Turquoise--gemstone of the gods. Well, maybe not. I just made that up. But Beth and I dearly love turquoise, both the gem and the color, probably because it is so iconic and representative of the great Southwest and has been used by Native Americans in the area to make such beautiful jewelry and carvings and inlays. It is difficult to fathom how turquoise as a compound chemical of predominantly copper is transformed from, well, copper color, to the beautiful blue green that it is. It does share its beauty with its cousins--azurite, malachite, and chrysocolla.

So here are some of my photographs of turquoise and it cousins in their natural state.

And here are some photos of how turquoise has been used by folks in New Mexico and Arizona. I hope you see the beauty in this color and this stone.