Lander Blue Turquoise: Field Guide to the 1973 Nevada Find
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Joe Dan and Joe P. Lowry’s 2010 book tells how the Lander Blue deposit was found near Indian Creek in Lander County, Nevada, in 1973. Every statement below is quoted or paraphrased from that book, with page numbers, so you can check each one. The book was published in 2010; anything described as current describes 2010.
What Lowry recorded
Lowry (2010) tells the discovery:
“In 1973, Rita Hapgood, her sister Marilynn, and their two sons went on a turquoise hunt and picnic adventure in Nevada.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 227 [1]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 227), on a hillside near Indian Creek Rita's son picked up a few mostly black rocks with small nodules of blue showing; the claim was first named for Rita's mother, Mary Louise. [1] Lowry (2002, p. 46) also dates the find to 1973, at Indian Creek. [6]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 227), Rita sold the claim to Hank Dorian and Marvin Syme, who partnered with Bob Johnson to mine a small amount of the turquoise in 1974. [1] Lowry (2002, p. 46) also names Marvin Syme and Henry Dorian as the buyers. [6]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 224), Lander Blue became famous for its limited production, estimated at 108 pounds of rough, and for its colour grade and spiderweb matrix, and marketing that low yield created high demand. [1] Lowry (2002, p. 35) also puts the total at no more than one hundred eight pounds. [6]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 227), because of the mine's fame, similar-looking turquoise from Indian Mountain and from YunGaiSi in China has been sold as Lander Blue. [1]
Lowry (2010) turns the discovery date into a dating tool:
“The Lander Blue Mine located in Nevada was discovered in 1973; therefore, it would be most unlikely that a piece of jewelry made in the 1950s would be set with Lander Blue turquoise.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 231 [1]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 231), tons of Mexican and Chinese turquoise have been misrepresented and sold as Lander Blue and other classic mines. [1]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 232), Americans list Lander Blue among the best mines, with Number Eight, Bisbee and Lone Mountain. [1]
See all the turquoise mines we profile, across the Southwest.
How this page is sourced. We strive for accuracy: every factual statement above is quoted from or credited to the printed work listed below, with page numbers, and this page is continuously updated with new information as we read more of our library. See something we should correct? Contact us.
From the Library: Schiffer, Turquoise Jewelry (2008)
2008 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2008, not today.
Writing in 2008, Schiffer described the stone:
“Nearby, the Lander Blue mine is best known for its deep-to-light blue spider web turquoise with black matrix.”
— Schiffer (2008), p. 11 [2]
As of 2008, Schiffer (2008, p. 11) reported the Lander Blue mine closed, together with the nearby No. 8 and Carlin mines. [2]
Schiffer (2008, p. 42) illustrated a ring set with what she called "Landers Blue" turquoise in fourteen-carat gold. [2]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry (1993)
1993 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1993, not today.
Bassman (1993, p. 7) pictured three gold pieces by the Hopi jeweler Charles Loloma set with what she called Landers Blue spider web turquoise: an 18-carat and a 14-carat gold ring, both made in 1975, and an 18-carat gold reversible pendant made in 1988. [3]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry (1997)
1997 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1997, not today.
Bassman (1997) pictured a bracelet set with a Lander Blue stone:
“Stampwork with a Lander Blue turquoise stone made by Dan Jackson.”
— Bassman (1997), p. 21 [4]
From the Library: Ryan & Chambless, Turquoise in America Part Two: 1910–1990 (2020)
2020 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2020, not today.
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 194), Rita Hapgood located the claim at the Lander County Recorder's office, then in Austin, on March 19, 1973, and named it the Mary Louise in honor of her mother. [5]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) on the name buyers know:
“It quickly became known under the marketing name of the turquoise it produced, Lander Blue, which became the most expensive turquoise ever mined.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 194 [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 194), on October 1, 1973 Rita deeded the claim to the Lander Blue Turquoise Corporation, owned by Marvin R. Syme and Henry E. (Hank) Dorian of Battle Mountain; the deed noted a price of $10, but the amount actually paid was $10,000. [5]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) on how little there ever was:
“Over the next year only about 100 pounds of turquoise was mined and there has been no production since. The turquoise was unique in that it consisted primarily of a beautiful dark spider web.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 194 [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 194), the opening price of $2 per cut carat was then considered very expensive, and demand quickly pushed it higher; the authors estimated that about 113,000 carats of cut stones were sold in that period. [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 195), the claim sat on a narrow ledge about 100 feet above Indian Creek and could be reached only by carving a road from behind the ledge; Bob Johnson, a former deputy constable who could run heavy equipment, worked it on shares. [5]
For anyone judging a Lander Blue stone, Ryan & Chambless (2020) note:
“Though the turquoise was hard and took a high polish, the matrix tended to undercut, so most of the stones were top-filled to plug the pits.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 195 [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 195), the cousins Bucky and Joe Edgar cut most Lander Blue in a shop behind Marvin Syme's home, and their skill means the fill in these largely surface-treated stones is normally visible only under magnification. [5]
As of 2020, Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 195) cautioned that much turquoise on the market called Lander Blue is not Lander Blue, and reported that true high-grade Lander Blue sold for as much as $400 a carat. [5]
As of 2020, Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 196) reported that Faye Ward had sold Lander Blue to its then owner, Bob Brucia, in 2008. [5]
Recollections below are the speakers' own memories, recorded in interviews published by Ryan & Chambless (2020); they are credited to the speaker, not stated as fact.
Rick Edgar recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 196), that his then wife's family went looking for a mine at a known picnic spot after the sisters held a séance, that their father Al Buell found a single golf-ball-sized nugget of perfect Lander Blue, and that on the strength of that one nugget the claim sold for ten thousand dollars. [5]
Rick Edgar recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 196), that Bob Johnson cut the road with his Cat and did the mining, with Marvin Syme walking beside the blade looking for blue, and that hitting nuggets that way is how the Lander Blue Mine was found. [5]
Dixie Johnson recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 198), that the ground was so blind an inexperienced miner would have taken it for plain rock, but they could tell turquoise by its weight; her brother Joe and cousin Bucky did the cutting. [5]
Dixie Johnson recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 198), that the partners asked an unheard-of two dollars a carat, that Albuquerque buyers at first refused, and that the very last they sold brought over one hundred dollars a carat. [5]
Ernie Montoya told Ryan & Chambless (2020):
“I also have the New Lander Mine claim that's near the Lander Blue.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 275 [5]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) on backing and surface treatment at the very top of the market:
“In practice, some of the most expensive and rare turquoise has been either surface treated, backed, or both, including the most expensive of all turquoise, Lander Blue.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 279 [5]
According to the mine glossary in Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 346), Lander Blue lies in the Bullion District of Lander County, Nevada, in the Tenabo Group, and is also known by its first claim name, Mary Louise. [5]
From the Library: Lowry, Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide (2002)
2002 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2002, not today.
According to Lowry (2002, p. 46), Rita J. Hapgood, a blackjack dealer at the Nevada Club in Battle Mountain, found the deposit in 1973 while picnicking at Indian Creek. [6]
According to Lowry (2002, p. 46), a bird's nest drew her attention, and she noticed unusual black rocks studded with blue dots; she carried some of the nuggets home in a coffee can and later claimed the site as the Mary Louise Lode Mining Claim. [6]
According to Lowry (2002, p. 46), Marvin Syme and Henry Dorian, who bought the claim later in 1973 and formed the Lander Blue Turquoise Corporation, worked it with an old tractor and a compressor contributed by Bob Johnson for a year, until the deposit ran out. [6]
Lowry (2002) explained the trade nickname:
“Lander Blue was a "hat mine," so called because you could cover it with a hat.”
— Lowry (2002), p. 46 [6]
As of 2002, Lowry (2002, p. 46) called Lander Blue the rarest of the Southwestern classics and, pound for pound, the most valuable turquoise in the world. [6]
From the Library: Jacka, Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (1995)
1995 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1995, not today.
Al Joe told Jacka (1995, p. 81) that in 1973, not knowing what it was, he bought a whole tray of dark blue turquoise with good matrix in a Santa Fe shop for about a dollar a carat. [7]
Only later, he told Jacka (1995, p. 82), did another jeweler tell him the stones were Lander Blue; by 1995, he said, some dealers were selling Lander Blue for eighty dollars a carat. [7]
From the Library: Schiffer, Indian Jewelry on the Market (1996)
1996 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1996, not today.
In 1996 Schiffer described the look of a Landers Blue stone:
“A belt buckle with opal-like Landers Blue turquoise stone set on a sandcast backing, signed “FI Begay”.”
— Schiffer (1996), p. 30 [8]
Field Notes by Mateo James
Lowry has Rita's son picking up the first blue-showing rocks. In the interview Ryan & Chambless (2020) published, Rick Edgar remembers her father, Al Buell, finding the single golf-ball-sized nugget, and says the mine itself was only found when Bob Johnson's Cat cut into the hillside. The books also put the output a little differently: about 108 pounds of rough in Lowry, about 100 pounds in Ryan & Chambless. These are family memories set down decades later, so I have left both accounts on the page.
The Lowrys' own two books tell the first find differently. Their 2002 guide has Rita Hapgood herself, drawn to a bird's nest, noticing the black rocks with blue dots and carrying some home in a coffee can (Lowry 2002, p. 46); their 2010 book gives the first rocks to her son. With Rick Edgar's memory of her father finding the nugget, that makes three accounts, and I have left all three on the page.
Sources
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2010. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2010.
- Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry. Revised 4th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2008. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2008.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1993. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1993.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1997.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide. Photography by Mark Nohl. Tucson, AZ: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2002. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2002.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Schiffer, Peter N. Indian Jewelry on the Market. Text and photography by Peter N. Schiffer. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1996. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1996.