Stunning Pendant by Ruth Ann Begay, Navajo of Natural Turquoise from Pilot Mountain in western Nevada, USA. Ruth beautifully captures the earth's natural wonders in this timeless .925 Sterling Silver design.
 
Pilot Mountain Turquoise is mined in Western Nevada, USA at the Pilot Mountain Mine. The mine began as a copper tunnel mine in the 1930's but switched to Turquoise mining after discovering the quality and abundance. Today the mine is still operating on a small scale although, in the 1970's switched to an open pit mine.
 
The Pilot Mountain Mine produces some very high grade spider web stones in unique patterns and colors, including red, brown (most common) and black. The stones themselves range from bright blue to dark blue with a greenish tint. In fact the mine is is most famous for its ability to form dendrites in its Turquoise. Dendrite appears to occur randomly in stones unlike webbing it is less uniform. It starts with a narrow point and extends out to a sort of bulbus shape with smaller narrower portrusions- Kind of like a splatter!