by I was on the fence about the Turquoise Museum in Albuquerque, NM, because it was a little pricey and had difficult hours for our plans while we were in the city.
However, our friend Agnes had previously visited it and been blown away, so we managed to squeeze it in. It was very interesting.
The museum has many, many turquoise pieces on display, from unfinished stones to highly ornate jewelry. There were assorted exhibits on history, mining, science, and the like, as well as displays of turquoise from around the world.
The museum is privately held, and family members were walking around the museum checking on guests and happy to answer any questions. It opened in 1993, but the family has had decades of the experience in the industry before that.
It all started with Jesse Zachary, Sr., who managed a turquoise mine in Colorado before moving to New Mexico, where he traded in turquoise, among other things. Subsequent generations grew up “in the industry,” acquiring collections, trading in turquoise, designing jewelry, and engaging in education.
There were plenty of tempting “purchasing opportunities” in the gift shop, but we managed to escape by yelling “we live in a van, we don’t have room” as Doug hustled me out the door.
The three natural stones are 16, 41, and 47.
