Description

Navajo White Buffalo and Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Ring

Size:
Approx. 7.75 but has an adjustable band

About:
The only place in the world where White Buffalo turquoise is found is in Tonopah, Nevada. It was first discovered in the Dry Creek Mine in Tonopah, Nevada in 1993.
This beautiful white stone is not turquoise but rather a dolomite stone. White buffalo turquoise is a symbol of Native American culture and is one of the rarest stones on the market. Also known as sacred white buffalo, this precious black and white stone is found frequently in Native American jewelry.
This stone lacks the defining teal green color of classic turquoise but its black spider webbing pattern is reminiscent of turquoise.
Blue turquoise grows in copper mines and therefore develops its blue-green color whereas white buffalo grows next to magnesium that bleaches the stone’s pigment.

The Sleeping Beauty Turquoise mine in Globe, Arizona got it’s name because the mountain where the mine is located resembles a sleeping woman laying on her back with her arms crossed.
Sleeping beauty turquoise is revered and highly sought after sue to its pure sky blue color which can also be found with dark black “spider webbing” matrix. Even in rough form, the stones are vibrant, even more blue than the bright Southwestern sky overhead.

Native American History:
The production of Native American jewelry began thousands of years ago with stones, bones, coral, and shells. Natives turned these materials into wearable jewelry and traded them for other goods between tribes.
Jewelry was also a marker of status within Native American communities. Individuals of the ruling or elite class typically wore more elaborate pieces to indicate their significant place in society.
Native Americans even carved tiny beads out of shells and bones to wear as necklaces or bracelets, similar to the ones we wear today.
They wore pendants on leather strings, rings, and earrings from materials in their surrounding environment.
Much of the jewelry that is on the market today has been influenced by these early jewelry makers.