Offered here for your consideration are approximately 100 carats of Natural Bisbee turquoise cabochons. This lot includes approximately 16 turquoise cabochons in a variety of sizes and shapes. These would look gorgeous in your next project or added to a collection.
Bisbee is a large copper mine located near Bisbee, Arizona owned by Phelps Dodge Mining Company. In the late 1950's, a deposit of turquoise was found in the Lavender Pit region of the Bisbee Mine. Most of this turquoise was hauled off to an area where they dumped their waste and over burdens from the mining project. In 1972, the one and only lease ever given to work the dumps from the Lavendar Pitt was awarded to Mr. Robert Matthews of Durango, Colorado. Bob and his associates worked the dumps hard for approximately two years to recover less than 2,000 pounds of good to excellent quality Bisbee turquoise. Due to mining restrictions and the cost of recovering the Bisbee turquoise from the dumps, mining slowed down and ended by 1980. Only small amounts of Bisbee turquoise have surfaced since from various unknown sources.
PROVENANCE: Cut from natural rough - Matthew Kollinger collection.
MAKER: Mother Earth, but recently cut by man.
APPROX AGE: Ancient.
SIZE: The cabochons in this lot range from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch wide at the widest point x 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch long. The total weight for this lot is approximately 100 carats.
CONDITION: Good for its age, normal wear and minor imperfections expected. Please look closely at the pictures as they are an important part of our description and are hereby incorporated into the description, specifically with regards to condition.
HANDLING: There will be a $5 handling / packaging fee for shipping this lot.
SHIPPING: The actual cost of postage will be added on top of the handling charges.