Cappadocia’s jewelries receiving great demand

NEVŞEHİR - Anatolia News Agency

Osman Yazgı (R) says they process precious and semi-precious stones in their center into 200,000 different types of jewelry. AA photo

Precious and semi-precious stones from different parts of the world are being processed and presented to tourists as jewelry in Turkey’s Cappadocia region, which is famous for its fairy chimneys, balloon tours and rock-carved boutique hotels.

Stones like turquoise, lapis, emerald, amber, amethyst, onyx and colchicines that are brought as raw material from various places are being processed into jewelry at the Blue Art Center, a handicrafts center in Nevşehir’s Avanos district.

“We bring green turquoise from Iran, emerald from Columbia and lapis from Pakistan. We also use amethyst from the Aegean provinces of Manisa and Balıkesir and Onyx from the Cappadocia region. We process these stones and sell them as jewelry,” Blue Art Center Director Osman Yazgı told the Anatolia News Agency.- Yazgı said they processed precious and half-precious stones in their center into 200,000 different types of jewelry with a staff of 54 people, including jewelry designers. “The processed stones are combined with various fabrics and silver,” he added.

Tourists prefer turquoise

Yazgı said their designs use many figures featuring Turkish culture and they also attach importance to highlighting turquoise, which is traditionally a very important stone for Turks. Most of jewelry produced used turquoise, he said, adding that tourists also show most interest in this stone.

“We have made a presentation to foreign tourists for them to return to their countries with something unique to Turkey. They already love the turquoise stone very much. Its lively colors and energy that rids bad thoughts are also very effective in attracting this interest,” he said.

Customers come from many nations, but those from China, Spain, Italy and Latin America were more interested in jewelry, Yazgı said, adding that they also produced stone-dressed jewelry used in palaces in the Ottoman times.

“Nearly 300 visitors come to the center to see the ‘seraglio jewelry.’ Also, Seraglio necklaces and rings produced with diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire, are among the most popular jewelry,” he said, adding that they produced different types of jewelry suitable for the varying economic situation of customers.

“We have jewelry for all budgets. Prices change between 50 and 45,000 euros,” he said, adding that a ring produced with diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire is sold for 3,000 Turkish Liras and they sell a ring with zircon stone for 50 liras.

Yazgı said they also produce gift products such as tobacco pipes and prayer beads using sea foam brought from the central Anatolian province of Eskişehir.

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