The Turquoise Museum, Albuquerque

The Turquoise Museum is set in a mansion built in 2008, but with its turrets, over 100 chandeliers and stained glass, this enormous building looks like a Gilded Era estate from 1900's Newport, Rhode Island.  The building alone is worth a visit.  The Museum inside offers thousands of stones from around the world, both raw stones and exquisite settings into jewelry.  There are also some art pieces made using turquoise.  The Museum explores all facets of the stone, including the geology, mining, science of its distinctive color, myths and also how to avoid buying a fake stone.  Turquoise is widely mined in the Southwest and there are many specimens from Arizona and Nevada.

There is a small cafe on the premises.  It is located in downtown Albuquerque.



Many examples of the work of indigenous craftpersons

This artwork is made of individual turquoise beads

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