Starting by carefully listening to buckets of rocks, a special few are chosen to go into the sorted rough bucket.

We all know that stones are Mute (and sometimes mutant), but there are people, like myself, and many of my friends, that can communicate with them. The talks I have are more like communing, rather that talking. I’ve heard people, like my mother, who would say “You boys are like talking to rocks.” I guess I did not get the power to talk to rocks from her. My mother did not hate rocks; in fact she had a large rock garden. Every trip we ever took she would fill any unused space up with rocks to haul home and add to the garden. We would visit farmer’s rock piles and pick out the “prettiest” rocks and haul them home in our American Flyer Wagon. I

The proud, the chosen few to go on.

think that the was genesis of my rockhounding, also the beginning of my hobby “getting out of hand”. Start as a boy picking up rocks, end up after retirement wishing you had that ham-sized agate my mom had holding the door open back then. She actually thought is was a petrified ham! I regret never asking her what she did with that petrified ham. We never had a clue about agates back then.

An actual Victoria Stone made by someone that could not hear the rock.

The same pendant re-wrapped by someone that speaks to the rock.

Rocks are not inclined to say much when you are looking for them; very stealthy and silent. They do not easily give up their locations, but once captured (or nabbed as we say), they will not shut up.

This talk I have with rocks begins when I look into a bucket for a worthy stone that I can make into a piece of Snob Appeal Jewelry. You know how excited your dog is when you come home after being absent for a while? These rocks covertly dance and shake and I can clearly hear them yelling “pick me, pick me!”. The rocks are definitely not seditentary. No respectable rock wants to be an also-ran. It seems one will be yelling louder, be cleaned up a little nicer, or just have the type of attitude that makes me want to chose it. It’s sort of like a game of “The Rock Apprentice” where you are sad you don’t make the cut, but you could get back in the game later.

Lake Superior Agate of the Paint variety.

One of the painted pendants.

I’ll slab the rock, then pick out the best area within the slab. Again a rock will tell me what shape they should be–a stylish designer cut perhaps, or a more conservative clip? This cut will be based on several factors, but most important what the gemstone wants me to do. Most stones will want me to match the cut with their patterns. They always want to be shaped to their best, and later dressed with a fitting wire wrap.

This Rhodocrosite just told me to matched its' pattern with the top.

This amazing laker knew that no matter how I wrapped it, it would look good.

I have found that the fancier the gemstone is, the less it will care for a very fancy wrap. My stones like me because I treat them with respect. Gemstones are usually vain (some actually do come from veins). These conceited stones do not wish to be covered them up with a lot of wrapping that will distract from their beauty. The less appealing, or less fancy stones will generally want a fancier wrap in order to enhance them.

Possibly the very best agate I have ever wrapped. No matter what you do with a stone like this, it looks good. This one was so pretty; and it knew it. I kept hearing it talk like Ali "Ain't I pretty?"; I finally just had to turn it off.

A nice Botwana Agate slice.

The same begging and pleading happens when I go to one of my many cabochon trays. The only difference between the bucket stones and the tray stones is that the ones in the tray are far more aggressive. They know their chance to shine is near, and they are very verbal. Sometimes I’ll look in a tray and find a random cabochon to have a crack, scratch, or flaw that I had not noticed before. This situation is always suspicious. I wonder if these cabs have formed “hit squads” to prey on other cabs, making them less desireable, and therefore increasing their own odds of being selected for a finished piece.

After I make my choice, I get the other cabs tucked away immediately so I don’t have to hear whining and griping from unselected Cabs.

The same Botswana wanted me to work the wire to match the pattern.

The selected gemstones always seem genuinely delighted. I guess you could say they are Gneiss. The fortunate gemstone will often telepathically tell me things like; “Can you wrap me in gold?”, “Can you use a two-tone wrap on me? Please!” No rock will ask for wire that it does not like.

A gemstone will also tell me how to wrap it. I normally know what I might do way back during cutting, but after not communing with a gemstone for a while, it may change its’ mind and want me to alter the original plan. Just today a very special Lake Superior Water Level Agate wanted me to dress it up in gold, pink gold, and Argentium Sterling. Three-tone, are you kidding? OK, I can do that.

As I meticulously wire wrap a rare gemstone, it will constantly remind me; “Be careful”, “Don’t scratch me or the wire “, “Make that curve a bit tighter”, “Wouldn’t I look better if my bail was smaller?” (I’m not even going there). Like a good woman, never take a piece of Natural Stone Jewelry for Granite.

This one definitely talked to me.

Also on rare occasions stones will talk to me subconsciously in dreams. I have had dreams about cabochons months after I made them. All of a sudden, like a lightning strike, it’ll come to me how to wrap a certain stone. Because I am retired, and can, I leap up and get to work or make myself a note or drawing. These inspirations usually result in my best pieces.

This wrap came to me in a dream. White Victoria Stone and Amethyst. I had a long conversation with this stone (expletives involved).

A great Tube Agate before and after it talked to me.

I have friends that are of the metaphysical types. They talk about the powers of certain crystals and rocks. I cannot “feel” powers in rocks. I try to explain that I “hear” rocks. So I may be in the minority. I can look at other’s jewelry and tell that the gemstone spoke to the makers also. I’ve talk to others that make jewelry, and inevitably, they agree that the stones have spoken to them. How cool to have this gift.

"Marine Illusion"

"Distant Land"

I will normally name a newly created pendant. This name is granted with due contemplation and communing. It is important that the moniker be in harmony with a piece of hand made jewelry. For example, you would not call a Greenstone Pendant “Striped Blazer”; this would be more fitting for a Lake Superior Agate Pendant. Most any pendant I make could be called something generic like “Handsomely Finished”.

You also can talk to rocks after they are turned into hand made wire wrapped pendants. All you have to do is see our website at Snobappealjewelry.com, or come to one of the art shows we are at. I’ll bet one of my pendants, or one of Bonnie’s beaded creations will speak to you. When our natural stone jewelry speaks to you, it is a personal message! You had better listen, and buy!