No. 01
Real vs. Fake Turquoise
The five checks anyone can do in any store, the dyed-howlite tells, and what natural vs. stabilized actually means.
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Old Town Scottsdale · From the Counter
Every day across our cases on Main Street, people ask the same good questions. Is this stone real? What does “stabilized” mean? Why does one cuff cost ten times more than another that looks the same? After decades in the trade — buying stones mine-direct and working with named Native American artists — we decided to write the answers down. No jargon, no scare tactics, no sales pitch. Just what we’d tell you across the counter, whether you buy from our gallery or from the shop next door.
No. 01
The five checks anyone can do in any store, the dyed-howlite tells, and what natural vs. stabilized actually means.
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No. 02
Trading-post history, what “dead pawn” means, and how collectors read age in the silver.
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No. 03
The striking white-and-black stone from Tonopah, Nevada — and why it isn’t technically turquoise at all.
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No. 04
Sleeping Beauty, Kingman, Royston, Bisbee, Carico Lake — how to know a stone by the mine it came from.
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No. 05
The history and meaning behind the Southwest’s great statement piece — and how to judge one before you buy.
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No. 06
Hallmarks, artist attribution, the federal law on your side, and what belongs on your receipt.
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No. 07
How to clean, store, and wear turquoise and sterling silver so a piece outlasts its first owner.
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No. 08
Skip the shot glass. What’s actually worth carrying home from Old Town Scottsdale, and where to find it.
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Why We Wrote It
Turquoise rewards a little knowledge. Once you can read a stone — its mine, its matrix, whether it’s natural or stabilized — a case full of jewelry stops being decoration and becomes a room full of stories. That knowledge protects you anywhere you shop, and it’s why we put the artist and the stone’s origin at the center of everything in our gallery: from mine-direct turquoise and the Old Pawn case to White Buffalo and hand-carved kachina dolls. If a guide leaves you with a question, ask us in person — that’s what the counter is for. You can read more about our family and how we source on our story page.
Visit the Gallery
Sunrise Jewelry & Gallery · 7254 E Main St, Suite 101, Old Town Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Open 7 days, 10:00–6:30 · (480) 425-9944