TURQUOISE PROVENANCE:

This is designed with select cuts that came from the renowned Larry Cooley collection. Larry was one of the industry’s most favorable turquoise vendors, so when artists like Federico needed top notch stones for their own designs, this was the vendor everyone would buy from.

When Larry passed away awhile back, Federico had the unique opportunity to purchase Larry’s entire collection, which Larry had been carefully assembling and refining over several decades. Turquoise connoisseurs, designers, vendors, lapidarians—you name it—everyone fiercely coveted his collection. However, thanks to Federico’s close, longstanding relationship with Larry and his family, he was able to acquire the entire collection, albeit at a considerable price. This high cost reflects the superior quality of Larry’s turquoise and the unfortunate reality that most of the mines where this turquoise originated are now depleted.

Larry was known for carrying only THE best turquoise, characterized by its exceptional hardness—a key indicator of “quality” in turquoise—meaning his stones did not require any treatments in order for the lapidarian to cut them.. Nowadays, some of the rarest turquoise cuts he owned simply can’t be found on the market, and when or if they do appear, they command extraordinarily high prices per carat. So when this turquoise supply is finally used up, it will truly be gone forever. Each and every item designed with his turquoise is literally “One of a Kind,” since these stones cannot be replaced & are from a limited stock, which makes each piece a singular treasure with history, provenance, and unmatched natural beauty.

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THE PIN/PENDANT BUTTERFLY:

Using a variety of differently sized triangular cuts, I have always found it impressive how an artist can envision the final design beforehand, anticipating how each piece will fit together to create something so fantastic!

Designed with a ‘Sampler’ array of dreamy blues, to blue-teals, to one cut being a rich, deep green cut of Royston turquoise, each cut of Royston was hand-selected to complement the butterfly motif. Being that the Royston mine doesn’t just produce one color, so by using a sampler variety, this allows you to experience both the gorgeous blues & greens that this mine produces.

The great thing about this butterfly is not only the natural, untreated cuts of turquoise used in the design, but also the versatility it offers! You can wear it as a pin or, as shown in photos 3 and 8, as a pendant. The bale opening is quite small, so without opening up the bale even more to accommodate a larger diameter necklace, you can thread a thinner style necklace through it, since only something of a small diameter will fit. I used a thin leather cord that’s shown in photos 2 and 9. Another thing you can use, is threading it through a thin omega necklace or something along those lines. Worn as a pin: this will work on a heavier weighted fabric, or a hat, some purses, coats, etc. because of the weight it has. I would not recommend wearing it on fragile materials.

The shepherds hook bale is not soldered to the base, so to enlarge the opening, you 1st have to open the pin & then if you have a pair of needle nose pliers, you would gently move the hook away from the base to slip over say, a Navajo Pearl strand, a beaded stone necklace. etc. If you go this route, the hook would have to be opened enough so you can then close the pin.

A NOTE:**In this business, you pay for what you get. And just like with any other gemstone, there are 'grades' with some being low grade which are less expensive, while others are high grade and are more expensive.. Turquoise is the same, with the cost being higher for 'natural turquoise' that are a high/excellent grade. I always say "look at the price" & that should give you some clue as to how good something is, especially in jewelry. Though I must note, that anything with Larry's turquoise will always come with a higher price tag, due to the quality & limited supply***

PRICING IS BASED ON: Federico’s name, his decades old reputation in the industry, the quality & the limited supply & availability of the turquoise, the number of carats and the cost per carat for this higher quality, as well as rising cost of sterling. that fluctuates on a daily basis! Also reflected in price, is the cost to pay a “staff’ to do Federico’s designs & the time involved to make it..***Lastly, anything you buy that came from Larry’s collection, will always come with a higher price tag***

If you're like many of us who are big fan's of Cooley's turquoise, then please check out my other listings by putting "Larry's" name in the search when you're on the front page of the website.* (Since I have quite a bit, unfortunately only a limited amount will come up* ) We carry necklaces, rings, earrings, etc. So be sure to go through every category!

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DETAILS:

ARTIST: Federico Jimenez

TURQUOISE PROVENANCE: From Larry Cooley's Turquoise Collection

MATERIAL: Natural-Un-Treated Royston Turquoise

CUTS: Trillion

WEIGHT: 1.71 Ounces( 48.7 Grams)

MEASUREMENTS: 2.75" wide X 1-5/8" tall

METAL: Sterling Silver

METAL FINISH: Lightly Oxidized

CONNECTION : Bale/Shepherd's Hook OR Pin

HALLMARK: Sterling~ JF

Comes Gift Boxed

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:

Anything with this kind of price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement . (Reflected in shipping price) If you're not home in the day & need it shipped where it can be signed for, please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label***I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine.

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:

I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try my hardest to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color. When photographing warmer toned pieces (Especially green’s and oranges!) can come up more vibrant & seriously saturated so please take this into consideration. With these 2 colors in particular, I do very little color editing & actually have to bring down the saturation, since I want this to be as true of color in the photos as in person. Please realize that all monitors are different, so the materials can look more vivid (or duller) from one computer to the next.

To give you close up photos, pictures tend to make the item look GIGANTIC & everything is more magnified than in actuality. To get an accurate idea of how big this is, please either check it out being worn to get a rough idea (see photos) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements above.