The gemstone Turquoise has been a well loved and sought after stone for thousands of years.

Set into jewellery, it was favoured by ruler’s of ancient civilisations including the Pharaoh’s of Egypt, rulers of ancient Persia, China, Mesopatamia as well as Aztec rulers. Turquoise is also highly valued in Native American culture and is the national gem of Tibet. Truly timeless, it is more popular today than it has ever been.

I have always loved turquoise. The first time I ever saw it, was set into the mask of Tutenkamun at an Ancient Egyptian exhibition when I was ten years old. I love the stone itself as well as the colour and remember some of my favourite pieces of clothing as a child were turquoise.

This is why turquoise is always my go to when creating new designs of jewellery. I like it because it so versatile; turquoise looks great on small hoop earrings and breathtaking on large statement pieces. I love how silver brings out the cool tones and how gold brings out the warm tones. Turquoise also comes in different shades - sometimes its more blue and sometimes its more green. You can even get bright lime green turquoise, which is created due to nearby copper ore.

Below is a selection of some of my favourite turquoise (gemstone and colour) jewellery I have created including nose rings, huggie earrings and industrial piercing jewellery.

Turquoise Nose Rings

A new favourite is this cute little turquoise nose ring which is available in 9ct gold or sterling silver. It features a gorgeous little genuine turquoise bead, wire wrapped on to your choice of a gold or silver continuous ring. This style of ring is seam free and sits nicely in your nose. The nose ring is 0.6mm thick (22 gauge) and comes in a 7mm, 8mm and 9mm internal diameter. Of course, if a different size is required I am happy to accommodate if I am able to!

Turquoise Cartilage Piercing / Helix Huggie Earrings

These next two hoops are extremely versatile and can be worn in a cartilage/helix piercing, ear lobe or nose piercing. They are 0.7mm thick (21 gauge) which is slightly heavier than the turquoise nose ring. These silver or gold hoop earrings also feature a small tube fastening which keeps the ends neatly together.

Tiny turquoise coloured Toho beads are wire wrapped on to hold the beads in place. Toho beads are high quality Japanese manufactured glass beads which are renowned for their consistency in size and shape. These particular turquoise beads are called Picasso Toho seed beads and are a really lovely shade of turquoise. They have a slight visual texture and colour variations that help them imitate natural turquoise.

I have been enjoying using Toho beads, they lead to more consistent looking earrings than standard seed beads, which can vary quite a lot in shape and size. I have a plain turquoise option or an option with an added 9ct gold bead accent, which gives it a luxurious feel and look.

Another of my favourite earrings are these sparkling synthetic turquoise opal hoops below. The opal is created in a lab but packs a lot of sparkle and shine with really gorgeous flecks of colour. Again, this is available on gold or silver and comes in a standard 8mm internal diameter, although other sizes can be made on request. The shade of this turquoise is lighter than the turquoise Toho beads and makes me think of a lovely fresh spring day.

Turquoise Industrial Piercing Jewellery 

Of course I couldn’t resist getting in some larger size turquoise Picasso Toho beads to fit on some industrial barbells! The detail of the Picasso turquoise really stands out on the larger beads and they look great on their own or with an accompanying colour such as white.

The barbells are made from 316L surgical steel and available in a more subtle silver or a bold black. These industrial barbells are available in 1.2mm (16 gauge) or 1.6mm (14 gauge) with lengths ranging from 32mm to 38mm. There will be more size options coming soon, or available on request in some cases. 

Turquoise as an Accent Colour

Sometimes you might only want a little bit of turquoise in your jewellery and here I have created a few options on a 1.2mm (16 gauge) ring, which can be worn in the septum, rook or anywhere on your ear you wear jewellery this size. I named this one tropical as the colours remind me of bright sun, sea and sand with a hint of a cosmopolitan in there!

I always recommend waiting until a piercing is absolutely fully healed before wearing sterling silver jewellery. This is because it can cause a reaction in a new piercing, or accelerate oxidisation from natural body chemicals which will turn sterling silver black.

If you want to check out our whole range of turquoise jewellery at Midwinter Hollow, I’ve put it all into a neat little collection which you can see here: 

https://www.midwinterhollow.co.uk/collections/turquoise-earrings-and-body-jewellery