Kingman Turquoise — Arizona's Most Storied Mine

Kingman Turquoise — Arizona's Most Storied Mine

The Kingman Mine in Mohave County, Arizona is the largest turquoise mine in the United States and one of the most productive in the world. It has been operating in some form for over a thousand years — first by the Hualapai people, who considered the stone sacred, then by commercial miners who recognized its extraordinary range of color and quality. Today Kingman turquoise is one of the most recognized and widely collected American turquoise varieties, carried by artists from the Navajo Nation to the finest galleries in Santa Fe. At Turquoise Mustang, it is the stone we have worked with longer and more deeply than almost any other.

The Mine and Its History

The Kingman Mine sits in the Mineral Park Mining District in the Cerbat Mountains of northwestern Arizona, at an elevation of roughly 4,500 feet. Turquoise was mined here by indigenous peoples for ceremonial and trade purposes long before European contact — archaeological evidence places Hualapai use of the site well before 1000 CE. Commercial mining began in earnest in the late 19th century, and the mine has been in near-continuous operation since, with periods of peak production in the 1960s and 1970s that produced the finest material ever recovered from the deposit.

The mine is currently operated by the Colbaugh Processing Company, which has worked the deposit since 1962. It produces turquoise, azurite, and malachite, with turquoise recovery split between high-grade natural material (a small fraction of total output) and lower-grade material that is typically stabilized for the mass market.

The Varieties of Kingman Turquoise

Kingman produces a broader range of turquoise types than almost any other single mine. Understanding the varieties helps collectors make more informed purchases:

  • Premium Blue Kingman — The classic Kingman color: vivid sky-blue to medium blue, typically with light matrix or no matrix at all. Clean, bright, and consistent. The variety most associated with the mine in popular recognition.
  • Blue-Green Kingman — A slightly cooler, more complex hue that sits between the pure blue of Sleeping Beauty and the greener tones of Royston. Highly wearable and increasingly sought after by collectors who find pure blue too predictable.
  • Sage Green Kingman — A softer, more earthy green tone produced by slightly different mineral chemistry in certain areas of the deposit. Understated and elegant; pairs exceptionally well with warm metals and earth-tone settings.
  • Birdseye Kingman — The rarest and most collectible Kingman variety. Characterized by circular, eye-like patterns of golden-to-brown matrix on vivid blue-green turquoise. The birdseye pattern forms when the matrix mineral limonite is deposited in small rounded nodules rather than veins. Birdseye Kingman is immediately recognizable and commands significant premium over standard Kingman material.
  • Waterweb Kingman — Fine, intricate matrix veining that covers the face of the stone in a pattern resembling water ripples or spider silk. Different from spiderweb in that the lines are finer and more random; the effect is more delicate and less graphic than classic spiderweb.
  • Red Web / Spiderweb Kingman — Bold, dark matrix — ranging from brown to black to deep reddish-brown — in a web pattern across the stone's surface. The red web variety gets its color from iron oxide in the host rock. Dramatic and highly collectible.

Why Navajo Silversmiths Prefer Kingman

Kingman turquoise has been a preferred material for Navajo silversmiths for generations, and for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. High-grade natural Kingman is hard enough to set without stabilization, takes a strong polish, and holds its color over decades of wear. Its color range — from pure sky blue to deep blue-green — works against both oxidized and bright sterling silver with equal success. And its availability in large, high-quality cabochons makes it ideal for the kind of bold, stone-forward designs that define the finest Navajo cuff work.

Artists like Delbert Gordon and Calvin Martinez have built significant bodies of work around Kingman turquoise, particularly the birdseye and waterweb varieties. When a master silversmith chooses Kingman, it is because the stone is worthy of the time they will invest in the setting.

What to Look for When Buying Kingman Turquoise

  • Natural vs. stabilized — The majority of Kingman on the market is stabilized. Natural high-grade Kingman is a small fraction of total production and commands significant premium. At Turquoise Mustang, natural stone is identified on every product page.
  • Matrix quality — For birdseye and waterweb varieties, look for well-defined, evenly distributed matrix. Vague or washed-out matrix suggests lower-grade material.
  • Color saturation — The most collectible Kingman is deeply saturated, with color that reads consistently across the full face of the stone. Pale or chalky areas suggest unstable material.
  • Hallmark attribution — Kingman turquoise set by a named, hallmarked Navajo or Zuni artist carries significantly more collector and resale value than unmarked work.

Kingman Turquoise at Turquoise Mustang

Our Kingman inventory spans the mine's full range — from accessible everyday pieces in premium blue to investment-grade birdseye and waterweb cuffs by master Navajo silversmiths.

Browse all Kingman pieces in the Turquoise Collection and the Native American Collection.