Black Jack Turquoise: An Otteson Mine in Nevada
Black Jack Turquoise — A Stone Study
← Part of the T.Skies Turquoise Stone Study: turquoise mines
Black Jack turquoise, photographed in the T.Skies studio. Glossy black stones crossed by bands and veins of pale blue-green, with streaks of orange and golden brown running through the matrix. Tap any stone to see it up close.
Three Black Jack cabochons, triangle, teardrop and rectangle, mostly black with pale blue-green patches and orange veining
Three Black Jack teardrop cabochons with broad bands of pale blue-green against black, edged in orange and brown
Black Jack turquoise, photographed in the T.Skies studio. Shown for reference. © Turquoise Skies Inc.
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Black Jack turquoise comes from a Nevada mine worked by the Otteson family, one of the families on record at Royston. Dealers place it at Tonopah, the town the family's digs leave from. Expect several colors in one stone, blue and green with orange, set in a black matrix.[1][2][3]
Key points
- Black Jack is one of the Otteson family's Nevada mines, listed alongside Royston, Pilot Mountain and Easter Blue.[1][2]
- Dealers locate it at Tonopah, Nevada.[2][3][4]
- A dig flyer describes it as "polychrome turquoise in a black matrix."[1]
- Dealers describe ribbons of blue, green and orange, and mint-to-sage greens, against black chert or a dark brown-black matrix.[2][3][5]
- It is still producing: fee digs have been run there, and cut stones keep reaching the market.[1][4]
At a glance
| Mine | Black Jack (also spelled Blackjack) |
|---|---|
| Where | Nevada, reached from Tonopah |
| Worked by | The Otteson family |
| Known for | Multicolor turquoise in a black matrix |
| Status | Producing |
One of the Otteson mines
Black Jack doesn't arrive with a history. It arrives with a family. A flyer for a week of fee digs out of Tonopah lists it under "The Otteson Mines," on the same schedule as Pilot Mountain, Easter Blue and Royston.[1] One dealer who sells the stone credits it to the same family that owns Royston.[2] So far, that is the whole provenance: who works the ground, and which town you drive out from.
What it looks like
The flyer gives the color one word, polychrome, and the dealers fill in the rest. Turquoise Cab Shop describes ribbons of blue, green and orange.[3] Double M Beadwork sees greens running from minty to sage.[5] Both of them, and Fresh Fire Trading, put the stone in black chert or a dark black-brown matrix.[2][3][5]
The black is the signature. The flyer and all three dealers who describe the matrix mention it, and it is the first thing to look for in a stone sold as Black Jack.
The flyer also says how the rough comes out of the ground:
"There are large boulders that can be chipped out with a chipper, and a hill with lots of nuggets."
— Turquoise Mining Adventure flyer, Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society [1]
What the record doesn't hold
None of our reference books names Black Jack. Everything on this page comes from the people who dig and sell the stone, not from a survey or a published history. We have no discovery date and no production history. We also can't settle the county: one dealer names it, most say only Tonopah, so we print neither. No source we read says how Black Jack is usually treated, so check each listing. For what our treatment labels mean, see What Do These Confusing Turquoise Terms Mean?
Field Notes by Mateo James
A mine with no written history has to be judged the way a young maker is: one piece at a time. Black Jack has a working family behind it and a matrix you can pick out across a room. That's the entire record for now, and we would rather say so than borrow a past from Royston. The stone is the better witness, so judge each piece by what it shows you.
FAQ
Is Black Jack a real turquoise mine?
Yes. It is a working Nevada mine of the Otteson family, listed among their mines and still being dug.
Where is the Black Jack mine?
In Nevada, in the country around Tonopah, where the family's digs start. Sources don't agree on the county, so we don't name one.
What color is Black Jack turquoise?
Mixed. Blue, green and orange can all show in the same stone, set in a black or dark brown-black matrix.
Is Black Jack the same as Royston turquoise?
No. The same family works both, but they are different mines. What sets Black Jack apart is its black matrix. For Royston, see Royston Turquoise.
Browse our turquoise jewelry →
How this page is sourced. No printed work we hold covers this mine. This page relies on a dig flyer and on dealer descriptions, read in November 2026, and it describes conditions as of then. If you know better, contact us.
Sources
- Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society and Elley Knows Rocks. "Turquoise Mining Adventure: Dig for Turquoise in Tonopah Nevada" (dig flyer). https://lakehavasugms.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Turquoise-Mining-Adventure-1.pdf
- Fresh Fire Trading. "Blackjack Turquoise Ring." https://freshfiretrading.com/products/blackjack-turquoise-ring
- Turquoise Cab Shop. "Black Jack Turquoise." https://turquoisecabshop.com/collections/black-jack-turquoise
- Johnson Lapidary. "Blackjack Turquoise." https://johnsonlapidary.com/collections/blackjack-turquoise
- Double M Beadwork. "Black Jack Turquoise Ring." https://doublembeadwork.com/products/black-jack-turquoise-ring