Old habits die hard. While I was in L.A. last week, my sister and I stopped at Ritual Adornments (where I took my first jewelry making class). I found this strand of turquoise drops (on that very wall that's in the photo, in fact) — and loved the earthy, natural colors. Even though it's pretty...

You are shopping for gemstones. Hmm, how about some turquoise? Your search leads you to many types of turquoise: Sleeping Beauty, African, Chinese, Viennese, Howlite, and Purple. What to choose? Time for some serious research. And what you will find can be a little confusing. African turquoise is really...