With a high silica content, this stuff cuts incredible cabs.” But depending on the crystaline structure of the Calcite, it morphs into minerals called Dolomite or Aragonite. Although often called “White Turquoise”, White Buffalo is not Turquoise at all. “White Buffalo is mined predominantly by the Ottesons! We have several claims we work that all produce a similar look. In the Native American jewelry business, this stone is generally referred to as “White Buffalo”. The stone appears in veins, is as hard as turquoise (Mohs hardness scale of 5.5 to 7.5) and cuts and polishes like turquoise. The white stone is surrounded by black and brown flint-like chert (an opaque variety of quartz) which creates beautiful patterns, and sometimes in rare pieces, a spider-web matrix. The trade name “White Buffalo” is used to identify the stone from the Tonopah, Nevada mine owned by the Otteson family. The mine is owned by Dean, Lynn and Danny Otteson who have been mining high quality turquoise in Nevada and Colorado for over 60 years. WHITE BUFFALO (called “albino turquoise” by some and erroneously “white turquoise” by others) is only found in one location in the world. (The hardest naturally occurring stone, the diamond, rates a 10 on the Mohs scale.) Gemstone quality turquoise will grade 7 on the Mohs scale. Presence of more iron (and some say aluminum) will shift the color toward green. Besides being passed off as white turquoise, they are often dyed and sold as turquoise and other gemstones.īy definition turquoise contains copper (it is a copper aluminium phosphate), which is what gives the characteristic blue color. ** Various other white stones are erroneously called “White Turquoise”. ** There is a beautiful stone called “White Buffalo Stone”. ** There is no such thing as “White Turquoise”. Here is what I am going to cover in this article: I’ve gathered some facts and resources that you might find useful as you buy and sell items with white stones. There is a lot of confusion related to white stones used in Native American jewelry.
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