Award-winning Yaqui jeweler, Michael Horse, made this 14kt ring and set natural Lone Mountain turquoise in it. Turquoise aficionados will know that Lone Mountain turquoise is highly sought after and hard to find. "Michael Horse" is engraved on the inside of the bad. The band is tufa cast, more about that jewelry making process below.

Size:8.75

Tufa is a volcanic stone which can be as dense as chalk which has an organic texture. The first thing a jeweler does is examine a piece of tufa for any tiny fractures. If it looks good, the tufa is cut in half and, if there is a design, it is carved into the tufa. There is a pour hole carved into the top and several narrow vents carved into each side. The two pieces are then bound together tightly and molten silver or gold is poured through the hole at the top. If there are any microscopic cracks, the tufa explodes when the metal is poured in and the process has to begin again.