Persian blue - turquoise colorPersian blue - turquoise color

Turquoise Color and the Color Turquoise


Is all turquoise turquoise color? Learn about this gem's most popular natural colors and how people have prized them for millennia.

8 Minute Read

 

Persian blue - turquoise color
The color turquoise is quite popular today. It’s considered a blended blue/green hue with a yellow undertone. You will also often find “turquoise” used colloquially to describe blue skies or sparkling, transparent, and shallow seawater. Natural turquoise gemstones can range in color from blue to blue-green to yellowish green. “Robin’s egg blue” or “Persian blue,” like that of the pear-shaped center stone in this sterling silver ring, is very desirable. The even, sky-blue color set against the diamond accents looks stunning. Photo by CustomMade. Used with permission.

Where Does the Word “Turquoise” Come From?

The English word “turquoise,” now used as the name of a gemstone and color, originated in 13th-century France. It cones from the French word turquois for “Turkish.” The people of Medieval Europe believed this gem came from what is now known as Turkey. To them, the stone likely had strong associations not only with the color but also with the assumed source. To these Europeans, turquoise was a colorful gem from an exotic location. Many modern European languages also use a similar name for this gem: turkoois in Dutch, turchese in Italian, turkus in Polish, for example.

Other cultures and languages have different


Emily Frontiere

Emily Frontiere is a GIA Graduate Gemologist. She is particularly experienced working with estate/antique jewelry.


International Gem Society

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