White Buffalo is a white stone with a black matrix, mined near Tonopah, Nevada, and often sold as “white buffalo turquoise.” Despite the name, it is not turquoise — it contains no copper and is a calcium-and-magnesium mineral. Its bold black-on-white contrast has made it highly popular in silver jewelry.
White Buffalo — also called White Buffalo Turquoise or Sacred Buffalo — was brought to market by the Otteson family, who mine it in the Tonopah area of central Nevada, in the same general region as Dry Creek turquoise. It is a striking white stone veined with a sharp black chert matrix, the reverse of classic blue turquoise's look.
Mineralogically, though, it is not turquoise. Turquoise is a copper-aluminum phosphate, and its blue comes from copper; White Buffalo contains no copper and gets its white from calcium and magnesium minerals (described variously as calcite, dolomite, or magnesite), with the black matrix providing the contrast. For that reason gemologists prefer the name “White Buffalo” to “white turquoise.”
The confusion is mostly a marketing story. Because the stone is found near turquoise, looks like a turquoise in form, and is set the same way, it is widely sold as “white buffalo turquoise.” That label is common in the trade, but the accurate description is simply White Buffalo stone — and a careful seller will say so.
None of that diminishes its appeal. The clean white body and crisp black webbing give White Buffalo a graphic, modern contrast that silversmiths use to dramatic effect, and good material takes a high polish. Telling it from soft white imitations like dyed howlite or magnesite comes down to its sharper matrix and, again, the seller's word.
When you buy White Buffalo, look for honest naming — a piece described accurately as White Buffalo (not implied to be blue turquoise), from a named maker, with its origin stated. That candor is itself a mark of a trustworthy seller.