Golden Hills Turquoise Micro #3

This comes from the Altyn-Tyube region of Kazakhstan, where it first began reaching the market in the early 2010s. It's prized for a light sky-blue to periwinkle color set against a striking burnt-umber to reddish-brown matrix, occasionally shifting toward soft lavender tones. The material is mined only in winter, when the ground is frozen solid — the area floods too heavily to work the rest of the year — which keeps supply naturally limited. Left largely untreated, Golden Hills turquoise is valued for its chemical purity and durability, and the contrast of pale blue against dark webbing has made it a longtime favorite among Southwestern jewelry makers and collectors.