Featured Turquoise Ring Questions

Hello! I’m wondering if anyone has info about this ring. Was in my grandma’s lot. She had lived in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Wondering if it’s a particular kind of turquoise? Why it’s shaped like this? Designer/style? It has no markings. Did the magnet test and seems to be sterling silver. Thanks for input

 

Can we see the rest of the ring? Usually an odd shaped piece of turquoise makes me think Navajo; they tend to polish the rocks up and leave the shape as found. All that matrix wouldn't make a Middle Eastern buyer happy, but an American Southwestern one would think it was dandy.

 

I think it looks like southwest turquoise from here in the states, just because a lot of the stones in the Eastern jewelry I see are more polished and solid in color.

For example:
https://alqudsjewelry.com/product/18k-gold-pendant-527-pendant-527/

As opposed to:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/492299803003032304/

Like evelyb30 said:
All that matrix wouldn't make a Middle Eastern buyer happy, but an American Southwestern one would think it was dandy.

 

Don't depend on the magnet test.It only tells you that something is magnetic and not what the material actually is. You probably don't know that a lot of platinum jewelry is magnetic and a number of pieces are actually platinum magnets.

 

I didn’t know that Holly- Thankyou. Fortunately I suspect that not a lot of platinum jewellery has slipped through my hands in the cheap job lots I buy from eBay!.Having said that I did find a platinum ring in one though with so much dirt on it the PLAT was nearly invisible. Fortunately I usually double check everything before it goes out again so I found it but I will triple check now I know this!. Great information.

 

We need photos of all angles- please.

 

Not AJ (only wish I had her knowledge) but was thinking Asia as soon as I saw it. I can barely see the setting but what I can see does not look NA and I’ve seen tons of gorgeous heavy matrix turquoise out of Asia from the Middle East, Tibet, etc. I’d expect the setting to be spot on with those Saudi pieces. Beautiful ring Crystal!

Non matrix Persian turquoise is certainly prized but this ring is a totally different category of ethnic jewelry and much more interesting to me personally although not valuable like Persian turquoise.

 

i'm not yet seeing Navajo here...

 

Beautiful ring, Crystal, and welcome. I would love to see more photos.

Absolutely right, classic Bedouin style, and very likely Saudi. The shape of the ring face is adapted to the shape of the stone as it was found or bought, so there is no loss of stone.
Turquoise is one of the stones that have a spiritual connotation in Islam, and in some traditions different matrix patterns have a different meaning. Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad and an important caliph in Islam, wore a turquoise set ring for spiritual purposes.

This specific colour of the silver is traditional Middle Eastern. It is more greyish than SW Native American silver.
It is also seen in traditional Indian jewellery.

Gold jewellery is frowned upon by the more traditional Sunni Muslims.
The fashion for gold jewellery and 'flawless' turquoises is seen more in Shia Iran and outside the more traditional Sunni regions, for instance in the Mediterranean part of the Middle East and in the Indian influenced Gulf States.
The shop in the link flipper found is called 'Al Quds', which is Arabic for Jerusalem, so the owner could be Palestinian (Mediterranean).

Gold jewellery is becoming more popular in Saudi cities as well, but Bedouin jewellery will always be Bedouin jewellery. When you lead a travelling lifestyle in sandstorms etc, like the Bedouin did and some still do, you want sturdy jewellery. None of the pretty dainty stuff.
As an aside, most fundamentalists don't wear any jewellery.

 

Saudi Bedouin in my opinion. A family member bought a small bag of this type of rings, pendants and others in a flee market in Saudi Arabia in the 60's. Some are only turquoise/silver others have red beads, flower shape and there are even two in gold, old beaten up. See photo of one very similar to yours.

 

Wow, I had no idea.