Monthly Archives: July 2014

Thomsonite-The Amazing Pink Gemstone of Lake Superior.

Selecting Thomsonite and having coffee..can't get much better.

A few weeks ago I got a call from Grand Marais, Minnesota from a man I immediately liked. He said he was going to open a storefront and having seen my Greenstone Blog with the little Greenstones lined up on dop sticks, he thought I may be interested in selling some. He mentioned he had some very nice Thomsonite. I think we were on the same page, when I suggested we may be able to work out a barter; Greenstone for Thomsonite.

We met half way between his house and mine, in the Keweenaw. I looked through some very fine Thomsonite, while he looked through my Greenstone stash. I think we ended up with an equitable trade thus far. The trade is not complete as I need to get up to the North Shore and get more Thomsonte from him since he promised that there was lots more still at home. Who can carry all there rocks with them?

A selection or Thomsonite that are going to be cabbed and made into jewelry.

I recently cabbed the larger pieces, with great results. I even made a couple pendants from these gorgeous gemstones. These wild-eyed beauties of amazing pink are very popular. You know that Snob Appeal Jewelry specializes in Great Lakes rocks and minerals. Lake Superior Agates and Greenstones are our best sellers, followed by Thomsonite, Datolite, and Petoskey Stone jewelry, especially the rare Pink Petoskey.

Thomsonite is a copper-associated zeolite, and many of these gemstones sport little crystals of copper. Thomsonite is also found in the Keweenaw, but normally not with the dark eyes seen in North Shore stones. Both gemstones are highly coveted, scarce in good quality, and difficult to find and extract.

After cutting and wrapping the Thomsonite shown in the previous picture, I put them back near their same location in that picture.

If you look at the piece in the bottom left of the picture, you will notice a large “Feather” Thomsonite. This form shows no eyes and is comprised of tiny silky needles showing a chatoyancy, or sheen, that cannot be captured in a picture. If you ever get a chance to see one of these feathers, don’t pass it up. It is really amazing gem material.

The finished gemstones in the second picture were all cut in one day. I’ve been making cabochons for a lot of years, but I cannot remember a single day that my cutting has produced a more beautiful collection of gemstones. I had a smile on my face during the whole process.

Pink eyes are indicative of Thomsonite. Pink gold with gold or silver enhance this gemstone.

As I make Thomsonite Pendants from these stones, I discover even more beauty. It amazes me how no matter what color precious wire I use, the jewelry still looks fantastic. Two tone wire wraps of gold, silver, and pink gold show off these fantastic gemstones. I like to give them a little bling with an elegant top, but as always, I am careful not to distract from the amazing Thomsonite stone.

I am trying to get a few more pendants made, but I just had to take a break and show you the ones I made thus far. I think you will love them as much as I do.

Every Thomsonite lover looks for a dark eyed beauty. I expect this one to sell fast.

Every Thomsonite lover looks for a dark eyed beauty for their stone jewelry collection.

Greenstones-Reincarnation or Not

On occasion a customer may choose a different precious metal, or style over the way a pendant is wrapped, or design. Even though I carefully craft each pendant, I always put customer satisfaction over other considerations.

The original wrap of the most unusual Greenstone I've ever cut and wrapped.

greenstonereincarnate

Normally, a nominal additional fee is involved in the re-wrap. My recent re-wrap involved probably the most stunning Greenstone I have ever found, or most knowledgeable rock aficionados, have ever seen; an ultra rare Greenstone infused with beautiful red Cuprite. I have found no one, including folks at the Seaman Mineral Museum, that has seen this gorgeous mineral combination.

Close-up of the Cuprite in this Greenstone.

My discriminating customer informed me his wife preferred Silver and a more simple wrap, over the gold more elegant wrap. I thought just a couple pink gold wires would further enhance the Greenstone. Pink Gold looks remarkable with Greenstone. My customer was in agreement with the pair of pink gold wires. Pink gold resembles copper, and Greenstone (Chlorastrolite) is a copper-associated mineral.

Here are the original Greenstone, as well as the reincarnation. I was happy in both cases, and this just shows how wraps can be different styles, and yet still be amazing. I’d like you go to my Facebook business page and comment on which wrap you prefer (if you are a FB user).

Also, since I am talking about Greenstone, my most recent stash seems like it had some good potential. The difficulty with Greenstone is that you never know what you have, It is not uncommon to cut a hundred stones to get one really good one. Half your finds may not even be Chlorastrolite. Some will be Calcite Balls, Copper Balls, or Mud Balls. They can also be Greenstone wannabes, or for a better description, half-baked Greenstones. You guys that have collected, and worked with this material, know exactly what I’m talking about. The rock hunter can begin with a good size pile of stone and after lapidary work, end up with very little, or maybe sadly nothing. But when Karma is smiling on you, the Michigan Greenstone Jewelry that can result, is very special indeed.

Lake Superior Agates, Datolite, and Greenstones on my Workbench.

I just can’t stop cutting Lake Superior Agates; Making
jewelry from them, or digging through my buckets, looking for that perfect jewelry stone.

Big brown eyes islandlakersajlogo

Recently I’ve cut some unusual pieces. One was a very rare Lake Superior Moss Agate. It resembled a Montana Moss Agate, but had banded eyes. I had to play with my photo studio lighting so you can see this detail. Another couple featured red Islands floating in seas of clear Quartz. roundislandlaker2

Lake Superior Agate Pendants are my passion. Enjoy these few additional pieces of eye candy.

Mesnard Datolite with Isle Royale Greenstone.

A few cabochons of Datolite from the Mesnard Mine in Hancock have been sitting on my workbench for a few weeks. I look at gemstones for a while sometimes, and eventually they speak to me and tell me what they want me to do with them! This was the case with the Mesnard Datolite. Sometimes I put off wrapping these because my idea was a bit complicated and I need to be in the right frame of mind to work on them. I’m sure you will love the results, especially with the pair of Greenstone Beads I added to this free-swinging creation. The Mesnard is known for its’ bright pastel colors, but as with most of the old mines, material is scarce and getting harder to find each year.

This is a busy time at Snob Appeal Jewelry. We have taken some time off to make jewelry. In August, we have shows in Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, and doing demos at Copper World in Calumet (AKA the best gift store anywhere around Lake Superior). See you there.

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Radial Sagenite Laker.

Made you smile!

A rare Lake Superior Moss Agate (both sides)