Royston Turquoise In Calvin Martinez BraceletThe Royston district is one of the better known turquoise producing areas in Nevada. Royston turquoise comes from a group of mines about 24 miles northwest of Tonopah. Although the district is made up of a number of small mines the three more important mines are the Royal Blue, the Bunker Hill, and the Oscar Wehrend. Royston turquoise can be unbelievably beautiful. High-grade Royston is a very hard material. Colors range from a light blue, intense blue or a dark sky blue. Also included are a number of shades of green and many times with green and blue together in one stone. The matrix includes different shades of brown. The best Royston is equal to that found in any American mine.
The Royal Blue mine constituted the main workings in the area. The blue colors from this mine were beautiful and equal to any and the matrix was especially fine. In 1968 high-grade cut stones retailed at $1.00 a carat, which in today's market (2008) would be the equivalent to over $20.00 a carat. The mine was discovered in 1902 by two miners named Workman and Davis, they later sold the mine for $3000. Over the years as with other mines the Royal Blue changed hands numerous times. The Bunker Hill mine was discovered in 1927 by Roy Palfreyman and Bert Kopenhaver. The Oscar Wehrend mine was discovered in 1909, production from this mine was low and not of the quality of the other two. Today the Royston district is still producing turquoise of high quality, but in limited amounts.
© Copyright 2004 Nevada Gem. Used with Permission.