Author Archives: SnobAppeal

Selection of Snob Appeal Jewelry at Copper World Expands

Copper World in historic Calumet.

A recent mutual agreement between Calumet’s Famous Gift Shop, Copper World and Snob Appeal Jewelry will expand Copper World‘s exclusive line of our jewelry products. Copper World has always represented our line of Michigan Pendants prominently and have decided to double the number of pendants that they have on hand. You should always be able to find nearly fifty of our pendants available, and Copper World can arrange for me to make you a special pendant from stones that you find or most any other gemstone you would like.

Snob Appeal Jewelry has always felt that the best way to select one of our pieces is to see it in person, try it on, ‘FEEL’ how it fits your style and personnality. Selection is important, and comparing selections is easier if you have more to choose from. Our website has almost 800 pieces of jewelry on it, and represents the jewelry well, but there is something about seeing a pendant in person, letting it “talk” to you, as I often say, that just enhances the selection process. Our website has very accurate photos of our jewelry, but I have to give up much of the shine of the gemstones for detail. Holding a piece of our jewelry allows for a full experience with the beauty and aura of it.

A personal appearance at Copper World.

Copper World is a perfect fit for our Michigan jewelry. Tony and Tim Bausano are lifelong residents of Calumet and have hunted the rock piles in the Keweenaw area themselves. They are very knowledgable about my pendants, the rocks that are in them, and all the products that they sell. I think that it is important to know the details of any gemstone you buy so you can tell others about it. You can shop on Copper World‘s website and see our pendants when you click on “Jewelry” on their home page then “Pendants by Don Reed” .

This gift shop is class all the way. They feature many exceptional one of a kind items created by local (not foreign) crafts people. You can purchase anything from Stormy Kromer Products, to hand warming cups, to rocks with your name engraved in it! I especially like the “Yooper” postcards. The chutney is great too.

I am very pleased with our partnership and the way our high-end jewelry is displayed and handled at Copper World. Our items are the same prices at Copper World as they are on our website and at the art shows we attend, making them exceptional bargains.

Firebrick, Crysocolla (Bumbletown Hill), Datolite with Copper. These items were being made and are for sale at Copper World.

Firebrick, Chrysocolla (Bumbletown Hill), Datolite with Copper. These items were being made and are for sale at Copper World.

I have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, making personal appearances at Copper World in 2012 where I create Snob Appeal Jewelry in person. The Keweenaw is one of our favorite destinations and should be on your list also. When you go there make sure to see the folks at Copper World for a piece of Snob Appeal Jewelry (and some Thimbleberry jam).

Azurite-Malachite. My latest “Pièce de résistance”

Pendants are my specialty–I have made over a thousand and lost count along the way. I can make a good quality pendant in an hour or two if I am not interrupted. When I am doing a demo of wire wrapping, customers often ask “How long does it take you to make a pendant?”. I try to field this type of question with care. Is someone fishing to see how fast they can make a pendant? Or are they just showing real interest?

Generally these curious people never think of the time I have in finding the stone, cutting and polishing it, and then finishing up the piece of jewelry. This is a question that cannot easily be answered and I usually explain this to a customer. What used to take me four hours, might take one hour now that I am more proficient both in skills and tools.

When I get down to the actual wire wrapping I can get it done in a very proficient manner.

What, you may ask, can Don make in 8-10 hours? I’ve been sitting on a project that I just have not had the time to do. Fortunately and unfortunately I have been laid up recovering from a knee replacement. This has given me the opportunity to tackle these challenging projects.

A great stone is always the start for my jewelry. I bought the finest matched pieces of Azurite-Malachite I’ve ever seen at the Tucson Gem Shows last February. I could envision the finished pendant the minute I saw the stones.

After my successful operation I decided to jump in and challenge myself.

I first laid out the pendant. I would make this as four separate components. Any time I do a multi-stone pendant, it requires a lot of thinking ahead, about how the various parts will mesh together, as well as what stones to use.

The dark blue azurite perfectly matches the coloration of London Blue Topaz, and the pendant needed something at the bottom to “anchor” the design. I decided on a 16X12 mm, 12 ct gemstone. Pinks and shades of lighter blue also fit into the color palette. I decided to run a strip of 5mm facetted stones down the center between the two mirror Azurite-Malachite cabs. After some experimentation I decided on Pink Tourmaline, Apatite, and London Blue for the 2.5 caret facetted stones. I roughly laid out all the components.

Pendant components laid out

Now the real work began. I had to think on how to to best combine all the components, so I had to slow down and really decide how things should go together.

The pendant progresses.

Now let’s push on the the finish while fighting the tiredness the pain medication is causing. I just love a challenge. Fortunately the plan came together. The finished pendant is named “Lasting Romance”. I think that just about sums up one of the most beautiful pendants I’ve ever created.

Lasting Romance--the finished pendant.

WOW!

Michigan Greenstones-on the Workbench

I had a knee replaced a couple weeks ago. This has given me substantial blocks of time that I am using to make jewelry. This jewelry is comprised of pieces that have been on my to-do list, but up till this time I have not had the time to get it done. The pain medication I’ve been taking has caused drowsiness at some unexpected times, and at other times keeps me wide awake in the middle of the night. I have found that I can be quite productive when it is very quiet in the house and I am in complete focus. I have made a few really complicated pendants that I just have not had the time to do previously. Also I thought I would catch up on some really fine small greenstone pendants. These are from very nice Michigan Greenstones (chlorastrolite) and do not exceed one inch in height. Anyone that has wire wrapped can testify that smaller pendants and earrings are not easy to make. They take more care and finesse than regular sized pendants. The 24 gauge wire I use to make these pendants is delicate, easily scratched and gouged, and requires a skilled and steady hand. However, the resulting greenstone pendants are very popular.

Small and awesome greenstones have been on the workbench for the past few days.

My petite greenstone cabochons do not require complicated wire wrapping. It does not take much to overwhelm a small greenstone, so I keep it simple. I like to creatively name my creations–what do you think of them?

This is from an old collection and was found on Isle Royale years ago.

"Small Wonder" is from an old collection and was found on Isle Royale years ago.

"Concealed Silk"-a perfect petite Greenstone.

"Beautiful Mystery is REALLY nice," says Bonnie.

TThis is a very rare Isle Royale Greenstone with pink Thomsonite inclusions

"Cool Factor" is a very rare Isle Royale Greenstone with pink Thomsonite inclusions. Suberb!

Green Mist--What great chatoyancy!

From Bonnie’s Beading Studio

I don't think a better combination is possible with this combination of jewels.

I thought this month’s “on the workbench” should feature one of the new pieces from the talented Bonnie’s workbench. I just loved the colorations and design of this necklace. So here we go with descriptions from a very talented beader. I have asked Bonnie to tell about this set…

The Petoskey Stone is our official Michigan state stone, so it is very popular in most of our Lower Peninsula art shows. As an artist, it is a great neutral stone to work with. The colors are so flexible, you can mix it with any color you choose. Amethyst is a favorite choice of mine, but so is blue, black, or river stone (ivory color). Turquoise is such a popular stone, and in the southwest you often see turquoise and hematite paired together. These oblong turquoise beads are the beautiful robin’s egg characteristic of the famous Sleeping Beauty turquoise (Globe, AZ). Matrix-free, they have the clear bright color many people expect when they think of beautiful turquoise.

The shiny black hematite beads are faceted, similar to the smooth long turquoise bead shape. The focal bead is a nice round Petoskey Stone disc with an excellent hexagon pattern. With earrings to match, you can wear favorite stones from both Michigan (our primary state to hunt stones in) and Arizona (our favorite place to go in February for the famous Rock & Mineral shows).

This piece of jewelry is also featured in the November/December 2011 issue of Michigan Country Lines magazine in an article about Snob Appeal Jewelry and our dedication to jewelry made from Michigan gemstones.

DATOLITE-On the Workbench

Two unbelievably beautiful Datolite/Copper Pendants

Datolite in Michigan occurs only in the copper deposits in the Keweenaw Peninsula as well as on Isle Royale National Park. Datolite was never a valuable mineral when copper was king, and was left in the spoil piles at the mines. Today alert rockhounds are still actively seeking Datolite in the mine dumps.

Occasionally we find wonderful Datolite/Copper combinations. These unbelievably beautiful specimens make elegant and amazing pieces of jewelry. Copper World, our retail outlet in Calumet sells every one of these pendants they acquire from me. Sometimes these rare beauties reach my website. If you see these appear on this site, you should buy them immediately. These combination cabochons are quite scarce and warrant your attention. Small specks of copper are common within the Keweenaw Datolite and the colorations of Datolite is most often caused by copper, usually too small to see with the naked eye. This is where the wonderful pinks and reds of Datolite come from. The truly spectacular Datolite has large veins of copper in the Datolite and occurs most often in the veins seen in the leftover rock piles. This Datolite/Copper sets off our metal detectors and is a real thrill when found.

Each mine in the Keweenaw has a fairly distinctive color of Datolite associated with it. White is the most common and natural color for Datolite and has been found in all the mine spoil piles in the Keweenaw. The rare yellow datolite has no copper in it and derives its’ coloration from Manganese.

Datolite with a large amount of copper are difficult to cut and polish as we are dealing with different hardnesses as well as metal in combination with the datolite. The copper-included Datolite is also prone to overheating while being cut. When you buy one of these Datolite/Copper pendants you can be sure it was a challenge to cut and polish.

If you want something rare and beautiful from Michigan, you can’t go wrong with a Datolite of any kind, but especially these riveting Datolites with large copper inclusions.

Dinosaur Bone Jewelry

I found some wonderful Dinosaur Bone in my shop the other day. This finding rocks in my shop is not unusual, but finding such spectacular, jewelry grade, d-bone was really exciting.

Closeup of red dinosaur Bone showing agatized cells.

I am not expert enough to tell what dinosaur the bones are from, nor do I really care, but I can testify that this stuff makes wonderful jewelry. I pride myself on offering the most unusual quality stone wire jewelry on the internet.

I recall buying this material in Quartzite in January this year. At the time I thought this was the highest quality d-bone I ever saw. The colors are spectacular. The red pieces I have are deep crimson red with black between the cells. If you look at an individual cell with a magnifying device you see that each cell is an individual agate. Jewelry grade red is considered the hallmark for dinosaur bone, and is the most popular color.

You can tell the exceptional quality by the bone’s solidity and its’ ability to take a glass-like polish. Another piece of dinosaur bone I found is large celled with multi-colored agate cells. Each cell is an individual fortification (banded) agate. This bone is mustard yellow with floating red agates floating within it.

D-bone pendant

It is very hard to find this quality anymore as Dinosaur Bone, being a vertebrate animal, has not been legally collected in years. This bone was from a very old and famous collection, legally collected many years ago. All the bone I have is well documented. Amateur fossil hunters can be arrested for collecting dinosaur bone on BLM and federal lands. Current laws lean toward the scientific value of dinosaur bone versus the aesthetic value. This was not the case many years ago. If you found the bone, you could keep it.

Rare colored dinosaur bone

Closeup showing detailed agate cell structure.

Ordinary dino bone-nice but less colorful

Enjoy these pictures of my dinosaur bone jewelry.

Ironic!

This is 100% real! (Are you kidding?)

I swear this picture is legit. The other day someone handed me this button. Man is it nice; mom, apple pie, and the good ole USA, EXCEPT the button proudly spots a “Made in China” sticker.

This seemed really ironic; then I thought of how much of this imported stuff is sold to unthinking and uncaring AMERICAN consumers. I just wanted to remind you to thnk before you buy. If you want to support workers in a foreign country, go ahead, but when you have a choice I think you should support your AMERICAN craftsman.

Thanks for listening to my rant (the short version).

Don

ps-After I posted this blog I received several responses (comments) from obvious foreigners raving about the content and the good points I made. It is obvious these comments were spam generated and very generic. This was really humorous. These types of comments do not make my site as I have an approval lockout where I have to approve all responses before they go up.

Brockway Mountain-Paradise Lost?

A Brockway Mountain Sunset.

What is the most scenic spot you know? If you’ve been on this road, the Brockway Mountain Drive has to be at the top of your list. During the Great Depression unemployment in this area wasa staggering number, 75-80%. This scenic drive was created by unemployed miners digging through the rocky terrain of the northernmost area of the Keweenaw Peninsula ending in Copper Harbor, Michigan. Other New Deal projects were numerous and have contributed to the landscape in the area even today.

The 16 mile long road passes by a huge rock face on one side, with a steep drop off on the other side, in many places. Canopied with trees and unencumbered my man-created buildings, the Brockway Mountain Drive is a beautiful trip. At the summit, nearly everyone stops for a look at the scenery. On our last night we saw two lake freighters while we watched the sunset. From the summit you can see harbors, islands, lakes, trees. It is a priceless view, and it is FOR SALE!

Privately owned, this park-like setting has been used by the public since the road was built, but now it could be cut off to the public and sold to developers. Several organizations have joined together to raise money so that Eagle Harbor Township might buy it and keep it available for public use. The Nature Conservancy and the Audobon Society are adjacent landowners and are partners in the fund raising, along with many others including the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District and the Kewwnaw Land Trust. The are working to obtain grant and private funding to acquire the top of Brockway Mountain and surrounding 320 acres, and to keep it forever in the public trust.

The tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula is an important migration path for raptors as they move north. You’ve heard the phrase, “as high as the eagle”, well up on the summit that’s where you are!

Bonnie has family photos from the 1940’s of being on Brockway Mountain Drive. The trees are bigger, but the effect is the same-beautiful surroundings. We support the efforts of the local people of Eagle Harbor Township to keep this treasured piece of land available to the public. For more information, visit www.eagleharbortwp.org.

We have sent a check and invite you to help save the view for public use.

KCWC-Brockway Mountain Project

Eagle Harbor Towship

321 Center Street

Eagle Harbor, MI 49950

Did I mention that we drive up there every night while we are in Copper Harbor?! It is the only place for miles around that we can talk on our cell phone! Can you imagine a place where you have to drive 4-15 miles to use your cell phone, and the one spot might become someone’s walled-off castle?

We invite you to help get the word out, and the money in, and save this piece of Paradise.

On the Workbench at Copper World

Bonnie's agate and Datolite. I wonder what color it is?

This past weekend we made it to the Copper Country for one last trip. The colors were not in bloom yet, but we had great weather for a couple of hunts. We found some great Greenstones in matrix at the Central Mine and Bonnie and I both found a Datolite. Bonnie sat down to dig a hole and had worked on it for 20 minutes, searching for the elusive Datolite. She sat down and found one under her knee right out in the open. We have not cut her Datolite yet, but this mine has white, blush green, and some light brown Datolite.

I'm working at Copper World-I Love this place!

I wire wrapped at Copper World in Calumet all day Saturday. I have great fun talking to patrons as I explain the wire wrapping process. I had a great day all the way around. While I was wire wrapping Bonnie went to the beach and found a nice Lake Superior Agate right in a spot that hundreds of others had probably walked over at a public park. It pays to know what you are looking for!

The workbench produced several pendants including two wonderful Michigan Greenstones, a Lake Superior Agate, and a Prehnite.

My workbench at Copper World. Also notice the orange Laker "paint" agate on the bench.

The Prehnite is a cabochon of the Prehnite seam I found at the Cliff Mine and is shown in the blog I posted on August 12th. As I suspected, this apple green Prehnite was loaded with copper. I cut several nice cabs from this rock. I wrapped it in Argentium and double gold filled wire. I think the round shape and the copper inclusions made this piece a standout. What do you think? It will make a wonderful piece for someone.

The finished pendant was just amazing.

On The Workbench (9-13-11)

“Orange-aide” Agate wborangecabs

I’ve been slicing some elite Lake Superior Agates that I recently acquired. As you may know “Lakers” are my favorite gemstones. The colors and variety of patterns and types are incredible. This week I cut some amazing stones including one so unusual it defies description.

I would describe it as a wild orange and black atypical “Laker” that is unlike any I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of lakers). To me it looks like orange and black paint dabbed haphazardly on it. Bonnie thinks it looks like Mexican fire opal, it has such a depth and bright shimmer. I saved a piece of the stone to prove it is a Lake Superior Agate. That one agate begged me to wrap it, so this is one of my workbench projects this week.

wborange11

Orange "lakers" on the bench

As you can see the “orange-aide” agate is really fantastic. I decided on upscale wraps that enhances both cabs, yet does not take away the beauty of this agate. I wrapped both these agates in Argentium sterling and 14/20 gold fill, allowing the use of either a gold or silver chain.
This Lake Superior Agate is so stunning that they allowed me to add a bit of “bling” to the top of the pendant, and not take away from the stone in any way. I have always felt that one should never allow a wire wrap to distract from the gemstone. I see so many wire wrappers that do too much wire and cover up the beauty of the stone.

In many cases these “sculpture” people cover a perfectly good gemstone. Most wire wrappers also buy their stones and do not cut them. In most cases the cabochons are as bad as the wrapping. Check the web if you don’t believe me. OK, I’m off my soapbox for now.

wbpendant2

I hope you appreciate my style and stones. Thanks for checking out my blog. wbfinish11