Top Row
Left Column

The necklace in the center uses nuggets which have been polished and organized by their size, but which remain in their original form.

The pendant at the left has a large piece of turquoise shaped and polished like a gem.

Middle Row
Left Column

The left and right sections of the middle row feature objects in lavender glass, including the pair of mottled purple and white drinking glasses on the left.

The top edge of the thimble, lower left, is a crystalline surface of amethyst.

Bottom Row
Left Column

For at least 2,000 years, the region once known as Persia, has remained the most important source of turquoise. It is in Iran and the Sinai that fine turquoise is most consistently recovered.

Top Row
Center Column

The Greek word "amethystos" may be translated as "not drunken". Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why wine goblets were often carved from it.

In greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of intoxication, was pursuing a maiden named Amethystos, who refused his affections.

Middle Row
Center Column

Amethystos prayed to the gods to remain chaste, which the goddess Artemis granted and transformed her into a white stone. Humbled by Amethystos's desire to remain chaste, Dionysus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple,

Bottom Row
Center Column

Left pillar - a fossilized snail, displayed because it is interesting and aethestically pleasing. Center rear pillar - amethyst in the form of one single crystal.

Here are fragments of geodes in which the crystalline structure can be seen. Two photos up (top row, center column) look for a hemisphere which is a sliced and polished amethyst geode.

Top Row
Right Column

Since at least the First Dynasty (3000 BCE), and possibly before then, turquoise was used by the Egyptians and was mined by them in the Sinai Peninsula

The Southwest United States is a significant source of turquoise.The deposits of California and New Mexico were mined by pre-Columbian Native Americans using stone tools, New Mexico is thought to be the location of the oldest mines.

Middle Row
Right Column

In the US turquoise occurs as vein or seam fillings, and as compact nuggets; these are mostly small in size. While quite fine material—rivalling Iranian material in both colour and durability—is sometimes found, most American turquoise is of a low grade

Bottom Row
Right Column

China has been a minor source of turquoise for 3,000 years or more. Marco Polo reported turquoise found in present-day Sichuan.