Category Archives: General

Datolite, Copper and Quartz Pendant

I’ve decided to write some mini-blogs to keep you up on activities at Snob Appeal Jewelry. I will be keeping you up to date about waht takes place in my shop, on my workbench, and in Bonnie’s Bead Room.

Last week I cut a beautiful Cabochon from a piece of Datolite I bought from a friend in the Keweenaw earlier in August. I don’t usually use White Datolite as there are many more colors of Datolite that are far more coveted. White is common and was found in most all the Copper Mines in the Keweenaw. It is impossible to determine what mine White Datolite came from. Most colored Datolite can be identified with what mine it may have come from.

White Datolite generally has very little “character”, but sometimes, as in the case of this piece, it has character to the max. Copper always adds character to Datolite no matter what color. White Datolite with Copper inclusions and Quartz is especially fine.

I cut this piece into a large bold teardrop shape (30 X 40 mm). Since the Datolite is so showy, the wrap needed to be simple and elegant. I love using Pink Gold whenever I have loads of native copper in a stone. Pink gold’s coloration matches Copper well, but you do not have the Oxidation with Pink Gold like you do with Copper. I combined Pink Gold and Argentiun Sterling for this piece.

Whenever you wrap a calibrated Cabochon, you have to be as identical on the right and left side as possible. Any variation from side to side are readily noticed, and this is why many wire wrappers avoid calibrated cabochons. This pendant could be worn by a man or woman.

I hope you enjoy these small blogs.

Tucson Shows-OK: One More Blog-Sad You’re Over

Way different than a week ago.

The dealers have moved out, but the rental tents remain to be taken away.

This past Saturday we had a cople hours and decided to see what was still open at the Hotel Strip along I-10.

we found free parking in a lot that is normally $5. Rapa river and some of the Riverpark Inn Vendors were still open, but most were packing up. This is sometimes the best time to find bargains. Vendors would normally want to sell things than move them.

This one did not find a home.

I can imagine this Amethyst Plate saying “Don’t forget me”.

This woman seems to be waiting for the moving to be finished so she could go home.

I took a few pictures of the cleaning out process, sat in the abandoned lobby of the Riverpark Inn. I recall earlier in the week there were big crowds and the excited din of the show. While Bonnie hiked down to the other end of the Strip to find one certain vendor that she needed something from, I sat and reflected (What if I just stay here and wait for next year’s show to open?). it was very sad for me that we could no longer go on our daily search for rocks, minerals and fossils, but I also understand that all the vendors wanted to get home to their various countries and States.

Poor (Literally) Don bumming in the Hotel Lobby.

Bonnie returned after a half hour (It’s a long way to the other end of the strip), and found me moping there in the lobby. She was bumming because the vendor she looked for was closed. We looked around and came upon one bead dealer that was so excited we came, he was deeply discounting his high quality beads, trying to talk Bonnie into buying every one. She picked out a few strands that were priced at 1/4 their earlier show prices.

giant Ruby in Fucshite globe going back to storage for next year.

Some Morrocan’s had a box of Ammonites drilled for beading that they were practically giving way. We dug for some, and they were pleased to take some cash from us.

I can’t recall buying anything, but I probably did; I was happy watching the interaction between Bonnie and that Chinese Bead Dealer; he was really trying to get her to release more cash.

Anyway gang, here are some final images from our last day.

2015 at Snob Appeal Jewelry

Royal Imperial jasper is considered the cadillc of Jasper’s

Morenci Blue Turquoise with Pyrite inclusions

Royal Imperial jasper

Thank you to our customers for a great 2015. Our jewelry is being worn and enjoyed all around the U.S.

Thanks also for all the positive feedback. We really appreciate it when you take the time to write.

Fordite ( real deal, not the new fake Fordite)

Isle Royale Greenstones continue to top the list of most popular products we sell. Other bestsellers are Lake Superior Agates, Thomsonite, and Datolite, as well as many of the unusual, one-of-a-kind gemstones. Knowledgeable customers are snatching up Keweenaw Gemstones as they realize how scarce the hunting areas are becoming. The old tailings piles are rapidly being crushed and hauled away for road fill. We have been warning of this for quite a few years, and it is coming to pass. Now is the time to obtain these U.P. treasures before it’s too late. We are fortunate to have hunted, traded, or bought a good inventory of Keweenaw materials over the years.

Picture jaspers were hot sellers this year, so I have made some new jaspers as you can see here.

Deschutes Jasper

We are looking forward to the Agate Expo 2016 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. This is the third International agate show we have participated in (That’s all there were). A symposium day will feature recognized speakers and well-established, reputable dealers will offer agate and rock products from around the world. Put it on your bucket list, and plan on being there.

Kentucky Agate

I have been busy manufacturing jewelry for this show, and our usual art shows this coming summer. We continue to be very popular at Copper World, our retail outlet in Calumet. A substantial inventory of our pendants is always on hand there.

Attending the Rock & Gem Shows in both Quartzsite and Tucson is also on out agenda. We carefully search all the nooks and crannies of those shows to find those rare treasures our customers expect. I’ll be blogging from those shows this month and in February. Blogs flow out on a daily basis, so watch for them here.

Peach Moonstone. Unfortunately you can't see the sheen on this in a picture.

Peach Moonstone. unfortunately you can’t see the great sheen in this picture.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of some recent jewelry. Most of these are not on the website, but is in our show inventory. If you are interested an any of our new pendants, contact me. By “Liking” our Snob Appeal Facebook page, you will see each piece as I make it, and by reading our blogs you will keep up with our activities.

Deschutes Jasper

Biggs Picture jasper

We hope you had wonderful Holidays and we really appreciate you supporting our small business instead of buying poor quality imported jewelry.

Snob Appeal Jewelry; a New Cool Factor

Our new high tech website is finally finished.

Snob Appealoldwebsite After more than a year of planning and loads of work by Robert Boldt, of Boldt Web Studio, we now have a totally new website. This has also been much work by Bonnie and I with new photos, decisions on designs, and updating everything. We still have much work with updating product photos for our new larger format. These new photos will be square with a higher resolution.

Our old website was established in 2008. That does not seem too long ago, but when you think of the technology changes between then and now our website has become; lets just say, “dated”. The biggest changes have happened with the introduction of all the new mobile devices. Our new site is now 100% compatible with all cellular devices as well as faster and more responsive on all PC’s. The look on a cell phone is different from on a PC. This feature makes ordering on a portable device much more efficient and easy.

The shopping cart has been updated, making the security of it top of the line.

We can now show you multiple views of our jewelry with thumbnails, if we so choose, for any piece of jewelry. The site will show featured products and have a display feature where you can compare several pieces of jewelry at the same time, making it easier to choose just the right piece.

The “Snob Blog” now has a new version of WordPress. This version can do so much more than the one in the old site and is updatable unlike our old WordPress program. I am eager to explore all the new features of the new WordPress Entries (RSS).

The new website is much more modern for larger viewing on rectangular flat screens. The site is very efficient and relies on the latest web technology. Our new site is easier for us, and our web designer, to make changes as may be necessary. We hope you enjoy shopping our web pages, using the latest technology.

Our new site will be one of the most modern websites on the Web. Boldt Web Studio (Robert Boldt) deserves applause and cudo’s for this site. It will be a real showpiece in his portfolio. I recommend Boldt Design for any custom website. Our original website was created by Bob Boldt when he lived in Traverse City, Michigan, but Boldt Web Studio now is home based in Texas. You can checkout Boldt web Studio (LLC) at http://www.boldtwebstudio.com/

Most importantly or entire site is very user friendly and we know all our shoppers will really enjoy their experience, and up their “coolness” factor while surfing and shopping on www.snobappealjewelry.com

: In With the New You can checkout Boldt web Studio (LLC) at http://www.boldtwebstudio.com/

Watch Your Asses!

We stayed at a family-run motel north of Parker, AZ while visiting the Quartzite rock shows (where there is no Quartzite). “Is there anything to do in Parker?”, I questioned the lady who runs the motel. “Not really” was her reply.

Parker Dam on the Colorado River.

But Parker is on the Colorado River, and she suggested that we drive up and take a look at the Parker Dam. A road runs over the dam connecting the Arizona side with the California side. Manned security structures are at either end. No pedestrians, RV’s, or trucks are allowed. We drove across just to see what we could see. On the other side of the river we saw a sign warning us to be cautious of wild burros that might be in the road.

burrosign assonroadsign

In Michigan we have deer crossing signs, and you would never stop to see a deer cross the road right at the sign. Here, within a few hundred yards of the sign, there were the dumb asses, walking along the side of the road. They began to cross the road, then one of the REALLY dumb asses stopped to nurse the baby right in the middle of the road!

Sorry about the out of focus picture of this, had to get it quick so you would believe me.

I stopped in the roadway so I would not run over this stupid ass and I had the window down to take a picture when a wise ass tried to stick his nose into MY rental car. I did not see this sneaky ass, and had to roll my window up when Bonnie alerted me to this wise ass trying to get his nosy ass into my car!

Hungry asses grazing on the golf course.

The Dam burros nose print was on my window. Apparently tourists have been known to feed these critters, even though signs are posted that say “Do not feed or harass the wild burros”.

These burros are a legacy from mining days, but the miners left and the burros were left to fend for themselves. The desert environment seemed to suit them, and they have thrived. We went back the next day and a whole bunch of asses were grazing on the golf course greenery. I think if I owned that golf course I’d put a hole in one! I guess he’d be a dead ass then, wouldn’t he?

While I was watching these, the sneeky ass snuck up onme.

While I was watching these, the sneaky ass snuck up on me.

If you are ever in Parker, watch your ass!

Datolite Anniversary Pendant

Today was our wedding anniversary. 35 years to a wonderful woman has just flown by.
So what do you give to a jewelry maker’s wife? How about jewelry? “Man, that is a great idea Don”.(as he pats himself on the head)

Now that the decision is made, you have to look for something special amongst the tons of rock in the shop. I recall cutting an amazing piece of Datolite the other day and today I will finish it and make a nice pendant for Bonnie.

The Datolite is one I purchased while in the U.P. a couple weeks ago and is from one of the mines down Ontonagon way. That’s in da U.P. for you trolls (A troll is someone that lives below the Mackinac Bridge…get it?; as in “under the bridge), and you out of Staters. I have not been able to positively say what mine this Datolite came from, but it is just full of copper; lightning streaking around lovely pastel pink and mauve Datolite.

Datolite and Copper.

In honor of this milestone, I wrapped this pendant in gold gold, pink gold, and Argentium Sterling, the first tri-tone pendant I’ve made. Colorful Datolite with copper inclusions is always in demand (usually snapped up by Copper World in Calumet), and this piece is a stunner. Bonnie has sold many pieces off her body, but I expect this Anniversary Pendant will be in her private collection.

Guess what? SHE LOVED IT!!

Snob Appeal Jewelry Now On Facebook

The reach of our business took a giant step this week. We are now on Facebook.

When we decided to have a presence on a Social Media Site Facebook was our obvious choice. We knew almost nothing about business pages on Facebook. I have found that when you are basically a moron when it comes to something, ask or hire someone that knows something.

We worked together with Christine Stalsonburg at Social Media Partners in Traverse City wwwSocialMediaPartners.us, to create a site that represents our jewelry business on Facebook and connects to our website as well. I would recommend Christine for your social media work. If she could put up with my nit-picking, she can work with anyone. She was very efficient and we were up and running in a couple weeks. We already had a website and blog, so that helped expedite everything.

You will see the logos and colors you associate with us, and links to our blog and website. Now you will be able to check us out via Facebook or going directly to www.snobappealjewelry.com on the web.

If you are on Facebook check us out, like us, and let your friends know about us.

Rock Shops and Nuclear Missile

2-15 Sunny 65

I’ll bet a title like that makes you curious doesn’t it?

Titan Missile Bunker.

THE Titan Missile in the silo.

Sahuarita is a fairly new planned unit development 15 minutes south of Tucson. Our daughter lives in one of the adobe style homes there, but Sahuarita also holds another little secret; A nuclear missile silo. Actually it is the only surviving missile silo from the cold war days (many of you remember “duck & cover”). Duck & Cover was an attempt by our government to make us feel safer in case there was a Russian Missile attack, when in fact the only difference it would make is you would be vaporized in a fetal position instead of standing up. This Titan II silo is now a museum, part of the Pima Air Museum, called the Titan Missile Museum.

Bonnie "Turns the Key"-once that key is turned you have no further control of the missile.

Bonnie (left) "Turns the Key"-once that key is turned you have no further control of the missile.

Official Documentation-As long as it wasn't headed for the Keweenaw, I'm good with it.

I do not want to unduly alarm anyone, but while in the launch control room deep within the hardened bunker, my awesome wife Bonnie “Turned the Key”! We do not know where the Titan went, as this is still classified information. If you are reading this blog right now (not vaporized) it was not programmed to head in your direction. I could give you a bunch of boring statistics that you can find on line about this missile site, but you can read that elsewhere should you choose. I can just tell you it was highly interesting and entertaining; well worth the few bucks for the tour.

This lovely Laguna Shadow Agate was a great find at a rock shop.

The Lace Agate with Cuprite & Chrysocolla was a rare rock shop find.

Since this is a rock related blog, I must tell you that the other day as we headed back and forth to Bisbee I shopped at a couple rock shops. One in Benson produced a collection of Laguna Agates that the owner was selling for someone. I found a real beauty of a shadow agate, about fist size, for a fair price. Watch for upcoming jewelry from this!

On our way back through Tombstone Bonnie spotted a rock shop I had not seen the last time I went to Bisbee. Patty, the owner, recognized us as rockhounds right off and removed (unscrewed) the top from a wooden box on the porch. Lots of Arizona rough rock was inside, and sharp-eyed Bonnie found a crazy lace agate containing Cuprite and Chrysocolla. I have never seen any material like this, so I knew it was quite rare. That piece was bought directly as were several more small specimens.

Patty said that the shop had only been open for a couple months when they moved from Wisconsin. She was knowledgable in minerals from the Lake Superior area, but is still learning about the local rocks. I helped by pointing out a piece of picture petrified wood from Holbrook, Arizona.

After I got back, some research on line produced limited results. It seems that the lace agate containing Cuprite and Chrysocolla is from a secret location in southwest Arizona. I’ll be eager to make jewelry from this unusual agate when I get back home.

New Year-New Jewelry

As we enter a new year, I look back and reflect on our business in 2011.

The past couple years we were very concerned about the economy, especially being in a luxury business, but we have been pleased. Every year we grow, as you appreciate our unique gemstone jewelry. More people are finding our website, especially our Michigan Stone Jewelry.

I recently cut a large Greenstone in half. This beauty with Thomsonite flowers was the result.

Michigan greenstone pendants and cabochons are our bestselling jewelry, followed closely by our Lake Superior agate jewelry. Where else can you find so many Lake Superior Agate pendants, beautifully wire wrapped? Our state stone is the Petoskey Stone, and I am constantly developing artistic ways to feature them. I seem to have more ideas than time to complete them.

It has been fun to make those custom pieces for people. I get those “can you make this?” calls. I love figuring out how to complete some of these wild requests, and will continue to accept these challenges. We have also custom made jewelry from gems our customers have. Sometimes these “gems” are only gems to the owners, but hold sentimental value for them. I receive stones from customers that want my opinion as to if they could make good jewelry. My policy is always been based on integrity and honesty, and I always give my honest opinion. I would rather not make any money than make them something I personally feel is second rate.

Here is the second half of the aforementioned Greenstone. This on has a surprising and rare clear quartz matrix with Thomsonite and Chlorastrolite floating within.

In 2012 we expect to return to most of our summer art shows. Keep checking the Show Schedule on the home page. We enjoy seeing our return customers wearing our jewelry! We are also in the process of updating and improving our website as well as adding more products. Perhaps you have noticed the new buttons on the home page and the larger product photos in our catalog. Expect improvements in our shopping cart in the near future.

My blog continues to be very popular with rockhounds and jewelry lovers, and I will be blogging daily again this year from the Tucson rock and mineral shows. I will continue to show you what is on my workbench and what is on my mind.

My first pendant in 2012.

Here is my first major piece of jewelry of 2012. This Victoria Stone Pendant came to me in a dream. I wanted an extremely fancy elegant look with Victorian (get the pun?) design. I wanted a piece that a bride might appreciate, or anyone who loves complements. I have decided to produce more of these multi-stone pendants using facetted gemstones. This one features Peridot, Swiss Blue Topaz, and Dark Pink Topaz.

I am currently working on several other pieces in rapid succession, so stand by.

Some of my blog pieces are in the on-line catalog. If you click on the photo and it links to the catalog (be sure to see all the categories on the left) it is available on line. If there is not that piece listed, I may or may not have it in my art show inventory. You may contact me via E-mail or call me about these or similar pieces.

New Jewelry for a New Season

We had a very nice show in Elk Rapids–a one-day event which required setup at 6am, show opening at 9am, and teardown at 4pm. So we had a very long day. There were some minor showers and it was somewhat windy, but we met loads of good people, had some good return customer sales, and talked to other vendors. I expect the sweatshirt people did well–shoppers were shivering! I saw very little buy-sell imported junk, which is always a plus at these small shows. A friend told us it should be called the “Elk Rapids Jewelry Show” since there were so many jewelry choices! We like Elk Rapids because we can sleep in our own bed!

I try to make one or two pendants every day, so I have a constantly changing selection in my trays. We don’t add many pieces to the web site in the summer because we prefer to have them available for our shows, but if you have a special stone you are looking for, or a certain size, feel free to contact us. We do lots of custom work.

pyritized Ammonites

Blue Victoria Stone with Citrine and Apatite. I think this is one of the most striking pendant I've ever made.

The price of precious metals continues to skyrocket. Silver has doubled in the past year and gold continues to rise well above $1500 an ounce. Many of our prices on the web have not been updated in …ooh, a long time. Take advantage of this, and buy yourself a bargain today. I really appreciate all our loyal customers that appreciate quality and rarity for all their continued support during these economic hard times.

Another thing that should be considered with jewelry is who made it. Was it imported? If it was then you are supporting a foreign economy and not a proud American like myself. A local “designer jewelry” store proudly tells customers that their jewelry is “designed in America”, but if you look closely the jewelry is stamped “made in Mexico“.
One of my good friends is a silversmith. When someone proudly shows him a piece of jewelry they bought at the afore-mentioned store, he looks at the jewelry and just says “Hmm”. Generally when they ask him about his comment, he says, “Did you notice that this jewelry is made in Mexico? More often then not these people become really upset, and more then a few have gone back into this store to complain. It is my feeling that just because jewelry is “designed in America” it is still made by someone overseas, taking away American jobs and increasing our trade deficit.

flash-drusy

Classic "Candy Striper" Lake Superior Agate

New pieces of jewelry are being manufactured daily at Snob Appeal Jewelry. Trying to figure out what customers might be looking for is always a challenge, so I just make things that I personally like and hope my customers will also. I think I will just post some of my newest things. If you can’t meet us as our shows (see Upcoming Shows on the home page), call us and tell us which piece of hand crafted wire wrapped jewelry is calling your name!

I hope you like some of my recent jewelry. Call me for availability or see us at a show.

Peach Drusy

Snow Scene Jasper (this stone also has other names)

Staurlite.

Trilobite family