I recently revisited a book that I couldn't put down a few summers ago. Here is the last bit of Ellen Meloy's The Anthropology of Turquoise that I simply can't let go:
"I would keep my turquoise, not trade it for anything. It is the stone that strengthens the eyes, says the Persians, the desert dweller's equivalent of a bulletproof vest against pain or demonic influences. It is water, say the Zuni. For the Aztecs this is the color that supplies the heart. For me it is simply instinct, and perhaps this is all that a person can try to put into each of her days: attention to the radiance, a rise to the full chase of beauty."
...
Emerald Valley chunky Turquoise nuggets! Finished entirely in 14k Gold Fill, with an extension chain for flexibility in length from 16"-18". These are beautiful stones that are not as pricey as their more rare Turquoise friends in this collection. Emerald Valley Mine in SW Nevada.