Chinese Turquoise - this turquoise may be from a major deposit in Central China. Turquoise has been mined in China for over 2000 years, evidenced by its use in many pieces of art and carvings from some of the earliest dynasties. Chinese Turquoise ranges in color from all shades of green, to light blue, to a beautiful dark blue. In the mid-1980s when Chinese turquoise started coming to the US market in large quantities, unscrupulous dealers would often sell Chinese turquoise as Number 8, Lander Blue or many other famous mines, asking for the much higher prices commanded by these American counterparts. This practice greatly hurt the image of Chinese turquoise, and still puts off potential buyers today even when labeled correctly. Still, with the rising demand for natural turquoise, the best natural Chinese turquoise is quickly rising in price and demand. Turquoise from mines in China is stabilized or treated and accounts for about 80% of the stone on the U.S. market today, due to the scarcity of American turquoise.