Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Ring in 14K White Gold

Turquoise, with its distinctive robin's egg blue, is among the oldest known gemstones. It graced the necks of Egyptian Pharaohs and the ceremonial dress of early Native Americans. In ancient Mexico, turquoise was reserved for the gods. Montezuma's treasure, now displayed in the British Museum, includes a fantastic carved serpent covered by a mosaic of turquoise. In Asia, turquoise has long been considered protection against the evil eye. Turquoise was also thought to promote prosperity. When you wear or give a gift of turquoise, you send a message of “forget me not”. Turquoise is a birthstone for December and the gem of the 11th anniversary.

14K white gold is the most popular white precious jewelry metal. Its pale glow is the perfect setting for cool-toned gems. Since gold is naturally golden yellow in color, to make 14K white gold, 58.5% gold is alloyed with white metals, usually silver, zinc, palladium, or nickel. These metals also improve the hardness, durability, and affordability of white gold jewelry, since pure gold scratches fairly easily. To get that bright shine, most white gold jewelry is also plated with rhodium, a platinum group metal.