 Ancient
and yet always at the height of current
fashion: that is Turquoise for you. Its
brilliant sky-blue belongs to the all-time
favourite trend colours in the world of
fashion and jewellery.
In many cultures of the Old and New World
this gemstone has for thousands of years
been appreciated as a holy stone, a good-luck-charm
or a talisman. It is a virtual "peoples’
gemstone”. The oldest proof for this
lies in Egypt, where in tombs from the period
around 3000 B.C. there were found artefacts
set with Turquoise. In the ancient Persian
Kingdom the sky-blue gemstones were originally
worn around the neck or on the hand as protection
to ward off unnatural death. If the stones
changed their colour, there was an imminent
danger for the wearer. However, in the meantime
it has been uncovered that Turquoises may
in fact change their colour, but this reaction
is not necessarily an indication of danger
impending. The reason for the colour change
is rather the influence of light, cosmetic
products, dust or even the ph-value of the
skin, which may all trigger off chemical
responses.
|