Our Turquoise and Coral ARE REAL

Do not confuse our stock with the stock of others. It is getting very difficult to find the real thing these days, and they are getting better at faking it and giving them names that sound real.

	Turquoise Nuggets - Types The photo shows what we mean by "Nugget", "Smooth Cut", and "Rough Cut" (from left to right) in the Product Titles below.
The "Nugget" is the standard irregular nugget with smoothed edges, the "Smooth Cut" is almost a round bead, and the "Rough Cut" can be quite jagged with sharp edges. The sizes shown are our current stock sizes, but as our stock changes these may not be reflected in the size descriptions below. Even so, we will still use these descriptions to clarify the type of stone you will be getting.

Turquiose Nuggets - How Drilled This photo is meant to show you the different ways turquoise nuggets are drilled. The upper strand, referred to as "Drilled Long", is the most difficult method, and therefore more expensive, but with a result well worth the extra money spent because it shows the full nugget and they lay flat on your neck or arm when strung in jewelry. It is where each nugget is drilled at it's widest point, thereby providing a view of the full nugget rather than only it's side view.

The lower strand shown illustrates the most common way turquoise is drilled, and is therefore not defined in the product title because it is the "assumed" drilling method. This is when the hole is drilled through the path of least resistance, by laying the stone flat on it's side and drilling through the narrowest spot as close to the center as possible. The result is you only get a side view of the nugget when strung, but you do end up with a lot more nuggets on a strand.

Coral Branch vs. Nugget Coral actually grows naturally as a branchy material as shown here. When referred to as a branch, they are long enough to still see the natural flow. Nuggets are small sections of a branch, still in it's natural form, but short enough to be more like a nugget than a branch. When the coral we carry is not referred to as either a branch or a nugget, then they have been cut from the branches to form the more uniform result, such as round beads or tubes. Coral grows naturally in red and pink colors (black coral is extinct in the wild), but the dark red color we carry is getting hard to find in it's natural state. As a result, they are dying the less colorful red coral (or pink coral) to bring out the darker red color that used to be readily available naturally. We are very excited to have found some of the real thing, a very rare find indeed. True RED CORAL completely undyed and in it's natural full branch state. We also understand that this same supplier has found some extremely rare BLACK CORAL that was sitting in someones treasure chest when they died. He has it on order, and we will get it when he does. Come back or contact us if interested.