Tony Stewart

In addition to his 3 wins in the Indy Racing League, Stewart has also won 2 International Race of Champions events. 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. During the 2005 season, Stewart won a total of $13,578,168, including $6,173,633 for winning the championshiop, making this the largest season total in NASCAR history. 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. He was also praised by fellow competitors, notably NASCAR veteran Mark Martin who proclaimed Stewart as the greatest NASCAR driver of this generation. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight may also discolour or dehydrate turquoise. After winning his second championship, Stewart because only the third active driver in NASCAR to win multiple championships, along with Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte. 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.

He is also one of the youngest drivers to win multiple championships. Bonded and "reconstituted" material is worth considerably less. On November 20, Stewart won his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship, joining Jeff Gordon as the only active drivers to have won multiple championships. All other factors being equal, untreated turquoise will always command a higher price. He mentioned in a press release from his sponsor, "I plan to keep winning races and helping to drive down the cost of home improvement for The Home Depot customers.". 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. After his Allstate victory, Home Depot presented fans who presented the advertisement of his Allstate 400 win with a discount on purchasing bricks. Turquoise is treated in many different ways, some more permanent and radical than others.

After his second full climb of the fence in Loudon, NH, they ran a discount on ladders and fencing at the stores with a campaign named, "Hey Tony, we've got ladders," where anyone who presented the advertisement in national newspapers in their stores earned the discount. Like coral and other opaque gems, turquoise is commonly sold at a price according to its physical size in millimetres rather than carat weight. It also led to sponsor Home Depot cashing on Stewart's success with some promotions reminiscent of Stewart's Eldora Speedway drivers. Calibrated stones—that is, stones adhering to standard jewellery setting measurements—may also be more sought after. Tony was quoted as saying "I'm too fat for this," and recently purchased $17,000 worth of exercise equipment to remedy the problem. 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. Stewart has, following his second win of the season, begun a tradition of climbing the fence separating the fans from the racetrack after each victory, a practice adopted from two-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves . 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).

In an apparently unrelated incident, Kyle Busch was also fined $10,000 and placed on identical probation for ramming Anthony Lazzaro's car after the Sirius Satellite Radio race, also at Watkins Glen. 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. Stewart was also placed on probation until December 31st. 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. Stewart was driving a Busch series car owned by Kevin Harvick at the time. In Tibet, however, a greener blue is said to be preferred. On August 16th Stewart was fined $5000 for hitting the car of another driver, Brian Vickers, after the completion of the Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. 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.

He won five races, including the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, a race that Stewart said he would give up his championship to win, and took with it the #1 seed headed towards NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup 10-race playoff. For example, the use of a heated probe applied to an inconspicuous spot will reveal oil, wax, or plastic treatment with certainty. 2005 was one of Stewart's most successful years in the Nextel Cup. 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 addition to placing fourth, the trio placed third in the Daytona Prototype class. Doublets, like the aforementioned treatments, are legal provided they are disclosed to the customer before sale. With 15 minutes left in the race, and with Stewart at the wheel, one of the rear wheels came off, finally ending their run. 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.

The result does not show the trio's performance, however: they had dominated the race until the last two hours, when the suspension cracked. These are termed doublets and can be very deceptive in certain jewellery setting styles (such as closed back and bevel settings). in a Boss Motorsports Chevrolet to take fourth place in the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race. 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 2004, Stewart teamed with Englishman Andy Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This process claims to use only medium grade material at a minimum, leaving the turquoise harder and with a better colour and lustre. He also still makes the occasional cameo on dirt tracks, appearing regularly at an ARCA race on dirt and at many prominent midget car events, USAC's Turkey Night Grand Prix, and the indoor Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Zachery.

Located in Rossburg, Ohio, Eldora is a half-mile dirt track known to many as "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954." Stewart began racing there in 1991 and continues racing in special events alongside other Nextel Cup drivers and dirt track legends. 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. In November of 2004, Stewart became the owner of one of the most legendary short-tracks in America, Eldora Speedway. 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). His current driver lineup in USAC consists of Josh Wise in the midget, sprint, and Silver Crown cars and Jay Drake in the sprint car and Silver Crown Series. 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. Yeley in 2003 and Jay Drake in 2004. Dyes have also been used to darken the veins of turquoise.

He also collected owner titles in USAC's National Sprint Car Series with J.J. (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. Yeley, and in 2004 with Dave Steele. 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. Stewart has won USAC car owner titles in the Silver Crown division in 2002 and 2003 with J.J. 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. In addition to his Nextel Cup gig, Stewart, nicknamed "The Columbus Comet" (for his present hometown of Columbus, Indiana), "The Rushville Rocket" and "Smoke", is also the owner of a World of Outlaws sprint car driven by Danny "The Dude" Lasoski. 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.

He only won twice that season, but led more laps than he'd done the previous year and was highly competitive in the final races of the year. 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. Driving a Chevrolet instead of his previous Pontiac ride (Gibbs switched), Tony actually had his worst Cup season, but it was still good enough for a 7th place finish in points. 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. As defending champion, Stewart managed to have a relatively incident-free 2003. 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. At the end of the year, Stewart held off a charging Mark Martin to win his first Winston Cup championship. Turquoise is treated to enhance both its colour and durability (i.e., increased hardness and decreased porosity).

Stewart went on to win the race immediately after being disciplined, and went on a tear in the final races, finishing consistently in the top five. Even material used in authentic Native American and Tibetan jewellery is often fake or, at best, heavily treated. NASCAR put Stewart on probation for the rest of the season. Imitation turquoise is so prevalent that it likely outnumbers real turquoise by a wide margin. The second half of his season was plagued by an altercation he had with a photographer after the Brickyard 400. 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. He won twice early in the season though, but was only 7th at the halfway point of the season. 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.

Tony started 2002 even more inauspiciously than he'd started his previous season, as his Daytona 500 lasted just two laps due to a blown engine. Staining between grain boundaries may be visible in dyed imitations. Tony, understandably, earned a reputation for being NASCAR's bad boy. Glass and plastic will have a much greater translucency, with bubbles or flow lines often visible just below the surface. Stewart was not allowed to practice until wearing one, and only managed to practice after his crew chief intervened. 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). He confronted the same official at the race in Talladega after refusing to wear a mandated head and neck restraint. While rarely encountered today, odontolite was once mined in large quantities—specifically for its use as a substitute for turquoise—in southern France.

This resulted in another fine and longer probation. 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. At the same race, he also got into an incident with a reporter, kicking away a tape recorder. Dyed chalcedony, jasper, and marble is less common, and much less convincing. He got into further trouble at Daytona, when he confronted a Winston Cup official after ignoring a black flag. 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. Stewart was fined and placed on probation by NASCAR. Gilson turquoise is made in both a uniform colour and with black "spiderweb matrix" veining not unlike the natural Nevada material.

Gordon pulled a "bump and run" on Stewart to gain a better finishing position in a race in Bristol, and it resulted in Stewart retaliating in a post-race incident by spinning Gordon out on pit road. 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 season was not without controversy though. 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. Statistically, he had a worse season than 2000, but he was the runner up to Jeff Gordon for the Cup championship. The Egyptians were apparently the first to produce an artificial imitation of turquoise, in the glazed earthenware product faience. He recovered to win three more races, and as he'd done before, ran near the front most of the season. Scholars also disagree as to which tribes each stone is meant to represent.

Amazingly, he walked away nearly unscathed. 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]. Tony's 2001 got off to a frightening start, as he was involved in a nasty crash in the Daytona 500 where his car violently flipped over several times. 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. The two are still heated rivals to this day, with Gordon always seeming to outlast his competetitor. 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). Stewart made his displeasure towards Gordon known in an obscenity-laden tirade. In Western culture, turquoise is also the traditional birthstone for those born in the month of December.

The most well known of these came at Watkins Glen, when he and Jeff Gordon tangled and crashed into each other. While strong sky blues remain superior in value, mottled green and yellowish material is popular with artisans. Tony also began to get some bad press for his on-track incidents. Lesser material may be carved into fetishes, such as those crafted by the Zuni. However, he "slipped" to 6th place in the standings because of a handful of DNFs, and an increase in the number of competitive drivers, among them his teammate Labonte, who won the Cup championship. 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. Stewart showed no signs of a sophomore slump in Winston Cup in 2000, as he won six races. 1810, was a staple of Egyptian Revival pieces.

His attempt at "The Double" was mildly successful, as he finished in the top 10 at both races, but he fell 10 miles short of completing all of the miles. Turquoise, already favoured for its pastel shades since c. Tony also attempted to race 1,100 miles on Memorial Day, as he attempted to race the Indy 500 during the day and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte at night. 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. Not surprisingly, he ran away with the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. The French conducted archaeological excavations of Egypt from the mid-19th-century through the early 20th. He finished his first year an unprecedented 4th in points, the highest points finish by a rookie in the modern era (since 1972), and only bested by James Hylton, who finished 2nd as a first-timer in 1966. (A similar blue ceramic has been recovered from Bronze Age burial sites in the British Isles.).

He won a pair of pole positions at short tracks, and tied a rookie record with three victories. 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. He only failed to finish a race once, and even then he finished 9th. 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. Stewart spent most of his rookie season wowing people, as his car was often in the top 10. It also adorned rings and great sweeping necklaces called pectorals. In the 500 itself, Stewart ran near the front until problems with the car relegated him to a midpack finish. 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.

The Intimidator came out on top, but Tony had nonetheless impressed quite a few people with his performance. 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. He showed courage in one of the Gatorade Twin 125 races, when involved in a great battle with Dale Earnhardt for the win. 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. Stewart started his Winston Cup career with a bang, as he qualified his No 20 Home Depot Pontiac in second place in his first Cup race, the Daytona 500. Persian turquoise was often engraved with devotional words in Arabic script which was then inlaid with gold. With that move, Stewart ended his three year career as a full time IRL driver. 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.

Gibbs had enough confidence in Tony that he was moved into Cup for the 1999 season. 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. Stewart finished a solid 2nd place in 2 (of 31) starts, ahead of six drivers with more starts, and had an average finish that was comparable to some of the series' top 10 finishers. 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. He came extremely close to winning his first Busch Series race in Rockingham, but was beaten on a last lap pass by Matt Kenseth. 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. On the Busch side, he finished in the top-five five times in 22 starts. Among these peoples turquoise was used in mosaic inlay, in sculptural works, and was fashioned into toroidal beads and freeform pendants.

His season was something of a disappointment, especially as he finished last in the Indy 500 because of an engine failure. 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. In the IRL, he won twice and finished 3rd in the championship. 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 double duty did not affect his performance in either series. 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. Stewart so impressed Gibbs that he was signed to drive the majority of the Busch schedule in 1998 to go along with a full-time IRL schedule. 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.

When Stewart was able to finish, he was in the top 10, and had a 3rd place in Charlotte. It was apparently unknown in India until the Muhgal period, and unknown in Japan until the 18th century. This time, he was racing for Joe Gibbs, the former (and current as of 2004) coach of the Washington Redskins who was having a lot of success with driver Bobby Labonte in Winston Cup. 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. As he had done the previous year, he raced a handful of Busch Series races. 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]. Despite an average end to his season, finishing 7th, 14th, and 11th, and five DNFs, Stewart did just enough to beat Hamilton for the IRL title. Other notable localities include: Afghanistan; Australia (Victoria and Queensland); northern Chile (Chuquicamata); Cornwall; Saxony; Silesia; and Turkestan.

He became the leading contender for the series' championship after a bad slump knocked points leader Davey Hamilton out of first place. However, the existence of these deposits is doubted by some due to a lack of corroboration. Tony finally got his first career win at Pikes Peak, where he led all but seven laps of a 200 lap race. 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. At that year's Indy 500, Stewart had a good enough car to win his first IRL race, as he led 64 laps, but tailed off near the end of the race and settled for 5th. Most Chinese material is exported, but a few carvings worked in a manner similar to jade exist. He failed to finish the first three races of a ten race schedule, but recovered to finish second in Phoenix. Additionally, Marco Polo reported turquoise found in present-day Sichuan.

Tony was poised to improve his IRL standing in 1997, but struggled with finishing at times. Gem-quality material, in the form of compact nodules, is found in the fractured, silicified limestone of Yunxian and Zhushan, Hubei province. He had more success in a one-time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he finished 10th. China has been a minor source of turquoise for 3,000 years or more. In nine races, however, he had only a best finish of 16th place. These treatments include innocuous waxing and more controversial procedures, such as dyeing and impregnation (see Treatments). Tony also made a handful of starts in NASCAR's Busch Series that year. In an attempt to recoup profits and meet demand, most American turquoise is treated or enhanced to a certain degree.

When he wasn't racing Indy Cars, he raced stock cars. 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. In 1995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC's version of the Triple Crown, earning championships in all three of USAC's major divisions, National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. The crystals, forming a druse over the mother rock, are very small; 1 mm (0.04 inches) is considered large. Stewart was the USAC rookie of the year in 1991, and was the National Midget series champion in 1994. In 1912, the first deposit of distinct, single-crystal turquoise was discovered in Lynch Station, Campbell County, Virginia. He raced three-quarter midgets for a handful of years before moving up to the USAC series. The Nevada material is noted for its often attractive brown or black limonite veining, producing what is called "spiderweb matrix".

Born in Columbus, Indiana, Stewart grew up racing go karts, highly successfully, winning the world karting championship in 1987. Nevada is the country's other major producer, with an estimated 75–100 mines opened over the state's history. . 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. Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971), is an auto racing driver who has won championships in sprint cars, Indy cars, and stock cars. 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. 2002 and 2003 Virginia is for Lovers 200 (Richmond). The turquoise occurs as vein or seam fillings, and as compact nuggets; these are mostly small in size.

2005 Hershey's Take 5 300 (Daytona). Only one mine in California, located at Apache Canyon, operates at a commercial capacity today. 1999 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 (Richmond), Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix), Pennzoil 400 presented by Kmart (Homestead). 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. 2000 MBNA Platinum 400 (Dover), Kmart 400 (Michigan), thatlook.com 300 (Loudon), MBNA.com 400 (Dover), NAPA AutoCare 500 (Martinsville), Pennzoil 400 presented by Discount Auto Parts (Homestead). 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. 2001 Pontiac Excitement 400(Richmond), Dodge/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma), Sharpie 500 (Bristol). 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.

2002 MBNA America 500 (Atlanta), Chevy American Revolution 400 (Richmond), Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen (Watkins Glen), also won Winston Cup Championship. 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. 2003 Pocono 500 (Pocono), UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte). In proximity to nearby Eilat, Israel, an attractive intergrowth of turquoise, malachite, and chrysocolla is found. 2004 Tropicana 400 presented by Meijer (Chicago), Sirius at The Glen (Watkins Glen). 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. 2005 Dodge/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma), Pepsi 400 (Daytona), New England 300 (Loudon), Allstate 400 at The Brickyard (Indianapolis), Sirius at The Glen (Watkins Glen), also won Nextel Cup Championship. The colour of Sinai material is typically greener than Iranian material, but is thought to be stable and fairly durable.

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. Large-scale turquoise mining is not profitable today, but the deposits are sporadically quarried by Bedouin peoples using homemade gunpowder. Copper and iron workings are present in the area. The turquoise is found in sandstone that is, or was originally, overlain by basalt.

The former mine is situated about 4 kilometres from an ancient temple dedicated to Hathor. 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. There are six mines in the region, all on the southwest coast of the peninsula, covering an area of some 650 km². 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.

Iranian turquoise has been mined and traded abroad for centuries, and was probably the source of the first material to reach Europe. Although it is commonly marred by whitish patches, its colour and hardness are considered superior to the production of other localities. Iranian turquoise is often found replacing feldspar. These workings, together with those of the Sinai Peninsula, are the oldest known.

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. 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. 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. However, turquoise is often recovered as a byproduct of large-scale copper mining operations, especially in the United States.

Most are worked by hand with little or no mechanization. These are all small-scale, often seasonal operations, owing to the limited scope and remoteness of the deposits. Turquoise was among the first gems to be mined, and while many historic sites have been depleted, some are still worked to this day. Intergrowth with other secondary copper minerals such as chrysocolla is also common.

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. Turquoise may also pseudomorphously replace feldspar, apatite, other minerals, or even fossils. Stalactite forms have been reported. Typically the form is vein or fracture filling, nodular, or botryoidal in habit.

Crystals, even at the microscopic scale, are exceedingly rare. Turquoise is nearly always cryptocrystalline and massive and assumes no definite external shape. 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. 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.

As the solutions cool, turquoise precipitates, lining cavities and fractures within the surrounding rock. Initially at high temperature, these solutions rise upward to surface layers, interacting with and leaching essential elements from pre-existing minerals in the process. The hypogene hypothesis, which holds that the aqueous solutions originate at significant depth, from hydrothermal processes. Although the features of turquoise occurrences are consistent with a secondary or supergene origin, some sources refer to a hypogene origin.

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. 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. 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.

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. As a secondary mineral, turquoise apparently forms by the action of percolating acidic aqueous solutions during the weathering and oxidation of pre-existing minerals. Turquoise may also be peppered with flecks of pyrite or interspersed with dark, spidery limonite veining. Despite its low hardness relative to other gems, turquoise takes a good polish.

Its streak is a pale bluish white and its fracture is conchoidal, leaving a waxy lustre. 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.