Turquoise can be a lovely choice as the center stone for an engagement ring, especially for those looking to add an alternative, rustic, or southwestern element to their ceremonial jewelry. A turquoise is a beautiful and eye catching way to distinguish yourself and your love from others who may lean more traditional. Turquoise falls between 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, making it a suitable choice for an engagement ring with proper care.

Of course! With turquoise and southwestern fine jewelry being part of the fabric of the Anna Sheffield brand, Anna and our team loves working with turquoise and creating one-of-a-kind engagement rings and fine jewelry pieces with this bold stone. You can learn more about the custom design process here.

Anna Sheffield only uses gem quality turquoise which has been ethically mined in the Western United States to set in engagement rings. Anna's upbringing in New Mexico and her deep reverence for Native heritage, her love for turquoise began with the history of the first turquoise found in Chaco Canyon. Ancestral Pueblo tribes of the Four Corners mined the luxuriant blue stones from around 900AD. In fact, heishi turquoise beads might be the oldest form of jewelry in North America. With their longstanding history in Native American jewelry and design, the demand for high-quality turquoise is high. US mines, consumers, and Native American artists favor natural stones that aren't treated with dyes or resins to manipulate color or durability. For instance, there may be much reconstituted turquoise on the market but it is not considered real, natural turquoise. It is made by grinding low-quality or fragmented turquoise into a powder and then combining it with binding agents like epoxy or resin, and sometimes dyes, to create a new material. While it contains real turquoise particles, the addition of other materials means it's not a natural stone. Much of the turquoise in our Heritage Project Collection is is vintage mined, such as Bisbee. The turquoise cabochons pieces like our Cosmic Hoops, Tiara Band, and Rosette Studs are sourced from our modern, sustainable and ethical mined vendor list. Anna hand picks all of the turquoise that we use in our jewelry herself.

As turquoise is porous and softer than hard gemstones, proper and specific care is needed. You can gently clean turquoise jewelry with a soft, damp cloth but make sure to use water sparingly, (do not soak the jewelry), and to make sure to try the stone with a cloth after. Utlrasonic or steam cleanrs as well as harsh chemicals, oils, and soaps should be avoided. Make sure to store the jewelry away from direct sunlight or extreme heat.

For wedding bands to pair with your turquoise engagement ring, we recommend choosing bands that offer a lovely contrast around a turquoise center stone. Anna loves to pair white diamonds or grey diamonds to nest with a turquoise engagement ring, as the bright sparkles can draw the eye to the opaque nature of a turquoise stone. For a an earthly and modern look, another favorite is a plain, solid gold wedding band, which are offered in both straight and nesting styles made to fit any center stone shape or size.