Lone Mountain turquoise comes from Esmeralda County, Nevada, where Lee Hand claimed the deposits in 1920 as the Blue Jay Mining Lode. Counted among the classic "brand name" American mines alongside Number Eight, Bisbee, and Lander Blue, it remains actively — and carefully — mined today under owner Chris Lott.
The Moser brothers from Germany were said to be the first miners here. Then comes one of the best origin stories in Nevada turquoise: in 1920 Lee Hand was told about the deposits — and led directly to them — by a man who owed him money, hoping the location would settle the debt. It did. Hand claimed the ground as the Blue Jay Mining Lode and eventually sold out to Doc Wilson, who worked Lone Mountain alongside Number Eight and Blue Gem. Production peaked in the 1970s under Menless Winfield, but decades of unorganized, treacherous tunnels chasing the veins had dangerously weakened the mountain. Winfield collapsed the old tunnels with heavy equipment and ran a small open pit until he judged even that too dangerous and expensive. The current owner, Chris Lott, mines pockets of turquoise while working with mining engineers to develop the area safely. (LOWRY ~lines 11525–11556, 6699–6707)
Why does the name command such respect? The Lowrys put Lone Mountain in the shortest of short lists — the mines whose provenance alone adds value — and note that Americans name it among the best with Number Eight, Bisbee, and Lander Blue. Federal production records cited by Chambless and Ryan show how small the output always was: in 1955 the only turquoise production reported in Nevada was $20,000 worth, all from Lone Mountain, then owned by Doc Wilson. Rarity was baked in early. (LOWRY ~lines 9364–9375, 12259–12262; CHAMBLESS ~lines 10605–10615)
The stone runs from small nuggets to spiderweb fine enough that the Lowrys use it as a benchmark — the best Chinese spiderweb is measured against "the Number Eight, Lone Mountain, or other American mines." Rosnek and Stacey, writing in 1976, listed Lone Mountain first among the sources of the best recent stones, and documented it on the bench: needlepoint bracelets by Edith Tsibethsaye, and "sea foam" Lone Mountain set in 18-karat gold with diamonds by Navajo artist Andrew Kirk. In the Yazzie family record, Lee Yazzie visited the mine with Gene Waddell in 2007, and Raymond Yazzie's "Life's Beginning" bracelet centers fossil Lone Mountain turquoise that "matured to a bright blue color, processing for thousands of years within the earth." (LOWRY ~lines 7280–7289, 12039–12043; ROSNEK ~lines 11910–11921, 24035–24041, 31921–31923; DUBIN-GW ~lines 4759–4762, 7094–7105)
The classic-mine tier: Number Eight, Bisbee, Lander Blue. Doc Wilson's other ground: Blue Gem. Spiderweb context: turquoise matrix guide.
Ready to shop authenticated turquoise? Browse turquoise at T.Skies →