Turquoise comes form the Middle English, Old French word ‘turqueise' which means Turkish stone. It may have also been derived from the Persian word ‘Firouze'. It is the birthstone of people who were born in December.

Turquoise is essentially an opaque semi-precious stone that come in a wide range of color â€" from intensely greenish blue to the paler sky blue. Chemically speaking, it is a hydrous phosphate made from copper and aluminium. It is relatively rare and valuable in the finer grades. Also, it has been prized as a beautiful gemstone and as an ornamental stone for many, many years, because of its striking hue. During more recent times and similar to the other opaque gemstones, turquoise has been devalued little by little because of the introduction of imitations, artificial treatments and synthetics in the market, and there are even some that are very hard to detect, not even by experts.

Aside from being an opaque stone, it is somewhat porous as well. It is known to be formed through the leaching of meteoric or groundwater going through aluminous rock. It has a hardness of 6 on the Moh's scale. Turquoise can be mined in the US, Mexico, Persia, Russia, Tibet, Australia and Chile.

Some of its many holistic benefits would include assistance in tissue regeneration and help for nutrient absorption in the body. It is also believed to have the ability of protecting against pollutants and toxins.

Ancient Greeks have long believed that turquoise has the power of protecting the person wearing it from being harmed by evil through changing its color.