Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Beads
Sleeping Beauty turquoise beads are the clean sky blue of the turquoise family — an even robin's-egg color with little or none of the matrix that webs through most turquoise. A strand reads as one unbroken color, which is why it carries a necklace on its own and sits so quietly against sterling silver. Heishi and chips keep it light; graduated nuggets make it heavier and more Southwestern. It holds its own beside red coral and lapis, and among turquoise beads it is the calm, matrix-free one.
The Sleeping Beauty mine at Globe, Arizona was a copper mine first; the turquoise came up with the ore, and its even blue made the name. The makers who valued that consistency most were Zuni silversmiths, whose petit point and needlepoint cluster work — a style developed at Zuni Pueblo in the 1920s and 30s — sets dozens of tiny hand-cut stones into a single ring or bracelet, every one of them matched. Turquoise production ended in August 2012, when the mine went back to copper alone.
Turquoise has long been carried as a protective stone — worn and set into ceremonial pieces across the Southwest, where it was believed to bring spiritual strength and keep harm at a distance. It is traditionally tied to the throat chakra and associated with protection, balance, and clear communication — said to steady the wearer and let honest words come easily. Sleeping Beauty, with its calm, unbroken blue, is the turquoise most often chosen when a piece is meant to speak of clarity and quiet protection.
Sleeping Beauty Turquoise 7-11mm Blue Chip Bead - 15-16 Inch
Original price
$307.00
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Original price
$307.00
Original price
$307.00
$307.00
$307.00
-
$307.00
Current price
$307.00
Dakota Stones’ Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Globe, Arizona — famous for the outstanding robin’s egg blue color and...
View full details
Original price
$307.00
-
Original price
$307.00
Original price
$307.00
$307.00
$307.00
-
$307.00
Current price
$307.00
Sleeping Beauty Turquouise 4-6mm Blue Chip Bead - 15-16 Inch
Original price
$212.00
-
Original price
$212.00
Original price
$212.00
$212.00
$212.00
-
$212.00
Current price
$212.00
Dakota Stones’ Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Globe, Arizona — famous for the outstanding robin’s egg blue color and...
View full details
Original price
$212.00
-
Original price
$212.00
Original price
$212.00
$212.00
$212.00
-
$212.00
Current price
$212.00
Even sky blue, little or no matrix
Sleeping Beauty turquoise is known for one thing above all: an even robin's-egg blue that runs the same from bead to bead, with little or none of the brown host-rock veining most turquoise carries. The color comes from copper in the Arizona ground where it formed. In hand it is a soft, waxy blue with a smooth polish, and where a trace of matrix does appear it shows as fine, faint lines rather than webbing. A matched strand reads as a single color, which is the reason the name carries the weight it does.
Color grades from one mine
The top of the range is the pure sky blue. Lighter blue and blue-green runs come from the same rough and are named as such in the strand title; deeper, more saturated blue is the scarcer end, and even color across a full strand is the mark of good cutting. Every Sleeping Beauty strand here is stabilized with the Zachery process, an electrochemical treatment that lowers the stone's porosity for a cleaner polish and leaves the color as it came out of the ground. All of it is cut from rough mined before the 2012 closure; Limited Editions strands are small runs from that stock.
Pick your size and cut
Sleeping Beauty runs from 1x2mm tubes and 3mm heishi through chips, pebbles and rondelles in the 4–11mm range to graduated nuggets up to 20mm — smooth cuts, which is how this turquoise is almost always worked. Heishi and small chips string into light, even-colored necklaces; graduated nuggets build the classic Southwestern strand on their own. At Mohs 5–6 it is a softer stone: keep it away from perfume, lotion, and cleaners, skip ultrasonic and steam, and wipe with a soft damp cloth. It pairs with red coral, lapis, and sterling silver, and sits beside Kingman turquoise where a design wants matrix next to clean blue.
About this stone
Color
Sky BlueRobin's-Egg BlueBlue-Green
Origin
USA (Globe, Arizona)
Mohs hardness
5–6
Treatment categories
Stabilized
Industry-standard treatment
All strands Zachery-process stabilized — electrochemical, no dye or resin, color unaltered. Mine closed 2012; all material is pre-closure rough
Mineral chemistry
Hydrated copper-aluminum phosphate
Crystal system
Triclinic
Stone family
Turquoise
Birthstone
December
Common cuts
ChipHeishiTubeRondellePebbleNugget
Common sizes
3mm5mm6mm10mm
Care notes
Avoid ultrasonic, steam, bleach, and household cleaners. Soft damp cloth only. Remove before swimming, gym, perfume, hand-washing.
Related stones
Turquoise, Kingman Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Coral
Frequently asked questions
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Is the Sleeping Beauty mine still producing turquoise?
No. The Sleeping Beauty mine in Globe, Arizona stopped producing turquoise in 2012. Everything on the market now was cut from rough mined before the closure, so supply is finite. Our strands come from that pre-closure rough. -
What makes Sleeping Beauty turquoise different from other turquoise?
Uniformity. Sleeping Beauty rough runs an even sky blue to robin's-egg blue with little or no matrix, which made it the standard for clean, calibrated strands — most other turquoise carries visible host-rock veining. It is the material to use when a design needs matrix-free blue that matches bead to bead. -
Is your Sleeping Beauty turquoise treated?
Yes — all of it, and only for stabilization. Every strand is treated with the Zachery process, a proprietary electrochemical treatment that reduces turquoise's natural porosity so it takes a clean polish and stands up to drilling and wear. It adds no dye and no resin, and it does not change the color — the blue is the stone's own. None of our Sleeping Beauty is sold raw. -
What shapes and sizes do you stock?
Chips and pebbles from 3mm to 11mm, heishi from 3mm to 6mm, 1x2mm tubes, 4x5mm and 4x6mm rondelles, and nuggets from 3mm up to graduated strands around 20mm — all smooth cuts. Strands marked Limited Editions are small runs cut from the remaining rough. -
How should I care for Sleeping Beauty turquoise?
The same as any turquoise. It is soft (Mohs 5–6) — keep it away from perfume, lotion, and household cleaners; no ultrasonic or steam; wipe with a soft damp cloth and dry. Remove before swimming or the gym. The Zachery process reduces porosity, but turquoise still absorbs what it sits in — the precautions stand.