Jay King of Turquoise!

There has been an ongoing controversy over the Jay King turquoise: block, stabilized, real, fake, and otherwise. You can read my recent post about the situation here.

I emailed Jay's company, Desert Rose Direct, and asked them what exactly block stabilized turquoise was. They were very kind and emailed me a detailed explanation of the process.

I think this should put everyone's concerns to rest.

Dear Bea:

Thank you for taking the time to write in and ask your quesiton. I am so glad that I am getting the opportunity to share with you the below explanation.

Only 100% genuine turquoise nuggets are used.

The 100% genuine turquoise nuggets are pressed under tremendous hydraulic pressure.

This pressure is applied when the nuggets are in a frame called a "block."

The frame is very thick steel as it must withstand tremendous pressure.

Turquoise gets a little softer when soaked in water, this combined with the natural moisture in turquoise allows for what actually takes place as the extreme hydraulic pressure is applied.

The nuggets actually mold around each other creating larger pieces of turquoise. When the moisture dries out, they keep the same formation, which in this case is typically referred to as a "block" as this is the term for referencing the frame they are put in to receive the hydraulic pressure.

At this point, the genuine turquoise nuggets, which have molded around one another, due to pressure only, are dried and stabilized in the exact same way as any turquoise rough.

The stabilization accomplishes the same thing as it does with any turquoise that is stabilized. It helps to maintain the color and avoid the changes that can occur from skin oils, exposure to soaps, etc.

The turquoise we use in our designs that is processed in this fashion/manner is all 100% genuine turquoise and by the time it has been hydraulically pressed and stabilized it is just as all other regularly stabilized turquoise with respect to the ratio of stabilization products in the final result.

By weight only about 1%-2% of the finished material is the stabilization products. 99% of the finished material is genuine turquoise. This is the same as when any piece of turquoise is stabilized.

Possibly the term "optically clear acrylic" is an option to describe the stabilization products/chemicals.

Again, what is used to stabilize the 100% genuine nuggets after being hydraulically pressed/molded together, is the exact same as what is used to stabilize non hydraulically pressed turquoise, of any shape or size.

I am sorry for the confusion!

Please let me know if you have any more questions or need an more information! Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Thank you again for your time.


There you have it, chickadees!

Today's Blue Plate Specials ... Oompa-Loompa Strikes Back!

The QVC TSV is a Sterling Turquoise Nugget Stretch Bracelet with Heart Charm. Considering that I don't much care for turquoise, hearts, or stretch bracelets, this isn't really the piece for me.

If you're a gold girl, make sure you check out the Last Chance Eternagold. With gold getting more and more expensive, it's been a sad state of affairs lately for gold lovers. I'm guessing that since QVC has a policy of not raising the price past the QVC price, they have to retire a big chunk of the Eternagold line and bring in similar items at a higher price. This would be the time to grab them!



The HSN TS is TanTowels Tinted On the Glow. So I looked through the reviews for other TanTowel products and they were b-a-d. Really bad. Even people who used to like them, now say that the new ones are terrible. I don't think that we should encourage the hosts to get any more Oompa-Loompa anyway.

The ShopNBC TS is Invicta Women's Pro Diver Swiss Quartz Stainless Steel Watch. ANOTHER WATCH!!! How many watches does a person need? I refuse on principle to discuss another watch OTV. Hmph.

I will, however, mention that there is a big clearance on watches going on at Jewelry Televisio, which includes free shipping! Check it out here.

Jay King: Mine Find or Fake Find

Jay King will be appearing on HSN on Monday during their 24 Hour Silver Celebration and it looks like he even has the TS. I hope that they give him the opportunity to explain exactly what his highly controversial "stabilized block turquoise" really is.


Here are the definitions I found:

Stabilized or treated turquoise is treated with a plastic resin. Most nugget and some heishi products are made from real turquoise that has been stabilized. Stabilization allows genuine but lower-grade turquoise to be used in jewelry. Even when a stone has been stabilized, its color can be changed over time by pollution, soap, skin lotion and oil.

Block turquoise: A mixture of plastic resin and dyes that is produced in loaf-size blocks. This turquoise contains no actual rock of any sort. Block is used heavily for inlay, heishi and beads. It is sometimes mistakenly called "reconstituted."


So basically it has to be either stabilized or block, but it can NOT be both.

I hope this was simply an innocent error on the part of a product description writer and not an underhanded attempt to rip-off customers.

Please, please, please--for the sake of your reputation--address this issue!!!


Here's what Paul Deasy had to say about the controversy:

I must preface this by saying that I have not spoken to Jay King since I left HSN, and I am not familiar with what HSN is selling on the air as block turquoise. I find Jay to be a very reputable guy and I like him very much. That being said, the industry definition of "block turquoise" is not natural, but simulated turquoise using plastic or other materials that are not turquoise. If this in fact is what HSN is selling, they are obligated to disclose this information. I notice on their website that they describe the pieces as "stablized" block turquoise. Once again, I can't speak for them but stablized and block turquoise usually refer to two different things. Paul