Rare Bisbee Turquoise Sterling Silver Wrap Ring

Bisbee Turquoise
In the early 1900's, Bisbee, south-eastern Arizona, was the state's largest town and one of the premier copper mining communities in the world. Homes lined the canyon walls, and around forty saloons operated in Brewery Gulch. The mines ran 24 hours a day, as copper and the demand for it was the lifeblood of Bisbee. Time passed and the mines began to yield less and less, finally becoming exhausted and by the 1970's, the once bustling Bisbee was virtually a ghost town. The old mining camp, preserving a rather quaint charm, began to attract film-makers and tourists and now the Copper Queen Mine is a modern day popular visitor's spot.

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Turquoise Information
All of our turquoise is stabilised unless otherwise stated in the main listing (jewellery listed as Persian have NOT had any treatments). Stones that are naturally very soft or porous tend to be stabilised for jewellery. Modern methods of stabilisation involve injecting epoxy resin into the stone in a high pressure oven, which seals all the cracks and pores. It also stops the gem from changing over time - people who wear non-stabilised Turquoise often complain about their stone darkening and going green over time (this is due to natural body oils reacting with the minerals, causing the colour to change.) Some stabilised stones are chemically dyed at the same time, however colour enhancements are never made by Two Skies, which is in line with gem industry standards - you can be assured the colours displayed in our stones are 100% natural.

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Sterling Silver (925%)
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.

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Returns & Refund Policy
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!