Red Mountain Turquoise: Field Guide to Nevada's Red-Matrix Spider Web
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Oscar Branson’s 1975 book placed the Red Mountain mine near Cortez, Nevada, and singled out its red matrix. Every statement below is quoted or paraphrased from that book, with page numbers, so you can check each one. Branson wrote in 1975; anything he describes as current describes 1975, not today.
What Branson recorded
Writing in 1975, Branson described it this way:
“The Red Mountain Mine, near Cortez, Nevada produces some very attractive turquoise. The finest is a very hard compact spider web, with small to large veining.”
— Branson (1975), p. 27 [1]
Of the matrix, Branson (1975) wrote:
“The matrix is red with a black outline.”
— Branson (1975), p. 27 [1]
According to Branson (1975, p. 27), the deep blue was tinted deep green, which made very striking stones, and the mine also produced various blues and greens from light to dark. [1]
Branson (1975, p. 27) named rust-coloured veins in the matrix as the stone's notable characteristic. [1]
See all the turquoise mines we profile, including the other Nevada mines.
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.
Sources
- Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. Santa Fe: Treasure Chest Publications, 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions in 1975.