Silver Dust - Kingman Turquoise Pendant

This Kingman Turquoise (stablilized) pendant is striking as much as it is unique! The blue piece of Kingman Turquoise is set in .999 Fine silver surrounded by beaded Sterling silver around the bezel.  I used a fusing technique to add a layer of silver dust to the back plate of the pendant, around the stone, to provide depth and texture.  A naturally occurring patina lightly colors the silver dust to add interest.  The pendant hangs from an 18" stainless steel chain that matches the pendant beautifully.
 
About the Stone:  The Mineral Park area, in the Cerbat Mountains 14 miles northwest of Kingman, AZ, was first mined by Indians centuries before white man came to the area. It is one of the three sites of prehistoric mining localities in the state of Arizona.  Mineral Park was the most extensively worked area by the Indians of the three. Most of the turquoise mined in the Kingman mines is a very soft, chalky material that must be stabilized/treated to be polished.
 
Chuck Colbaugh found a cache of stone hammers uncovered in ancient trenches and tunnels, when he had the turquoise mining concession in May of 1962. Ithaca Peak and Turquoise Mountain (formally called Aztec Mountain or Aztec Peak) are the most famous of the peaks in the area containing turquoise. 
 
Spiritual properties: Turquoise balances and aligns all the chakras, stabilizing mood swings and instilling inner calm. It is excellent for depression and exhaustion; it also has the power to prevent panic attacks. Turquoise promotes self-realization and assists creative problem solving.