Turquoise

Turquoise is a color between blue and green. Its name comes from turquoise, a blue-green gemstone that reached Europe through trade routes linked to Türkiye. In everyday use, turquoise can range from a pale, almost blue shade to a deeper greenish blue. We often associate it with clear tropical water, although water can look turquoise for several physical reasons.

The color we see depends on the wavelengths of visible light that reach our eyes. A turquoise object reflects more light in the blue-green part of the spectrum and absorbs some other wavelengths. Its exact appearance also changes with lighting and with the colors around it. In art and design, turquoise is used because it combines visual qualities commonly associated with blue and green.

On a screen, it is not one fixed color: its appearance depends on the display and the color system used. In the RGB system, for example, different amounts of red, green, and blue light are combined to create a particular shade. Turquoise also exists in nature. The mineral turquoise, which gave the color its name, is usually blue to green and contains copper and aluminium phosphates, with water in its structure.

It forms when mineral-rich water alters rocks, especially in dry environments. They are historically connected, but they are not the same thing: one is a color, the other a specific mineral.