occasional chip, while very uniform stones in cheap mounts suggest manufactured material.

On a strand of beads, check each bead. One natural bead among dyed ones is a common trick. Beads that are all the same weight, size and matrix pattern were probably made, not mined.

How to care for turquoise

Turquoise is soft and porous, so it needs more care than quartz.

• Put it on after perfume, lotion and hairspray, and take it off before cleaning or swimming.
• Wipe it with a soft, dry or barely damp cloth. Skip ultrasonic cleaners, steam and chemical cleaners.
• Keep it away from heat and long periods in direct sun, which can fade color or damage fillers.
• Store it apart from harder stones such as quartz, sapphire and diamond, which can scratch it.

Check your stone with a photo

Upload a clear photo of your stone to the free crystal identifier to see what it most likely is and which look-alikes to rule out. For the checks that apply to every stone, read how to tell if a crystal is real, and see how to identify crystals for a table of common stones. The jade guide applies the same weight, texture and dye checks to another often-imitated green stone.

Frequently asked questions