Lander Blue Turquoise: Field Guide to the World's Rarest Mine

Lander Blue turquoise comes from a small Nevada deposit discovered in 1973, with total estimated production of approximately 108 pounds of rough — making it the rarest documented American turquoise by volume. It is named in the world's top tier by collectors alongside Number Eight, Bisbee, and the finest Persian material. Imitations from Indian Mountain and from Chinese sources marketed as YunGaiSi are well-documented.

Mateo's Field Notes

Most mine stories begin with a prospector. Lander Blue begins with a family picnic. As Joe Dan and Joe P. Lowry document in Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone: "In 1973, Rita Hapgood, her sister Marilynn, and their two sons went on a turquoise hunt and picnic adventure in Nevada." What they found on that outing would become the most coveted name in American turquoise by volume — because almost none of it exists. (LOWRY ~lines 11723–11912)

Rita Hapgood sold the claim to Hank Dorian and Marvin Syme, who partnered with Bob Johnson to mine the deposit in 1974. What they found and removed is, by Lowry's estimate, everything Lander Blue will ever yield: "limited production (estimated at 108 pounds rough) and its quality grade of color and spiderweb matrix." (LOWRY ~11723–11727) One hundred and eight pounds of rough. Not per year — total. For comparison, a single productive Nevada mine of the mid-production era could move that in a week. Lander Blue's entire lifetime output fits in a large duffel bag.

That scarcity, against a stone Lowry places in the grading chapter alongside Number Eight, Bisbee, Lone Mountain, and the finest Persian turquoise, is the engine behind Lander Blue's collector status. The spiderweb matrix — which Lowry defines as "the rarest matrix; these formations occur when the host rock forms an evenly placed pattern within the turquoise formation" (LOWRY ~9405–9470) — combined with top color grade and the documented 108-pound ceiling creates a stone where legitimate examples are genuinely museum-territory rare.

The imitation problem is direct and well-sourced. Per Lowry: "many similar-looking turquoises such as those from Indian Mountain or YunGaiSi in China have been sold as Lander Blue." (LOWRY ~11723–11912) Indian Mountain is a Nevada district that produces material with visual similarities; YunGaiSi is a Chinese commercial source that has been documented specifically in connection with fraudulent Lander Blue labeling. Any piece marketed as Lander Blue without traceable chain-of-custody documentation from the 1974 mining period warrants serious scrutiny.

Related Entries

Compare with the other scarcity-driven collectibles: Bisbee field guide and Number Eight field guide. For spiderweb matrix context, see turquoise matrix guide. For grading position, see turquoise grading and color. For the documented imitation landscape, see Treatments and Imitations.