Turquoise

After use, turquoise should be gently cleaned with a soft cloth to avoid a build up of residue, and should be stored in its own box to avoid scratching by harder gems. The Golf shares the Volkswagen A platform with a number of other Volkswagen Group products including the Audi A3 and TT, the Škoda Octavia, and the Seat León. Care should therefore be taken when wearing such jewels: cosmetics, including sunscreen and hairspray, should be applied before putting on turquoise jewellery, and they should not be worn to a beach or other sun-bathed environment. In the Americas, the sedan version of the Golf has always been sold as the Jetta, where it has always been more popular than its European counterpart. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight may also discolour or dehydrate turquoise. The sedan version of the Golf is the Jetta, also known as the Vento (from 1992) and later as the Bora from 1998 in various parts of the world, until 2005 when the Jetta name was revived worldwide. Being a phosphate mineral, turquoise is inherently fragile and sensitive to solvents; perfume and other cosmetics will attack the finish and may alter the colour of turquoise gems, as will skin oils. The R32 will not be sold in North America.

Bonded and "reconstituted" material is worth considerably less. Stopping the R32 comes in the form of blue-painted brake calipers with 345 mm discs at the front and 310 mm disks at the rear. All other factors being equal, untreated turquoise will always command a higher price. As with the previous R32; there is permanent 4MOTION all wheel drive through 18" Zolder 20-spoke alloy wheels. Controversy exists as to whether some of these treatments should be acceptable, but one can be more or less forgiven universally: This is the light waxing or oiling applied to most gem turquoise to improve its colour and lustre; if the material is of high quality to begin with, very little of the wax or oil is absorbed and the turquoise therefore does not "rely" on this impermanent treatment for its beauty. Going from 0 to 100 km/h will take a brisk 6.5 s, reducing to 6.2 s with the direct-shift gearbox. Turquoise is treated in many different ways, some more permanent and radical than others. It features a 3.2 L V6 FSI engine with 250 hp (184 kW) and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h.

Like coral and other opaque gems, turquoise is commonly sold at a price according to its physical size in millimetres rather than carat weight. In late September, the R32 will be sold in Europe. Calibrated stones—that is, stones adhering to standard jewellery setting measurements—may also be more sought after. However, it is already facing stiff competition from the Renault Mégane Trophy and to a greater degree, the Opel Astra OPC in Europe. Uniformity of colour is desired, and in finished pieces the quality of workmanship is also a factor; this includes the quality of the polish and the symmetry of the stone. The GTI features Fuel Stratified Injection, a turbocharger and a direct-shift gearbox. Such material is sometimes described as "spiderweb matrix"; it is most valued in the Southwest United States and Far East, but is not highly appreciated in the Near East where unblemished and vein-free material is ideal (regardless of how complimentary the veining may be). The 5-door version is expected to arrive around the same time as the standard Golf sometime in Summer 2006.

The mother rock or matrix in which turquoise is found can often be seen as splotches or a network of brown or black veins running through the stone in a netted pattern; this veining may add value to the stone if the result is complimentary, but such a result is uncommon. The production Golf GTI was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January, 2006 and the 3-door GTI appeared at United States dealerships beginning later that month. Whatever the colour, turquoise should not be excessively soft or chalky; even if treated, such lesser material (to which most turquoise belongs) is liable to fade or discolour over time and will not hold up to normal use in jewellery. The Golf V GTI is hailed as a return to form for the creator of the genre. In Tibet, however, a greener blue is said to be preferred. There will be no convertible version of the Golf V, as the Eos coupe-convertible (to be introduced in Spring 2006) will be marketed as a separate model, and does not share any body panels with another Volkswagen model - although it is based on the Jetta/Golf platform. Richness of colour is the chief determiner of value in turquoise; generally speaking, the most desirable is a strong sky to "robin's egg" blue (in reference to the eggs of the American Robin); value decreases with the increase of green hue, lightening of colour, and mottling. The Plus would replace the Variant station wagon in the Golf lineup, although the Variant might be released.

For example, the use of a heated probe applied to an inconspicuous spot will reveal oil, wax, or plastic treatment with certainty. It is taller than the "regular" Golf but shorter than the Touran, the MPV version of the Golf. As is so often with gems, full disclosure is frequently not given; it is therefore left to gemmologists to detect these treatments in suspect stones, using a variety of testing methods—some of which are necessarily destructive. In December 2004, Volkswagen announced the Golf Plus variant of the Golf V. Doublets, like the aforementioned treatments, are legal provided they are disclosed to the customer before sale. All of the Golf's engines, including the VR6, have the engine mounting points in the same place, making it possible to remove one engine and replace it with another while making few other modifications to the car. Some turquoise is cut with the mother rock serving as a base; these are usually not considered doublets but may have an intrinsic value lower than that of "whole" stones. Options for engines and transmissions vary from country to country, but the Golf is available in 4-cylinder and VR6 gasoline-powered versions and turbo direct injection diesel-engined models in most places, with transmission options that include manual, automatic, Tiptronic, and direct shift gearbox.

These are termed doublets and can be very deceptive in certain jewellery setting styles (such as closed back and bevel settings). Indeed, the rear suspension of Golf V (a modified wishbone arrangement) bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Focus. As the finer turquoise is often found as thin seams, it may be glued to a base of stronger foreign material as a means of reinforcement. In order to counter criticisms of the average dynamics of the previous model, it is widely reputed that Volkswagen "poached" from Ford the engineering team who designed the multi-link rear suspension system of the Ford Focus, widely regarded as the class benchmark for ride and handling. This process claims to use only medium grade material at a minimum, leaving the turquoise harder and with a better colour and lustre. For the presentation of the new Golf, Wolfsburg was renamed to Golfsburg for a week. Zachery. Sales of the fifth generation began in November 2003.

Another treatment—the details of which remain undisclosed—is the so-called Zachery process, named after its developer, electrical engineer and turquoise trader James E. The Official R32 FAQ: [2]. Much (if not all) of this "reconstituted" material is likely a complete fabrication (with no natural components), or may have foreign filler material added to it (see Imitations section). The American R32 Registry aims to account for all 5,000 R32s sold in America. Perhaps the most radical of treatments is "reconstitution", wherein supposedly fragments of fine material too small to be used singly are powdered and then bonded to form a solid mass. The Golf R32's competitors (at the time of production) were the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, although, unlike these cars, the R32 was not run by Volkswagen in rally competitions, and lacked the playstation appeal and ultimate status as those cars. Dyes have also been used to darken the veins of turquoise. Volkswagen surprisingly sold all 5,000 R32s in America with little marketing and advertisements.

(With some skill, oil and wax treatments can be restored.) Likewise, the use of Prussian blue and other dyes—often in conjunction with bonding treatments—to enhance (that is, make uniform or completely change) colour is regarded as fraudulent by purists—especially since some dyes may fade or rub off on the wearer. This was a venture put out by Volkswagen which was considered to be a corporate gamble. Oiled and waxed stones are also prone to "sweating" under even gentle heat or if exposed to too much sun, and they may develop a white surface film or bloom over time. Each car was sold just 13 months later. The majority of American material is now treated in this manner; although it is a costly process requiring many months to complete, without impregnation most American mining operations would be unprofitable. Five thousand cars were produced and intended to be sold over a 2-year period. The epoxy binding technique was first developed in the 1950s and has been attributed to Colbaugh Processing of Arizona, a company that still operates today. In spite of outwardly appearing very similar to the 20th Anniversary GTI, the R32 shared the vast majority of its major components with the 3.2 L Audi TT.

Plastic and water glass are technologically superior to oil and wax in that the former treatment are far more permanent and stable, and can be applied to material too friable for oil or wax to be of sufficient help; such material is termed "bonded" or "stabilized" turquoise. Billed as the pinnacle of the Golf IV platform, the R32 included every performance, safety, and luxury feature VW had to offer including the all new 3.2 L VR6 engine, AWD, a new 6-speed manual transmission, independent rear suspension, automatic climate control, sport seats from Koenig, 18" OZ Aristo wheels, ESP, massive (334 mm) brakes, sunroof, and model specific bodywork. Conversely, the later development of pressure impregnation of otherwise unsaleable chalky American material by epoxy and plastics (such as polystyrene) and water glass—also producing a wetting effect in addition to improving durability—are rejected by some as too radical an alteration. Again, due to unexpected popularity, Volkswagen (through Volkswagen of America) decided to sell the car in North America (except Canada) as the 2004 Volkswagen R32. Historically, light waxing and oiling were the first treatments to be used (since ancient times), providing a wetting effect (thereby enhancing the colour and lustre); this treatment is more or less acceptable by tradition, and because such material is usually of a higher grade to begin with. In 2003 Volkswagen produced the Golf R32 in Europe. Turquoise is treated to enhance both its colour and durability (i.e., increased hardness and decreased porosity). Upgraded disc brakes front (12.3" vented rotors) and rear (10.3" vented rotors) helped bring things to a stop, while red powder-coated calipers added a bit of flair to the package.

Even material used in authentic Native American and Tibetan jewellery is often fake or, at best, heavily treated. A 6-speed manual MQ350 transmission marked the most notable departure from the norm, and upgraded suspension stiffened up the ride and lowered the car approximately 40 mm (uprated springs and shocks, increased sway bar diameters, and revised bushings in the rear). Imitation turquoise is so prevalent that it likely outnumbers real turquoise by a wide margin. Mechanically speaking, this was the average GTI 1.8T GLS with a few exceptions. Differences in specific gravity, refractive index, light absorption (as evident in a material's absorption spectrum), and other physical and optical properties are also considered as means of separation. Volkswagen's premier 8-speaker Monsoon(tm) stereo system was also standard. Some destructive tests may, however, be necessary; for example, the application of diluted hydrochloric acid will cause the carbonates odontolite and magnesite to effervesce and howlite to turn green, while a heated probe may give rise to the acrid smell so indicative of plastic. This edition also came with a special golf ball shifter knob.

Staining between grain boundaries may be visible in dyed imitations. Aluminum trim came standard, complete with a numbered nameplate above the center console identifying the exact production number (US production only) of the vehicle and a black headliner. Glass and plastic will have a much greater translucency, with bubbles or flow lines often visible just below the surface. All 20ths had a sunroof, black leathered with silver stitching steering wheel, shifter boot and emergency brake handle, and sporty black cloth Recaro bucket seats with silver stitching accents and a red 'GTI' emblem embroidered in the middle of the back rest. These fakes are detected by gemmologists using a number of tests, relying primarily on non-destructive, close examination of surface structure under magnification; a featureless, pale blue background peppered by flecks or spots of whitish material is the typical surface appearance of natural turquoise, while manufactured imitations will appear radically different in both colour (usually a uniform dark blue) and texture (usually granular or sugary). The only true option was ESP, Volkswagen's stability control feature. While rarely encountered today, odontolite was once mined in large quantities—specifically for its use as a substitute for turquoise—in southern France. Unlike other models, there were no 'options' available.

Other natural materials occasionally confused with or used in lieu of turquoise include: variscite; faustite; chrysocolla (especially when impregnating quartz); lazulite; smithsonite; hemimorphite; wardite; and a fossil bone or tooth called odontolite or "bone turquoise", coloured blue naturally by the mineral vivianite. Inside, a few accents were noticeable. Dyed chalcedony, jasper, and marble is less common, and much less convincing. Distribution of production was 50% Black magic pearl, 25% Jazz Blue and 25% Imola Yellow. The most common imitation of turquoise encountered today is dyed howlite and magnesite, both white in their natural states, and the former also having natural (and convincing) black veining similar to that of turquoise. These models were produced only in three colors: Imola Yellow, Jazz Blue and Black Magic Pearl. Gilson turquoise is made in both a uniform colour and with black "spiderweb matrix" veining not unlike the natural Nevada material. Blackened headlights and dark-tinted tail lights added a distinctive look, while Votex front, rear, and side skirts along with a hatch spoiler and special edition 18" OZ Aristo alloy wheels complete the exterior transformation.

Most of these products differ markedly from natural turquoise in both physical and chemical properties, but in 1972 Pierre Gilson introduced one fairly close to a true synthetic (it does differ in chemical composition owing to a binder used, meaning it is best described as a simulant rather than a synthetic). The rear was also accompanied by a vintage-look chrome rabbit. Later glass and enamel were also used, and in modern times more sophisticated ceramics, porcelain, plastics, and various assembled, pressed, bonded, and sintered products (composed of various copper and aluminium compounds) have been developed: examples of the latter include "Viennese turquoise", made from precipitated aluminium phosphate coloured by copper oleate; and "neolith", a mixture of bayerite and copper phosphate. On the outside, the 20th came with throwback red-lettered 'GTI' logos on the left front and right rear. The Egyptians were apparently the first to produce an artificial imitation of turquoise, in the glazed earthenware product faience. Several special features distinguish this new GTI from the rest of the pack. Scholars also disagree as to which tribes each stone is meant to represent. This event, in 2003 marked the 20th anniversary of the GTI's first introduction to the US, then called the Rabbit.

Of the four stones in the third row, the first and second have been translated to be turquoise by various scholars; others disagree, however, translating the stones to be jacinth (zircon) and agate respectively [3]. Due to the popularity of a commemorative 25th anniversary edition GTI produced in Europe in 2002 (GTI 337 edition in North America), Volkswagen of America produced 4,200 so-branded '20th Anniversary Edition' GTIs and 4000 were shipped to the United States and 200 to Canada. Attached to the ephod, the breastplate was adorned with twelve gemstones set in gold and arranged in four rows, each stone engraved with the name of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. only) | and more. Turquoise may have significance in Judeo-Christian scripture: In the Book of Exodus, the construction of a "breastplate of judgment" is described as part of the priestly vestments of Aaron (Exodus 28:15–30). 18" BBS RC Wheels with 225/40-ZR18 High-Performance Summer Tires | Greatly improved sport suspension - 1" lower overall ride height | Votex body kit with front valance, side skirts, rear hatch wing and rear valance with 3" chromed exhaust tip | 315 mm (12.4") diameter vented front and 256 mm (10") rear vented brakes with red powder coated calipers | All-new six-speed MQ350 transmission | Recaro front seats in special "LeMans" red and black cloth with custom GTI embroidery | Brushed aluminum interior trim accents | Red stitching on steering wheel, shift boot, handbrake knob and seats | Special golf ball shift knob | Aluminum pedals with rubber inserts | Stainless steel exhaust with mild sound tuning | Red trimmed floor mats | Special exterior retro GTI badging | Monsoon sound system (U.S. In Western culture, turquoise is also the traditional birthstone for those born in the month of December. Starting with a 180 hp 1.8T GTI GLS, the following extra equipment and changes have been made:.

While strong sky blues remain superior in value, mottled green and yellowish material is popular with artisans. This is a very unique car for the Volkswagen lover.". Lesser material may be carved into fetishes, such as those crafted by the Zuni. "The GTI is the sport version of the Golf and since we didn't begin selling the GTI here until 1983, the name 337 seemed like a nice way to recognize the history of this vehicle and make it meaningful to our most enthusiastic drivers. In contemporary Western use, turquoise is most often encountered cut en cabochon in silver rings, bracelets, often in the Native American style, or as tumbled or roughly hewn beads in chunky necklaces. "The 337 name comes from the code name for the Golf model back in the early 1970s," said Frank Maguire, vice president in charge of sales and marketing at Volkswagen of America, Inc. 1810, was a staple of Egyptian Revival pieces. Only 1,500 units are being produced for the American market with an additional 250 specifically for Canada and it only came in Reflex Silver.

Turquoise, already favoured for its pastel shades since c. and $32,900 in Canada. These excavations, including that of Tutankhamun's tomb, created great public interest in the western world, subsequently influencing jewellery, architecture, and art of the time. The price of the GTI 337 was $22,225 in the U.S. The French conducted archaeological excavations of Egypt from the mid-19th-century through the early 20th. The GTI 337 was officially introduced at the New York Auto Show and made it to dealers by late May 2002. (A similar blue ceramic has been recovered from Bronze Age burial sites in the British Isles.). Volkwagen mixed and matched engine, door and naming configurations, so it was possible to purchase a 3-door "GTI" with the 115 hp 2.0L engine and a 5-door "Golf" with the 180 hp 1.8T engine.

Turquoise, associated with the goddess Hathor, was so liked by the Ancient Egyptians that it became (arguably) the first gemstone to be imitated, the fair semblance created by an artificial glazed ceramic product known as faience. A 1.8 L turbocharged gas engine was introduced in 2000, along with the 2.8 L VR6. Set in gold, the gem was fashioned into beads, used as inlay, and often carved in a scarab motif, accompanied by carnelian, lapis lazuli, and in later pieces, coloured glass. Available engines were a 2.0 L gasoline, 1.9 L turbocharged diesel TDI. It also adorned rings and great sweeping necklaces called pectorals. This model was introduced to North America in mid 1999. The Egyptian use of turquoise stretches back as far as the First Dynasty and possibly earlier; however, probably the most well-known pieces incorporating the gem are those recovered from Tutankhamun's tomb, most notably the Pharaoh's iconic burial mask which was liberally inlaid with the stone. A choice of three and five-door hatchbacks or a five-door station wagon were available.

Most of the pieces made today, with turquoise usually roughly polished into irregular cabochons set simply in silver, are meant for inexpensive export to Western markets and are probably not accurate representations of the original style. Engine choices included 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.3, 2.8 and 3.2  L gasoline engines, and a 1.9 L diesel, with power ranging from 68 to 150 PS (50 to 110 kW). Cabochons of imported turquoise, along with coral, was (and still is) used extensively in the silver and gold jewellery of Tibet and Mongolia, where a greener hue is said to be preferred. This Bosnian Mk.IV was for local market only. Persian turquoise was often engraved with devotional words in Arabic script which was then inlaid with gold. The Golf IV was also made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Vogošća (near Sarajevo) in TAS, where Mk.I and Mk.II models were also made. The Persian style and use of turquoise was later brought to India following the establishment of the Mughal Empire there, its influence seen in high purity gold jewellery (together with ruby and diamond) and in such buildings as the Taj Mahal. The Golf IV was made in Germany, South Africa, Slovakia, Brazil, Mexico and Belgium.

In Persia, turquoise was the de facto national stone for millennia, extensively used to decorate objects (from turbans to bridles), mosques, and other important buildings both inside and out, such as the Medresseh-I Shah Husein Mosque of Isfahan. As with the Golf II, a convertible version of the Golf IV was never made, although the Golf III Cabrio was facelifted to give it the frontal styling of the Golf IV hatchbacks. The distinctive silver jewellery produced by the Navajo and other Southwestern Native American tribes today is a rather modern development, thought to date from circa 1880 as a result of European influences. The average dynamics were reasonably well concealed in daily driving, though, and the car's reputation was unscathed. The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of the Chaco Canyon and surrounding region are believed to have prospered greatly from their production and trading of turquoise objects. However, the upgrade of the vehicle's interior materials and exterior details appeared to have been done at the expense of the vehicle's engineering. Among these peoples turquoise was used in mosaic inlay, in sculptural works, and was fashioned into toroidal beads and freeform pendants. Overall the level of maturity of the design and its target audience were also evident - the humorous plays on the game of golf which resulted in special edition models of the three earlier generations being called "Golf Ryder", "Golf Driver", not to mention the GTI's "golf ball" gearlever knob were dropped.

Like the Aztecs, the Pueblo, Navajo and Apache tribes cherished turquoise for its amuletic use; the latter tribe believe the stone to afford the archer dead aim. It was a deliberate attempt to take the Golf further upmarket, with a high-quality interior and higher equipment levels. Natural resins, bitumen and wax were used to bond the turquoise to the objects' base material; this was usually wood, but bone and shell were also used. The Golf IV was heavier and larger than its predecessors, but still became the biggest selling car in Europe at one point. The Aztecs inlaid turquoise, together with gold, quartz, malachite, jet, jade, coral, and shells, into provocative (and presumably ceremonial) mosaic objects such as masks (some with a human skull as their base), knives, and shields.
. A common belief shared by many of these civilizations held that turquoise possessed certain prophylactic qualities; it was thought to change colour with the wearer's health and protect him or her from untoward forces. Together with the 'colour concept' version that was produced during the final months before the production of the Mk.VI version, the 25th Anniversary model will probably be seen as the one of the rarest MK.III models.

It was apparently unknown in India until the Muhgal period, and unknown in Japan until the 18th century. The diesel model was only produce for the european market and wasn't sold in the UK. Despite being one of the oldest gems, probably first introduced to Europe (through Turkey) with other Silk Road novelties, turquoise did not become important as an ornamental stone in the West until the 14th century, following a decline in the Catholic Church's influence which allowed the use of turquoise in secular jewellery. The edition was sold in only 6 colour schemes and the 1000 number figures that were produced was as follows; 600 8 valve models, 150 16 valve models and 250 TDI models. The pastel shades of turquoise have endeared it to many great cultures of antiquity: it has adorned the rulers of Ancient Egypt, the Aztecs (and possibly other Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans), Persia, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and to some extent in ancient China since at least the Shang Dynasty [2]. Insurance was based on the standard GTI which made this version a very desirable model. Other notable localities include: Afghanistan; Australia (Victoria and Queensland); northern Chile (Chuquicamata); Cornwall; Saxony; Silesia; and Turkestan. 3 optional extras were made available; electric sunroof, air conditioning and metallic black paintwork.

However, the existence of these deposits is doubted by some due to a lack of corroboration. Brush stainless steel rear twin tailpipes on the exhaust and smoked front fog and indicator lamps to match the rear lamps. In Tibet, where green turquoise has long been appreciated, gem-quality deposits purportedly exist in the mountains of Derge and Nagari-Khorsum in the east and west of the region respectively. The red theme continued externally with a red striping on the bumpers and red brake calipers, the wheels were 16" split rim BBS alloys, visual simuliar to the 15" that were found on VR6 model. Most Chinese material is exported, but a few carvings worked in a manner similar to jade exist. These had the usual GTI specification but a came with checkered GTI logo'd Recaro sport seats, red seat belts, half-chrome golf ball gear knob, red stitching on the steering wheel and on the handbrake gatter and silver dialled instruments. Additionally, Marco Polo reported turquoise found in present-day Sichuan. In 1996 Volkswagen produced a limited 1000 special-edition 3-door '25th Anniversary' GTI's.

Gem-quality material, in the form of compact nodules, is found in the fractured, silicified limestone of Yunxian and Zhushan, Hubei province. During the 1990s, Volkswagen sponsored three high-profile rock bands' European tours, and issued a special-edition Golf, with distinctive exterior markings, for each: the Golf Pink Floyd Edition (1994), the Golf Rolling Stones Edition (1995), and the Golf Bon Jovi Edition (1996). China has been a minor source of turquoise for 3,000 years or more. At 110 PS (81 kW/108 hp) for a 1.9 L engine, it wasn't the first diesel engine installed in a road car to achieve over 50 hp/L, but it showed the public that diesel engines could be powered without losing their fuel efficiency, while also retaining massive amounts of low-end torque, in the TDI's case, 235 N·m (173 lbf·ft) at 1900 rpm. These treatments include innocuous waxing and more controversial procedures, such as dyeing and impregnation (see Treatments). The Golf Mk.III was also the predecessor of the diesel craze that swept through Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Volkswagen introduced the pump-injector system in the Golf TDI in 1996. In an attempt to recoup profits and meet demand, most American turquoise is treated or enhanced to a certain degree. Once again the Golf Driver version took its place as the official GTI-lookalike but with a more humble single-point injected 1.8 L engine.

Until the 1980s Virginia was widely thought to be the only source of distinct crystals; there are now at least 27 other localities.[1] The specimens are highly valued by collectors. While underpowered compared to the VR6, it was still relatively popular with driving enthusiasts in Europe (North America didn't get the GTI version proper, but had the name applied to the VR6 engine). The crystals, forming a druse over the mother rock, are very small; 1 mm (0.04 inches) is considered large. The engine was the same enlarged to 2.0 L, with power now reaching 150 PS (110 kW/148 hp). In 1912, the first deposit of distinct, single-crystal turquoise was discovered in Lynch Station, Campbell County, Virginia. This model was greeted with a muted sense of disenchantment with the motoring press. The Nevada material is noted for its often attractive brown or black limonite veining, producing what is called "spiderweb matrix". A 16-valve version of the third-generation Golf GTI was introduced in 1993.

Nevada is the country's other major producer, with an estimated 75–100 mines opened over the state's history. The convertible version was called the Cabrio. Arizona is currently the most important producer of turquoise by value, with the vivid Bisbee Blue being a good example of the state's natural endowment; much of the Arizona material is recovered as a byproduct of copper mining. Compare that to the Mk.II GTI that weighed 285 kg (629 lb) less but had only 139 PS (102 kW/137 hp) and a much smaller engine to tune (1.8 L). While quite fine material—rivalling Iranian material in both colour and durability—is sometimes found, most American turquoise is of a low grade (called "chalk turquoise"); high iron levels mean greens and yellows predominate, and a typically friable consistency precludes use in jewellery in the turquoise's untreated state. A "best of breed" VR6 variant exists which was available in a well regarded "Highline" trim; this 2.8 L VR6 engine gave a significant boost in power to 174 PS (128 kW/172 hp) for the Mk.III, a car weighing only about 1285 kg (2836 lb). The turquoise occurs as vein or seam fillings, and as compact nuggets; these are mostly small in size. The GTI variants (especially with the straight-four 4 cylinder engine) are considered to be the poorest of the performance Golfs, with significantly increased weight, but with minimal power increases.

Only one mine in California, located at Apache Canyon, operates at a commercial capacity today. For the first time a station wagon derivative was produced. Cerrillos, New Mexico is thought to be the location of the oldest mines; prior to the 1920s, the state was the country's largest producer; it is more or less exhausted today. The third-generation Golf was elected Car of the Year in 1992. The deposits of California and New Mexico were mined by pre-Columbian Native Americans using stone tools, some local and some from as far away as central Mexico. The third-generation Golf was launched in November of 1991, although it did not appear in North America until 1993. The Southwest United States is a significant source of turquoise; Arizona, California (San Bernardino, Imperial, and Inyo counties), Colorado (Conejos, El Paso, Lake, and Saguache counties), New Mexico (Eddy, Grant, Otero, and Santa Fe counties) and Nevada are (or were) especially rich.
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This rock is called Eilat stone and is often referred to as Israel's national stone: it is worked by local artisans for sale to tourists. For the last year of production, the Driver was given a carburetted version of the GTI's 1781cc engine. In proximity to nearby Eilat, Israel, an attractive intergrowth of turquoise, malachite, and chrysocolla is found. Introduced in 1988, it featured the GTI's exterior styling, namely the twin front headlamps, and wheelarch spoilers but with a standard 1.6 litre engine. Often referred to as Egyptian turquoise, Sinai material is typically the most translucent, and under magnification its surface structure is revealed to be peppered with dark blue discs not seen in material from other localities. As with the Mk1, there was a "warm hatch" version known as the Golf Driver. The colour of Sinai material is typically greener than Iranian material, but is thought to be stable and fairly durable. The MkII GTI failed to make the same waves as the MkI, and failed to win back the Golf GTI's fanbase which had adopted the Peugeot 205 GTI.

In the rainy winter months, miners face a risk from flash flooding; even in the dry season, death from the collapse of the haphazardly exploited sandstone mine walls is not unheard of. The GTI was Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1985, as well as VWVortex's "Best Golf of all time". Large-scale turquoise mining is not profitable today, but the deposits are sporadically quarried by Bedouin peoples using homemade gunpowder. In europe it was offered with the acclaimed 112bhp 1.8 8v petrol engine, and in smaller numbers, the 75 bhp 1.6 GTD turbo diesel engine. Copper and iron workings are present in the area. It had more suspension travel, four-wheel drive, bullbars (generally over a single headlight grill), a skidplate for protecting the engine area, and a spare wheel mounted externally on the back. The turquoise is found in sandstone that is, or was originally, overlain by basalt. There was also a version called Golf Country, designed for light off-road driving.

The former mine is situated about 4 kilometres from an ancient temple dedicated to Hathor. These cars produced 212bhp, making them the most powerful VW Golfs ever produced, until the introduction of the MKIV Golf R32 in 2003. The two most important of these mines, from a historic perspective, are Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghareh, believed to be among the oldest of known mines. In 1989, these cars cost in the region of £25,000 each and were primarily sold to VAG executives and management, although a few exist in Britain as of 2005. There are six mines in the region, all on the southwest coast of the peninsula, covering an area of some 650 km². It is rumored that two models were produced with air conditioning. Since at least the First Dynasty (3,000 BCE), and possibly before then, turquoise was used by the Egyptians and was mined by them in the Sinai Peninsula, called "Country of Turquoise" by the native Monitu. All of these special edition models came in black, with four doors (except two in three door), a plain two-headlight grille (not the usual GTI four headlights) and a unique blue grille detail (not red, as the GTI) and motorsport badges.

Iranian turquoise has been mined and traded abroad for centuries, and was probably the source of the first material to reach Europe. Designed and built by the Volkswagen Motorsport division, only 70 of these "G60 Limited" models exist; featuring a unique number and plaque, the G60 supercharger was combined with the 16-valve GTI engine, mated to a sports transmission and Syncro four wheel drive mechanism. Although it is commonly marred by whitish patches, its colour and hardness are considered superior to the production of other localities. A very limited edition hand-built Golf II variant exists, including all of the best features available at the time. Iranian turquoise is often found replacing feldspar. The second-generation Golf was launched in 1983 (launched in North America in 1985) and featured a larger bodyshell and a wider range of engine options, including a GTD (In euro markets, using the 1.6 'umwelt' diesel engine), a DOHC 16-valve version of the straight-four GTI (as well as the tried and tested 1800 8v GTi), the supercharged 8v "G60" and a racing homologated variant of this, the "Rallye". These workings, together with those of the Sinai Peninsula, are the oldest known. The vinyl tops were insulated and manually operated, with a glass rear window.

A weathered and broken trachyte is host to the turquoise, which is found both in situ between layers of limonite and sandstone, and amongst the scree at the mountain's base. for Karmann to install. This "perfect colour" deposit is restricted to a mine-riddled, 2,012-metre mountain peak of Ali-mersai, 25 km from Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan province, Iran. The A1 Volkswagen convertible is of unibody construction built entirely at the factory of Karmann, from stamping to final assembly; Volkswagen supplied the engine, suspension, interior, etc. For at least 2,000 years, the region once known as Persia, has remained the most important source of turquoise, for it is here that fine material is most consistently recovered. It had a reinforced body, transverse roll bar, and a high level of trim. However, turquoise is often recovered as a byproduct of large-scale copper mining operations, especially in the United States. The convertible version, named the Cabriolet, was sold from 1980 to 1993 (a convertible version of the Golf II was not made, so the Mk1 cabrio with slight modification was produced until the introdcution of the Mk III cabrio).

Most are worked by hand with little or no mechanization. In 2004, Sports Car International announced the GTI Mk I as the 3rd best car of the 1980s. These are all small-scale, often seasonal operations, owing to the limited scope and remoteness of the deposits. It was one of the first small cars to adopt fuel injection for its sports version, which raised power output of the 1588 cc engine to 110 PS (81 kW/108 hp). Turquoise was among the first gems to be mined, and while many historic sites have been depleted, some are still worked to this day. The GTI version, launched in Europe 1976 and the US in 1983, created a whole new type of car, the hot hatch, and was widely copied by all other manufacturers since. Intergrowth with other secondary copper minerals such as chrysocolla is also common. A version of this original Golf model, known as the Volkswagen CitiGolf, is still produced in South Africa as an entry level car.

Odontolite is fossil bone or ivory that has been traditionally thought to have been altered by turquoise or similar phosphate minerals such as the iron phosphate vivianite. The Golf was designed by Italian automobile architect / designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of the ItalDesign design studio. Turquoise may also pseudomorphously replace feldspar, apatite, other minerals, or even fossils. While the Golf was not the first design with this layout (earlier examples being the Austin Maxi in the late 1960s and the Fiat 128 3P of the early 1970s), it was very successful, especially since it married these features with Volkswagen's reputation for solid build-quality and reliable engineering. Stalactite forms have been reported. The Golf was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1975. Typically the form is vein or fracture filling, nodular, or botryoidal in habit. Marketed in the United States and Canada from 1975 to 1984 as the Volkswagen Rabbit and in Mexico as the Volkswagen Caribe, it featured the water-cooled, front wheel drive design pioneered by the Citroën Traction Avant with the addition of a hatchback pioneered by the Renault 4.

Crystals, even at the microscopic scale, are exceedingly rare. The first Golf began production in 1974. Turquoise is nearly always cryptocrystalline and massive and assumes no definite external shape. The Golf was the central product of this new strategy. That said, there are reports of two phase fluid inclusions within turquoise grains that give elevated homogenization temperatures of 90 to 190 ^oC that require explanation. Volkswagen had acquired the Ingolstadt company in 1964 from Daimler-Benz, and crucially gained access to Audi's expertise in water-cooled engines and front wheel drive which were needed to produce a new generation of Volkswagens. This hypogene process is applicable to the original copper sulfide deposition; however, it is difficult to account for the many features of turquoise occurrences by a hypogene process. The savior of the German car giant came in the form of Auto Union, which owned the famous Audi brand.

As the solutions cool, turquoise precipitates, lining cavities and fractures within the surrounding rock. The Type 3 and Type 4 failed to attract any interest, whilst the NSU-developed K70 was an unmitigated disaster. Initially at high temperature, these solutions rise upward to surface layers, interacting with and leaching essential elements from pre-existing minerals in the process. Beetle sales were in terminal decline, and car buyers increasingly turned away from Volkswagen's air-cooled, rear-engined models. The hypogene hypothesis, which holds that the aqueous solutions originate at significant depth, from hydrothermal processes. The Golf was also a crucial model for Volkswagen itself; by the early 1970s, the company was in serious financial trouble. Although the features of turquoise occurrences are consistent with a secondary or supergene origin, some sources refer to a hypogene origin. It created the concept of a hot hatch.

Typically turquoise mineralization is restricted to a relatively shallow depth of less than 20 m, although it does occur along deeper fracture zones where secondary solutions have greater penetration. The Golf is a historically important automobile, as it has been in continuous production from 1974 to the present day. In some occurrences alunite, potassium aluminium sulfate, is a prominent secondary mineral. . In the American southwest turquoise is almost invariably associated with the weathering products of copper sulfide deposits in or around potassium feldspar bearing porphyritic intrusives. They have existed everywhere between basic personal cars and high-performance sports coupes. Climate factors appear to play an important role as turquoise is typically found in arid regions, filling or encrusting cavities and fractures in typically highly altered volcanic rocks, often with associated limonite and other iron oxides. 5-door hatchback, station wagon (estate) and convertible (Cabrio) variants have also been available, as well as a sedan (saloon) car based on the Golf (see Volkswagen Jetta).

For example, the copper may come from primary copper sulfides such as chalcopyrite or from the secondary carbonates malachite or azurite; the aluminium may derive from feldspar; and the phosphorus from apatite. Most production of the Golf has been in the 3-door hatchback style. As a secondary mineral, turquoise apparently forms by the action of percolating acidic aqueous solutions during the weathering and oxidation of pre-existing minerals. That title remains firmly with its brother, the Beetle. Turquoise may also be peppered with flecks of pyrite or interspersed with dark, spidery limonite veining. Considering that the only thing sucessive generations of the Volkswagen Golf have in common is the name and a vague similarity, its claim to "the best selling car of all-time worldwide" is dubious at best. Despite its low hardness relative to other gems, turquoise takes a good polish. The Golf is Volkswagen's best-selling badge in history, with more than 24 million built as of 2005[1].

Its streak is a pale bluish white and its fracture is conchoidal, leaving a waxy lustre. The Volkswagen Golf is an automobile manufactured by Volkswagen. Turquoise is infusible in all but heated hydrochloric acid. Under longwave ultraviolet light, turquoise may occasionally fluoresce green, yellow or bright blue; it is inert under shortwave ultraviolet and X-rays. An absorption spectrum may also be obtained with a hand-held spectroscope, revealing a line at 432 nanometres and a weak band at 460 nanometres (this is best seen with strong reflected light).

A reading of 1.61–1.65 (birefringence 0.040, biaxial positive) has been taken from rare single crystals. The refractive index (as measured by sodium light, 589.3 nm) of turquoise is approximately 1.61 or 1.62; this is a mean value seen as a single reading on a gemmological refractometer, owing to the almost invariably polycrystalline nature of turquoise. The blue is attributed to idiochromatic copper while the green may be the result of either iron impurities (replacing aluminium) or dehydration. Colour is as variable as the mineral's other properties, ranging from white to a powder blue to a sky blue, and from a blue-green to a yellowish green.

The lustre of turquoise is typically waxy to subvitreous, and transparency is usually opaque, but may be semitranslucent in thin sections. With lower hardness comes lower specific gravity (high 2.90, low 2.60) and greater porosity: These properties are dependent on grain size. Its crystal system is proven to be triclinic via X-ray diffraction testing. Characteristically a cryptocrystalline mineral, turquoise almost never forms single crystals and all of its properties are highly variable.

Even the finest of turquoise is fracturable, reaching a maximum hardness of just under 6, or slightly less than window glass. . This is thought to have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded there, and the gem became associated with the country in the West. The word turquoise is very old and likely is derived from the French pierre turquoise, meaning Turkish stone.

In recent times turquoise—like most other opaque gems—has had its popularity undermined by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market, some difficult to detect even by experts. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been enjoyed as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. Turquoise (or turquois) is opaque, blue-to-green hydrated copper aluminium phosphate mineral according to the chemical formula CuAl₆(PO₄)₄(OH)₈·5H₂O.