ABOUT LARRY COOLEY TURQUOISE :

The turquoise that these are made with, come from the late "Larry Cooley's" private collection. Mr. Cooley was one of the most reputably known turquoise vendors in the industry, who artists would go to when they wanted the highest quality turquoise for their own designs.. Since he was very knowledgeable, he knew what separated the junk from the premium grades & was committed to offering only the finest that each mine produced. He was one who wouldn't dare offer turquoise to someone, that he himself, wouldn't want.

One would be right to say that, the turquoise he collected & sold, were qualities that only the finest of the finest "Turquoise Connoisseur's" would buy..He had a vast collection of nothing BUT premium turquoise that were all natural,since his rocks were mined long before they started treating turquoise & had the best that each mine produced.

So these cuts are an excellent grade of natural turquoise, which is getting more & more difficult to find anymore, unless you're willing to pay top dollar per carat. That is if you can find any, since much has gone into private collectors hands & has become very valuable... After Larry's passing, everyone wanted dibs on his whole collection, but because of Federico's long time connection with Larry & Larry's family, he was fortunate to purchase this 'once in a lifetime' limited & very pricy collection(This is reflected in price) So once these stones are used up, they're gone!

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A PERSONAL WORD:
Personally, there is nothing more exciting to see in southwestern turquoise jewelry, than to see jewelry made with "quality" turquoise. With so much low grade/stabilized turquoise being sold on the market & online anymore, it's definitely refreshing to see artists such as Federico using it, since it's the pristine quality of turquoise that matters more than anything. And just like any good quality gemstone( diamonds, Rubies,etc.) you can also tell how good the turquoise is by the price you pay. I always say "The way to tell how good a piece is & how good the material is, is by looking at the price because in this business you pay for what you get!

To see the turquoise's quality, is something that can take years & doesn't happen over night. But once your eye gets trained to see it, you're able to this immediately. Sometimes people can't put their finger on what it is that's different, they just know that something is different that makes them stand out..
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THE EARRINGS:
Designed with turquoise coming from 3 different USA mines, these stand out not only for their well laid out artistic design, but because of the cuts coming from these 3 mines, with each producing a different color blue, gives them much more contrast because of this. All are 'Gem-Quality" & all have a glossy-spit shine" luster which validates that they are high grade rocks,as well as how "Hard" the turquoise is.. What you want to keep in mind is, the harder the turquoise, the higher the quality. "Chalky" soft low grades don't give the lapidarist this type of luster when they go to cut & polish, plus the stone will immediately break from being too soft.(This is where stabilization comes in,but that's a whole other story!) .. So quality turquoise is obviously determined by the hardness, luster and color of the stone. These speak of the quality that Larry collected..

The cuts & the mine that they came from are well paired in both earrings, with the smaller trillion cut tops being from the Arizona Morenci mine,the large trillion center are from the Royston mine & all the VIVID blue round cuts & dangles coming from the now closed, Sleeping Beauty mine.

Set in a contemporary finished sterling,these would be welcoming no matter where you live! They'll go with a traditional OR contemporary collection..
Because of the generous amounts of materials,these do have some weight,so please be sure to pay attention to the weight before you purchase!

A NOTE:**Anything with Larry's turquoise comes with a higher price tag,due to the quality & rarity**