Monthly Archives: January 2023

Valentine Jewelry 2023

Warning: This Brown Rhodochrosite should not be worn if you do not want to be noticed.

It’s never to early to start thinking of a Valentine gift for your Valentine.

I recall when I was in grade school; so far back that most of you were not yet born.

One of the memorable events, I remember, was celebrating Valentines Day by exchanging Valentine Cards with others in my 3rd or 4th grade class.

The exchanging of cheap cards helped make for a happy classroom. I came from the poor side of town. We lived in the shadow of a Giant Paper Mill smokestack. This was good, because the rotten smell would mostly drift over our house and settle on the rich side of town. My best pal, Bill, and I played in the paper bails. A paper bail was about ten foot square, they were “stacked” haphazardly, inviting kids to make forts and hideouts in those bails. We sometimes found Valentine (and other) Cards in those bails. When Valentines Day came, I always had nice cards to give out. I, of course, never told anyone where I got the cards; after all, it’s the thought that counts.

I’m sure most kid’s parents bought them cards to give to the other kids, but my (paper bail) cards were always well received, and mom did not have to buy any cards for us boys to hand out. I had enough found cards to share with my three younger brothers. Paper bails were not a place for my younger brothers to explore, but most of the time I liked my younger brothers, and by sharing my found treasures, I felt good.

Green Petrified Wood from Hampton Butte, Oregon.
What make this unique is its’ color and it is the only Petrified Cedar found on Earth.

Today, Valentines Day is so commercialized by the Card Companies, Candy Companies, and jewelry Stores (of course). Don’t get the wrong idea. We promote local jewelry stores and often do custom cutting for them. I’m referring to big box jewelry stores who offer you aisles and aisles of diamonds.

Fluorescent Sodalite in Granite
This Yooperstone has a hidden surprise. I coupled this with some nice facetted Garnets. Adding the Garnets with the black Granite helps the ordinary looking stone stand out.
When a UV light illuminates the Sodalite, this Yooperstone really stands out.

Some of these slick TV ads promote Diamonds or colored gemstones. The subliminal message, in the ads, is that you are cheap if you don’t buy multiple Diamonds for your love. Most people reading this blog know that Diamonds’ inflated values are controlled by one central cartel based in South Africa. The world of stone is so much larger, we love to offer variety!

Pallasite Meteorite from Symchan, Russia
Olivine (a relative of Peridot) inhabits some Symchan Meteorites. When you shine a light up through the Meteorite, it looks like a yellow-shaded stained glass window. Olivine included Meteorites, are classed as Pallasite Meteorites because they contain Olivine.
Shot Copper
Copper Ore containing “Shot Copper” is occasionally found in the Keweenaw Copper Country waste piles. This Ore was hard enough to make a pendant from. Location found was in the Kearsage Lode near Calumet.

Snob Appeal Jewelry is a small business, based in a small town, in Northern Michigan. We do not use common gemstones that you see at every jewelry store. Our jewelry value is in memories, not costs. Most of our stones are much more rare than what you find in every jewelry store in the country. Our rare and unusual pendants always create a special feeling.

My wife Bonnie liked this Snowflake Obsidian
Could Lady Liberty be wading in the Michigan Snow Drifts?
Since she is not wearing a Carhartt Parka and a Story Kromer hat; probably Not.
Crinoid Stem
These Devonian Fossils are found in the same area as Petoskey Stones. It is more common to see them as little straw-shaped rings in our fossils.

In every case, our jewelry’s intent is to create a feeling of love, and that you are giving or receiving something that no one else has. We are surprised by people around this great country, having deep feelings about our Great Lakes Rocks & Minerals. Instead of common Diamonds, Rubies, and Sapphires, we have Lake Superior Agates, isle Royale Greenstones, Petoskey Stones, and Pudding Stones. We have hand made pendants, made of rare and unusual gemstones, from around the world. Our Etsy site features amazing beadwork as well as wire wrapped pendants. We’re not making millions of dollars, but we’re creating thousand of memories.

Pink Amethyst Lace
A very striking scenic Mexican Agate.

Valentines Day is very special to us, because a gift of our jewelry brings love and elation to others. Our jewelry is long-lasting, and evokes memories for our customers. We put love in every piece we hand make. We believe in buying locally, when we can, and we believe in honestly, Integrity, and fairness. Bonnie and I appreciate everyone that supports our small business, and are proud of our reputation. Over 1000 one-of-a-kind pieces are available on our websites.

Patricianite
Patricianite is a beautiful stone found in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is comprised of Prehnite, Chlorite, and visible Copper. This stone was found at the Cliff Mine. Lots of Copper in this one!!
Ammonite
Ammonites thrived in the seas millions of years ago (DevonianUpper Cretaceous,) but were pretty much wiped out 66 Million years ago, along with the Dinosaurs. They are Cephalopods, related to present day Squids and Cuttlefish
Lake Superior Agate
This Agate is special because the eye on the right side is clear crystal, and allows you to look down inside of the Agate. I cannot show this uniqueness with a picture. One you have to see in person.

Here in our blog and on Facebook we try to show you new jewelry that is available to purchase. Sometimes new jewelry is put into out inventory to be sold at art shows. Some jewelry is sold at our Snobappealjewelry.com website, and some at our ETSY site. Some jewelry is available at retail outlets, like Copper World in Calumet, Michigan. If you see any piece of jewelry you are interested in, contact us at Snobappealjewelry@yahoo.com. We can tell you (in most cases) where a piece of jewelry is, or if it was sold. Some pictures in our blogs are “linked” to that particular piece of jewelry.

This blog is to wish you a happy Valentines day, and we are so happy you can purchase jewelry from us, instead of rooting thru paper bails for Valentine cards.

All the jewelry in this blog is available as of the date published.

January Pendants Continue

My productive streak continues with custom work

We sold a wide variety of jewelry in 2022.

We are well known for our Great Lakes Rocks & Minerals (that’s a given), but we are also known for our custom jewelry, and our eclectic collection of rare and unusual ,world-wide, precious and semiprecious gemstones.

Just within the last week, I made a pendant for a customer in Biloxi, Mississippi. He found a beautiful stone on the beach in the state of Washington. He was unsure of what the stone was, and with a bit of research, I determined what he sent me was a piece of Ohanapecosh formation breccia from the older Cascades. The stone was glacially transported from the Mt. Rainier area to the beach where he found it. The identification was not common knowledge to me, or for most anyone else. Obscure; you bet. Just the type of rock I love. This stone was very nostalgic for the owner. I really enjoyed making something for his lady (and she loved it).

Ohanapecosh formation brecciated Quartz from the older Cascades.
Wow, that’s a mouthful–I will have to try to work that name into my daily conversations, from here on out.
This stone was absolutely stunning and incredible, a custom piece.

New pendants from the work bench

This Baltic Amber has been ready to wire wrap for too long. I purchased this rough from Kaliningrad, Russia a decade ago. I assume none of this is being exported currently. A beautiful clear piece with some silver leaf inclusions. This is a quality piece of Amber; very clear with a glass-like polish.
Amber Gold Pendant
A little different Pudding Stone, with black, red, and clear Quartz, in the normal mottled Quartzite.
Candy Flecks Pudding Stone Pendant
I loved this agate “porthole window”, in more solid red agate–a very unusual Lake Superior Agate.
I could not believe an oval port with Kilroy looking out; like a “Kilroy was here” feel.
Kilroy Lake Superior Agate Pendant

Even a short blog takes time some time to write, take pictures, and publish. Some never miss our blog, others stumble onto it, and others do not connect at all. These little blogs do help us with Internet standing. Snob Appeal jewelry is not a Rock Star. We do not get a million people reading this blog. In other ways we are Rock Stars.

Our jewelry Rocks. Our jewelry has Rocks in it. Our jewelry can Rock you. Our jewelry is not made from rocks you commonly find in your local jewelry store (and we don’t want to be). Our goal is to make you something unique. Thank everyone that supports local small businesses, and thank everyone that supports Snob Appeal Jewelry. You mean a lot to us.

Lavish Wire Wrapping of Distinctive Gemstones

Wire wrapping theory; according to Don

My consideration, before making a piece of jewelry is fairly straightforward. It mostly involves the feelings that emanate from a stone, and the enthusiasm, on my part, to proceed. As an artist, I practice seeing what a finished pendant could look like at the conclusion of wire wrapping. Also certain stones “Speak” to me, and tell me what they need.

Being able identify a finished cabochon, while looking at a rough stone has advantages. Rough stones often are cut with a finished piece of jewelry already in mind. The stone that speaks to me one day, may not be the one that speaks to me the next.

I sort through many dozens of stones, until a particular stone stands out from the rest. Once a gemstone is chosen, I can totally concentrate on a pendant until it’s finished. Bonnie knows that my concentration is so complete, that when she talks to me, I often do not hear her. She has learned that if I’m deep into my work, it might be best to not talk to me until I’m done.

Enjoy some new pieces of jewelry

Please enjoy some recent Pendants from 2023. This group is comprised of whatever stone grabbed me. There is no rhyme or reason why I made them. Let’s just say I was having fun flitting across the world of semiprecious gemstones.

Green Petrified Wood from Hampton Butte, Oregon. Green Petrified Wood is found in other places, but this is the only place in the world that the Petrified Wood is from Cedars.
Verdant Cedar Petrified Wood Pendant
An Actinolite Mix from the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Drone View Actinolite Pendant
Lake Superior Agate. This one is a banded fortification type (AKA Candy Striper).
Pastel Candy Lake Superior Agate Pendant
A dime-sized Thomsonte from the North Shore of Lake Superior
Soft Honey
Sonoran Sunset (or Sonoran Sunrise), is a beautiful combination of blue-green Crysocolla and Red Cuprite. The stone got its’ name from the Sonora Desert of Northern Mexico, where it is found. I created this piece as a unisex Pendant. This one is reminiscent of the Southwest and Mexico.
Desert Illustration Sonoran Sunset Pendant
A beautiful example of a Copper Agate found in Mine Spoil piles, and on the beaches near the Kearsage Lode in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Bands of Copper replaced some banding in normal banded agates.
Copper Swathes Copper Agate Pendant
Found on Lake Superior’s Northern region, this unusual Thomsonite stands out.
Light pastel colors permeate the White Thomsonite. I love to create pendants from rare and unusual stones, and this hit the mark.
Thomsonite Spree Pendant

Where to find Snob Appeal Jewelry

The pendants shown may be inventory stock or posted on our ETSY site (snobappealjewelry/etsy.com) or our http://snobappealjewelry.com e-Commerce site. You can also find our jewelry at Copper World in Calumet, Michigan www.calumetcopper.com.

By selecting favoured (Fancy spelling to match our Pendants) Stones and designing masterful Pendants, we invest in our treasured clientele. If a piece of jewelry makes us happy, there’s a good chance the recipient will also be pleased.

I really had fun with this blog, and hope you enjoy it.

Amazing 2023 JEWELRY

Between Christmas and New Years, the holiday rush is over. It’s a great time to create a few new wire-wrapped stone pendants. All I have to do is look thru a few hundred cabochons and see which ones inspire me. Guess what? I found some. So these are the first half dozen pendants that I created in 2023. There are links to the product page, when you “click” on the pictures.

Coober Pedy, in Australia is very famous for Black Opal. This Electric Blue doublet is very fine. A doublet is a slice of opal epoxied to a matrix stone.
Blue Radiance Coober Pedy Opal Pendant
Fire Agate is amazing material that requires careful cutting.   Quality Fire Agates have Iridescence Botrioidal inclusions in Brown Quartz. The trick is to carefully remove the brown Quartz, so that the maximum iridescence shows through, I ruined a lot of Fire Agate before my skill level blossomed enough that I now know where to stop cutting the brown Quartz, and get the most from this Gemstone. This piece of Fire Agate was mined from Slaughter Mountain, Arizona, and the rough was acquired at the Tucson Gem Shows a decade ago.
Supernatural Fire Agate Pendant
Leland Blue Stone (Slag Glass from Leland Michigan). “Leland Blue” is a very popular material from the old Smelter in Leland (NW Lower Michigan). I cut this one as a Quarter-sized heart.
Blue Glaze Leland Blue Pendant
I’m glad I purchased this Catseye Jade a decade ago. Mined in Siberia, this gemstone, due to Russian embargo. is now very scarce. The gemstone shows a distinct “Cats-eye”, as the stone is moved with light shinining on it.
Intimate Glow Cats-eye Jade Pendant
Ocean Jasper from the NW coast of Madagascar has always been a popular lapidary material. Circa 2000, it was intoduced in Tucson. Gene Mueller (The Gem Shop) had the good stuff back in the day. Old stock, like this, was mined out around 2006, so the heyday was short.. Particularly popular was the material with orbicular inclusions, like this stone.
Spherical Galaxy Ocean Jasper Pendant
Drusy (Druzy) Quartz in comprised of natural Quartz pockets; some left in their natural state, but the majority of Drusy is manufactured in India, using dyeing and/or Titanium Deposition. This deposition creates fantastic colorations and flashy gemstones. This is a gemstone you wear when you want to be flashy.
Frosty Glacier Druzy Pendant

I hope you enjoyed this selection of brand new wire-wrapped stone pendants. We appreciate our customers, and hope you enjoy your new jewelry in 2023, and beyond! Thanks for shopping our small business.