Turquoise Sterling Silver Pendant

Turquoise , amber and coral came to Tibet through trading throughout the centuries along the silk road trade routes.  Prized by native cultures and used for trading for hundreds of years, turquoise is highly revered in Tibet as a symbol of the sky.  Beads are given to Tibetan children, as they are believed to keep them from falling. Ranging from darker blues to green, this turquoise is generally threaded with dark matrix, giving a 'spiderweb' appearance. Cut from the original black host rock, there may be traces of 'rusty' staining from ancient iron ore. A conservative estimate for old trade beads is 300-500 years, but some may be older than 500 years given that beads were used in trading since around 1000 B.C.  

Why do silversmiths use 925%? Measured in parts per thousand, pure silver (999%) is too soft so silversmiths mix it with other metals to make it it harder. The purer the metal, the higher the polish, but it is a lot softer (thus less durable). The harder the metal is, the more hard wearing the jewellery is, but it will also tarnish easier as it has less silver content. Therefore, the silver industry set a standard percentage content for fine silver (925); what we know as "sterling silver". At Two Skies our silversmiths use 925 (sterling) silver for ring shafts and moving parts, and a very high 950% on our stones settings, which enables us to get a strong jewellery item with a beautiful and secure stone setting, without any gluing. Each piece of our jewellery is hand stamped with our Two Skies Hallmark alongside the recognised industry 925 Hallmark.

Relax - you can shop with confidence at Two Skies.  If you change your mind, simply get in touch to let us know you want to return one or all of your items within 7 days of receiving your order, and we'll get a replacement/refund arranged - no quibbles!

The yellowish marks you can sometimes see on the rear of the jewellery are harmless traces of resin, which has been used to stabilise the turquoise - a standard practice in the jewellery trade.  We do this because stablisation makes the stone a lot more durable and prevents colour changes, which is common in untreated turquoise.   Other than this treatment, the turquoise colours and patterns in all of our jewellery are completely natural. We always disclose any treatments our gemstones have undergone.  If you have any questions, please just ask!