Blackstar
Mines
Blackstar Mines is owned and
operated by John Greene and Cheryl Taylor, who have been mining a
local opal called "Tucson Blue", for 10 years in the local mountains of
southern Arizona. This opal only occurs in a small area and is quite
rare, and they are the only people actively mining this beautiful blue
gem so production is limited.
Most of the Tucson Blue stones are opaque and range in color from a very
pale blue to a very dark blue, and some stones will have red, yellow,
blue, green, or sometimes even a purple play of color. This opal does
not have the water content that makes other opal delicate - it is harder
than most opal, registering between a 6 &7 on the MOH hardness scale.
John does the mining and stone cutting, and Cheryl turns the specimens
into beautiful jewelry pieces.
At their shop, located in the Artist's Courtyard, you can buy Cheryl's one-of-a-kind hand-crafted jewelry
pieces, cut stones and specimens.
Contact Blackstar Mines at (520) 398-0451 or visit their website
www.blackstarmines.com
