My boyfriend bought me a lovely turquoise ring for my last birthday. After closely examining the stone I noticed it had black markings on it. Does this mean the birthstone is fake?

First of all, let me put your heart at ease and tell you that black markings or inclusions found inside a turquoise gemstone are completely common and normal. These markings are actually copper minerals that naturally appear inside the gemstone during its formation. Turquoise could take million of years to form and while it does so it traps certain mineral deposits within it (such as copper), causing a unique pattern throughout the gemstone. Just as they say about snow-flakes, there are actually no two patterns of turquoise that are the same and each inclusion pattern is one of a kind. In a matter of fact, irregular and rare black inclusions trapped inside the gemstone could even increase the gemstone's price tag! Special inclusions resembling spider webs found in certain rare turquoise gemstones could make this gemstone exceptionally valuable and cause the otherwise simple stone to be worth thousands of dollars. So as you can see, there is really no reason for you to feel so stressed out about finding black markings on your turquoise ring. These markings are simply second-nature when it comes to turquoise formation and there's nothing to worry about. I hope this information managed to settle you down!

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Not at all, natural turquoises have these markings visible on their surface, the markings signify the matrix in which the turquoise was formed in. It details the birthstone's bearings and origins as well as its surroundings while it was being formed. Think of it as a roadmap of the turquoises creation. Quite a charming concept.

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