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Artificial products / Manufactured products · Artificial product type · Imitation; record actual material
Pressed Turquoise
A man-made product made by bonding and pressing turquoise fragments; under GB/T 16552-2017 clause 5.1.3.4 it should be named "reconstructed turquoise". This page compares how the major standards and institutions name it, what must be disclosed when selling it, whether it can be worn every day, how it is treated and identified, and which source each conclusion comes from.
Price, rarity and origin are outside the scope of this wiki.
What this page can answer
This page covers
- How Pressed Turquoise forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale, each finding graded and sourced
- How to identify Pressed TurquoiseHow far lab testing can go
- Caring for and wearing Pressed TurquoiseCleaning, heat, chemicals and light, as the cited sources give them
- Pressed Turquoise in English, Chinese and Japanese; national standard namesNames in four languages, the GB/T standard name and the suggested listing name; and: Has any of GIA, FTC, CIBJO or Gem-A put a name for it on record here?
- Listing and disclosing Pressed TurquoiseThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
- Standard clauses that define Pressed TurquoiseWhich clause defines it, each cross-checked
What we cannot conclude
- Whether one particular bead is natural, treated or synthetic — only a laboratory report can settle that.
- Geographic origin, unless an origin report accompanies the item.
- Price, rarity or investment value: this wiki covers naming and disclosure only.
Material research: formation, causes and history
What authoritative sources say about how this material forms, what causes its colour and optical effects, where its name comes from and how people have used it. Each statement carries an evidence grade and its sources; it describes the material in general, not any specific piece.
How it forms
Pressed turquoise is a composite product in which fragments of natural turquoise are bonded (or fused) together with a polymer; it belongs to CIBJO's pressed materials, and CIBJO lists pressed turquoise explicitly as an example under artificial uncrystallised products. It is not solid natural turquoise: natural turquoise is a microcrystalline aggregate, whereas pressed turquoise comes from artificially recombining turquoise fragments into a whole. GIA examined composites of this kind in purple-pink, yellow-green and blue varieties—the purple-pink and yellow-green samples bonded with a coloured polymer, the blue ones with a colourless polymer.
Scope: Applies to explaining the man-made composite nature of pressed turquoise, how it is distinguished from natural turquoise, and its naming disclosure; not used to describe the geological formation of natural turquoise.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022 · G&G Summer 2010 · GIA Turquoise Description
Where it forms
Natural occurrence environment does not apply: pressed turquoise is made in a workshop by bonding (or fusing) fragments with a polymer, not formed in nature.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Imitated/parent object: natural turquoise is a microcrystalline aggregate of hydrated copper-aluminium phosphate — this is the parent turquoise's composition, not this product's.
Sources GIA Turquoise Description
How it forms, step by step
Collect and crush natural turquoise into fragments or powder (often bearing host-rock matrix).
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Bond the fragments into a whole with a colored or colorless polymer (adhesive), or heat-fuse them.
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Cure and set the mass into a block and, as required, fashion it into finished pieces.
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Name/disclose the product per CIBJO by the material name or as 'imitation turquoise'.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Link to appearance
Pressed turquoise is used to imitate turquoise's blue appearance, but it is a bonded composite of fragments rather than a natural solid; the color can be governed by the polymer, so appearance is inconclusive and structural evidence (bonding boundaries) is needed.
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Timescale
The cited authorities give no manufacturing duration or date of origin for pressed turquoise.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Related base materials
- Turquoise: pressed-material parent | Pressed turquoise is made by bonding together fragments of natural turquoise; its parent material is turquoise
Supporting findings
Pressed turquoise is a man-made composite made by bonding turquoise fragments with a polymer, not a natural solid.
Evidence grade AScope: States the manufacturing route and artificial nature; sample scope is the composites examined in that study.
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Recorded localities
This is a manufactured, assembled or treated product that contains natural material. No locality is given for the finished product; see the parent material's entry for where the natural component is recorded.
Other research findings
CIBJO explicitly lists pressed turquoise as an example of pressed materials among artificial uncrystallised products.
Evidence grade AScope: A classification/terminology placement; no specific process parameters.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Such artificial turquoise composites include variants: purple-pink and yellow-green samples bonded with a colored polymer, and blue samples bonded with a colorless polymer.
Evidence grade AScope: Describes only the adhesive and color of the examined samples, not all pressed turquoise.
Sources G&G Summer 2010
Under CIBJO an artificial uncrystallised product must be described by the name of the material it is composed of or as 'imitation + imitated material name', e.g. 'imitation turquoise'.
Evidence grade AScope: A naming/disclosure rule; not about physical properties.
Sources CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Its parent material turquoise is a microcrystalline aggregate (hydrated copper-aluminium phosphate), the natural material that pressed turquoise imitates.
Evidence grade AScope: Describes the aggregate structure of parent turquoise for contrast; not applicable to pressed turquoise.
Sources GIA Turquoise Description
Limits of this research
- Research status: Formation, occurrence or other material-specific findings found in authoritative sources
- The cited authorities give no specific adhesive formulation, temperature or duration for pressed turquoise.
- 'Pressed turquoise' may in the market also denote products of other bonding processes (e.g. resin stabilisation); this record covers only the CIBJO pressed-material and GIA-examined composite sources.
- Pressed turquoise is a man-made composite and cannot be equated by appearance with natural solid turquoise.
Methodology
- Origin determination and its limits
- Quality grading and value factors
- How gemmology became a technical discipline
Evidence grades
- A
- Standards bodies, government geological surveys, peer-reviewed research and museum records
- B
- Institutional educational material
- C
- Specialist databases or cautious readings
A statement is never graded above its strongest source.
This section is LumaLark's own factual restatement of public authoritative sources, credited item by item; it contains no verbatim excerpts, images or third-party logos.
DecideListing name, disclosure, care and treatments
- Suggested listing name
- Pressed Turquoise / Reconstructed Turquoise
GB/T 16552—2017 5.1.3.4 · CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022 5.67
This page cannot answer
Natural? · Origin · Price
A lab report settles these; this wiki covers naming and disclosure.
Related:What this page can answer
Answer at a glance
"Pressed Turquoise" is a market name rather than a mineral species name; before using it, verify: Not a mineral: man-made or non-mineral material.
Evidence
- GB/T · 5.1.3.4
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Pressed Turquoise / Reconstructed Turquoise" and any disclosed treatments on this page, and ask the seller for a grading report if in doubt.
Known uncertainty
- This entry's exact material identity is not fully settled.
- See “Disclosure and cautions” above
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-01
Trade-name ruling
- Not a mineral: man-made or non-mineral material.
- Suggested listing name
- Pressed Turquoise / Reconstructed Turquoise
Care and wear
Care
Pressed Turquoise — care (special care): AGTA lists turquoise reconstructed and bonded with polymer as a composite material (CMP) that needs special care and should be kept away from household chemicals, heat, abrasives, ultrasonic cleaning and sudden knocks.
AGTA Gemstone Information Manual, 17th ed.
- Treatment state
- any treatment state
- Qualification
AGTA's wording is “Reconstructed”; §5.69 of the CIBJO Gemstone Book calls that older term misleading and says it should not be used, pointing to “pressed materials” instead.
Source & check 2026-09-28
- Source
- AGTA Gemstone Information Manual, 17th edition (August 2026) (AGTA): p.XIX, Tag codes and definitions, D. Composite materials (CMP), example row “Turquoise - Reconstructed and Bonded with Polymer” and the care sentence after it (locator checked 2026-09-28)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-28
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
VerifyNames, standards, technical facts, clauses and sources
Names
The name register below lists one name for Pressed Turquoise in a non-Latin script: 1 with no restriction recorded on use as a name.
Standard and listing namesThe national-standard name corresponding to Pressed Turquoise is reconstructed turquoise (GB/T 16552—2017), and the name Pressed Turquoise itself is not listed in the original; the trade name/synonym is reconstructed turquoise, which is the Chinese standard name; the suggested listing name is Pressed Turquoise / reconstructed turquoise. Names in four languagesNames are given in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (Pressed Turquoise) and Japanese; the Japanese name is the entry's own, and the wording used by GSJ (Japan) for this name is not yet verified by this site. Trade and mineralogical namesThe mineralogical name describes an artificial product made by bonding turquoise fragments. Institution usageOn authority wording, the FTC text contains no wording for this name (checked); the wording of GIA, CIBJO and Gem-A for this name is unchecked; bodies without a recorded wording show the entry's own English name, Pressed Turquoise, which does not represent the position of those bodies.
Name register
Every name recorded for this entry, with how it is classified, whether it may be matched to this entry automatically, whether it may be used as a product name, and the clause it rests on.
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| Name | Type | Matching | Use as a name | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no restriction recorded (1) | ||||
| 再造绿松石Simplified Chinese | synonym | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited); Note: Chinese standard name. |
How each authority words this name: see Names › Authority wording.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- プレスドターコイズ (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- GB/T naming counterpart (this name is not in the standard)
- 再造绿松石 (GB/T 16552—2017 §5.1.3.4)
- Mineralogical name
- Artificial product made from turquoise fragments bonded together
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 压制绿松石
- 繁體中文
- 壓制綠松石
- English
- Pressed Turquoise
- 日本語
- プレスドターコイズ
See also: Misleading and prohibited trade names · Supplementary name index
Classification
- Origin
- Artificial products / Manufactured products
- Material domain
- Artificial products / Manufactured products
- Browsing family
- Imitation gem products
- Identity tier
- Artificial product type
- Mineral chemical class
- Mixed / composition-dependent
- Construction or treatment status
- Imitation; record actual material
What it is and how it's identified
In CIBJO's classification, Pressed Turquoise belongs to artificial amorphous products; its composition (phase) is low-grade turquoise fragments ground into powder and bonded into a solid block with polymer resin, the fragments sometimes mixed with chrysocolla and variscite. CIBJO gives Pressed Turquoise as an example of pressed materials among products of various compositions, grouped with man-made glass, lead glass and plastic as artificial amorphous products, all used to imitate the appearance of gemstones and organic gems; CIBJO's grouping comes from an institutional manual and is a trade classification, not a national standard; the same CIBJO manual places pressed amber under artificial products containing gem material, a different grouping from Pressed Turquoise. The cited source explains that, strictly speaking, Pressed Turquoise is not a treatment but an artificial product made from fragments; some turquoise imitations are passed off as pressed or reconstituted turquoise, so the composition needs to be confirmed by testing.
Registered material facts
Each row carries its own source and check date and can be cited on its own; “—” means the cited source gives no value, not “none”.
Definition
Pressed Turquoise: Artificial uncrystallised products include man made glass (5.40), lead glass (5.50), plastic and products of various compositions, such as pressed materials (e.g. pressed turquoise) that are used to imitate the appearance of gemstones and organic gem materials.
CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
- Qualification
CIBJO trade classification from an institutional manual, not a national standard. The English text quotes the full sentence at §3.2.4 of the Official Gemstone Book 2022. The same book places pressed amber under §3.2.1 (artificial products with gemstone components), so the two are classed differently.
Source & check 2026-09-28
- Source
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-28
Pressed Turquoise — composition (phase): low-grade turquoise fragments, sometimes mixed with chrysocolla and variscite, powdered and bonded into a solid block with polymer resin.
CIBJO Retailers' Reference Guide (2021)
- Qualification
The guide notes that pressed turquoise is not a treatment in the usual sense but an artificial product made from fragments, and that some imitation turquoise is passed off as pressed or “reconstructed” turquoise, so the composition has to be confirmed by testing.
Source & check 2026-09-28
- Source
- CIBJO Retailers' Reference Guide — Gemstones (November 2021) (CIBJO): p.71, Turquoise chapter, Treatments (locator checked 2026-09-28)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-28
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Testing and market
The CIBJO laboratory protocol covers Pressed Turquoise under “Turquoise” (§6.1.88): see identification on the Turquoise entry; the required tests are listed on the CIBJO laboratory protocol table for Turquoise.
How far testing can go
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Clause-level definitions
At clause level, Pressed Turquoise is registered under the term Pressed Turquoise, the corresponding clause being GB/T 16552-2017 Annex A, which defines it as an artificial product made from turquoise fragments bonded together. The cross-check shows that GB/T lists the name directly, while no standalone CIBJO entry under the same name was found.
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| Term | Clause | Definition | Cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressed Turquoise | GB/T 16552-2017 Annex A | Artificial product made from turquoise fragments bonded together | Listed directly by GB/T; CIBJO carries no standalone entry under the same name. |
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. Gemmological Laboratories Book (Blue Book), Gemmological Commission 2024-1.
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. The Gemstone Book (Blue Book), 2022.
- SAMR / SAC (China). GB/T 16552—2017 Gems — Nomenclature.
- Federal Trade Commission (United States). In the Loupe: Advertising Diamond, Gemstones and Pearls.
Further reading
Related entries and topic cluster
Parent entry and related pages on this site. Rows marked “Planned” are suggested new content and have no link yet.
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| Page | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing family | Imitation gem products | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Pressed Turquoise entry are maintained by the LumaLark wiki and matched one by one to the standard clauses or institutional sources they cite: every fact carries its source (with a clause or page locator) and a check date, so it can be traced back to the original; clause-level definitions also carry a cross-check result. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.