Sleeping Beauty turquoise is world-renowned for its distinct, intense robin's egg blue color and lack of matrix material. It is traditionally sourced from the Sleeping Beauty mine near Globe, Arizona, which has since shifted operations away from gemstone production, making high-quality specimens highly sought after by collectors.
Is this sleeping beauty turquoise?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch sleeping beauty turquoise with a known reference. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise sits at Mohs 5-6 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise leaves a white to pale green streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise typically shows a waxy to subvitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: sky blue, robins egg blue.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: massive, cryptocrystalline, crusts.
Often confused with
Sleeping Beauty Turquoise vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is noticeably harder (Mohs 5-6 vs. 2-4); streak differs — Sleeping Beauty Turquoise leaves white to pale green, Chrysocolla leaves white; luster reads waxy to subvitreous on Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and vitreous on Chrysocolla.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Sleeping Beauty Turquoise leaves white to pale green, Variscite leaves white; luster reads waxy to subvitreous on Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and waxy on Variscite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Sleeping Beauty Turquoise leaves white to pale green, Smithsonite leaves white; luster reads waxy to subvitreous on Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and vitreous on Smithsonite.
Often found alongside sleeping beauty turquoise
Minerals reported to co-occur with sleeping beauty turquoise. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CuAl₆(PO₄)₄(OH)₈·4H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 5-6
- Density
- 2.6-2.9 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White to Pale Green
- Luster
- Waxy to Subvitreous
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Massive, Cryptocrystalline, Crusts
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Gemstone, Lapidary, Collector
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Alteration Zones in Porphyry
- Typical price
- $10-100 per gram for high-quality rough, significantly higher for finished jewelry
Where rockhounds find sleeping beauty turquoise
Classic worldwide localities
- Globe, Arizona, USA
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal alteration zones in porphyry country — that is the host setting where sleeping beauty turquoise typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, pyrite, kaolinite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a massive, cryptocrystalline, crusts habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find sleeping beauty turquoise on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
