Category Archives: Michigan Stones

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.

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)

Greenstone Pendant Marathon

I especially like the old Isle Royale material.

My fully dressed Greenstone Army.

When we went on our road trip to Tucson via Florida last October, I, of course, took our jewelry. I took also a few hundred Chlorastrolite Greenstone Cabochons. We also took a few cases of random cabs to wrap. I’ll show you some new jewelry from the random cabs later, but right now let’s look at some Michigan Greenstones.

After flattening the backs, they are ready for dopping.

I have to be in the right frame of mind to wrap little Greenstones. I scheduled 4 days and put together 25 new GS Pendants. All of these mini-pendants fit in small 1″ plastic containers. I use custom made mini-tools to work these. The stones range from 1″ to 1 3/4″ diameter. Many of them are from old stones collected on Isle Royale many years ago. A few of them even have pink Thomsonite inclusions, like you see in the top photo.

My little greenstone army standing at attention.

I cannot say that these are easily made, but I do not dislike making them. I know how many people love and wear these miniature gemstones. Many of these pendants will be put up on line, others will be sold at art shows, or at Copper World in Calumet. Often people like to buy just the cabochon and have someone they know make it into a special ring for them. They are a perfect size and can be seen close up when they are in a ring.

Sorting the stones takes place at several stages, looking for the best. As I flatten one side I look for the most promising side to be polished. Then they get glued to nails or dop sticks. I use small nails for the smallest ones and glue them on the heads. Polishing seems to be a production line effort also. I have to be careful with the pressure on the wheels or my little Greenstone shoots off to Neverland. My shop is sort of a Black Hole where many stones disappear. My wife really enjoys when I ask her to search around on the shop floor looking under the workbench for my missing treasure. The whole business of polishing rocks consists of creating mud, and dirt that ends up on the workroom floor. Every once in a while I may find a cabochon I was working on a couple years ago, but I’d rather not lose any valuable Greenstones.

Greenstone cutting and wrapping has ceased at the moment in deference to recent purchases I made in Quartzite, Tucson, and Deming.

It's fun to pick just the right ones for wrapping.

I hope you enjoy my new Greenstone army.

Keweenaw Rocks, Minerals, and Copper Country Jewelry

Our trip to Keweenaw was great.

Wire wrapping on the top of Brockway Mountain awaiting the sunset.

Even though we are older, less agile, and spry than we used to be, we had great adventures in the Keweenaw. I hit a mother lode of SISU Agate, and spent a few very hard days banging this agate out of hard rock. I cannot give you the exact location, but it is south of Copper Harbor. Bonnie says that EVERYTHING is south of Copper Harbor. This is fairly true, so this is a nice, vague clue.

The view from Brockway Mountain in just amazing.

The art shows in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor were very successful; as were our Demonstrations at the finest gift shop anywhere, Copper World in Calumet.

We consumed many Pasties and Vollwerth Hot Dogs, watched the Isle Royale Boat come into Copper Harbor while consuming a gourmet meal at the Harbor Haus. The waiters and waitresses do a can-can on the deck to welcome the boat each evening. In tune with the town theme, the restaurant has a huge double copper door, with warnings not to touch the Copper. It does get really hot it the sun, as you can imagine.

This is the Firebrick Pendant I made up on Brockway. It sold the next day.

We saw many old friends and met many new folks. I know we are getting a big following and a wonderful reputation, when we see women wearing our jewelry wherever we go up there. We were featured in the summer issue of the Copper-UP newspaper that featured Copper World with a color picture of our jewelry covering half the front page.

We found local miners willing to part with Greenstones, Datolite, and Thomsonite for some cash. I hand picked the best for future jewelry.

SISU (Cliff) Agate from my hole.

The only disappointment was we signed up (and paid money for) an organized hunt to the Central spoil pile that did not happen because the County had moved in a crusher and equipment. Another former fantastic greenstone and copper rock hounding location is disappearing to become asphalt, etc. Sad.

The weather was good and the bugs were sparse. Bonnie volunteers to go rock hunting and be bait for the remaining bugs, and they ALWAYS choose her. No further comments on that. She edits this, so I suspect a comment about this will be added. She is the jeweler’s wife, and is expected to suffer for being able to pick from thousands of pieces.

Random Pendants and Earrings of Lake Superior Agate, Datolite, and Firebrick.

I’m typing this as we navigate the Seney Stretch, M-28, a barren wasteland of scrub pine that is the longest straight stretch of Michigan road, flat also. You could go really fast out here except for Moose, Deer, Wolves, Bear and the like that you would be killed if you hit. The State has no bug-killing quota in the Seney Stretch. This is fortunate for all those that cross this area. An RV window can really take out a lot of bugs at once.

The roads are paved in copper in the Keweenaw.

When you look at the random pendant picture, take note of the far right pendant in the middle row.. It is a banded Laker floating in an Amethyst sea. I had four slices off this agate, wrapped them all, and sold four pendants in 5 days on this trip.

One day, while headed to the top of Brockway Mountain, I stopped to check out an outcrop on the side of the road. The roadway to the top of the mountain is in dire need of repair and is crumbling apart, but I noticed a glint in the blacktop. I was not surprised to see copper embedded in the blacktop. I have a friend that actually hunts copper on warm days with a metal detector in the roads. I will not say who this is for his protection from the law.

I have to say something about Firebrick for those that do not know what it is. When the Copper Smelters were build, they were made of brick. Over the years the Copper vapors and molten copper permeated into the brick and replaced everything except the Silica (Quartz) in the brick. When the smelters were torn down the copper bricks were disposed of by dumping them in the water, taking them to landfill, or burying them. Some were removed for landscaping or lapidary uses (bookends, jewelry, paperweights, etc.). I have a 70# piece I have been gradually cutting and making jewelry from it. This is a wonderful, rare, historic material and many purchase it not only for its’ beauty, but for its’ historical story.

We expect a return trip to the Keweenaw in October for colors and to dig more SISU. What a great time we had.

Greenstone, Datolite, and Michigan Wire Wrapped Jewelry

In preparation for upcoming shows in the Upper Peninsula I have been working on some U.P. Gemstones and Jewelry.

Centennial Blue Datoite (and one from the Isle Royal Mine)

First was the cutting of very rare blue Datolite for the Centennial Mine north of Calumet. The mine hoist is still there, but the piles are gone and Centennial #2 is completely flooded. Any Datolite still found from this mine has been hoarded from the 60’s.

Blue Centennial generally contains microscopic grains of copper shining through the blue Datolite. Over the last few years Centennal Blue has been almost impossible to buy from anyone.

Copper Included Datolite is very popular in the U.P.

I’ve been holding on to assorted Datolite containing Copper Inclusions. I finally cut and polished the majority of the pieces I have. These always make popular jewelry for my Upper Michigan customers. Even those snobbish jewelry buyers love Datolite with Copper.

Copper Datolite with Greenstone...BAM!!!

Could it be a new ring?

I also cut three remarkable little Cabochons for a future ring for myself. The ring will sport a Yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite with copper, A Copper Agate from the Kearsarge Lode, and a copper Included Greenstone. This ring will be over the top when it is finished. I’ve got to cut the wax for the ring and I have a friend that will cast it for me. Notice the “Thumbs Up” from the Yellow Datolite.

We’re headed up north for rock hunting and shows shortly. Check our home page for upcoming events. It’s always fun for us to see all our friends in the Keweenaw. Come see us at Copper World in Calumet and art shows in Eagle harbor and Copper Harbor or on a rockpile nearby.

A Lake Superior Agate of the "Paint" variety was a quick sell off our Facebook Page.

Pink Petoskey Stone (Pink Pets)

“Pink Petoskey Stones from Northern Michigan” is the title of a feature article in the May/June edition of Rocks and Minerals Magazine written by Dr. George Robinson with me as coauthor. George is past Director and retired Curator of the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan. The Museum is the official State Mineral Museum of Michigan and boasts the finest collection of minerals from the Copper Country in the world.

Pink Petoskey Stones get no better than this one. I could not in good conscious keep it for myself, so I donated it to the A.E.Seaman Mineral Museum. You can see it in the Petoskey Stone/Michigan Fossil Case.

If you search the Seaman Museum, you will see a very fine Pink Petoskey Stone that I found, polished, and donated.

When you read the article in Rocks and Minerals, you will find the cause of the pink coloration is Iron that permeated into the Hexagonaria Coral as it Calcified. People have asked me if Petoskey Stone is the only Devonian Fossil that shows saturation of iron, and the answer is no.

Pink has permeated into Devonian Clam Shells in this fossil soup.

Pink has permeated into Devonian Bivalve Shells in this fossil soup.

A Favosites sports a nice pink tinge.

Any Devonian Fossil can show evidence of iron deposition. I have seen pink hues in Horn Coral, Favosites, and even Clams from this period.

Since Dr. Robinson has researched the cause of the pink in Petoskey Stones (and these other Devonian Fossils), I will not expand on that in this article. Rather I would concentrate on helping you find some of these rare beauties.

The high quality Petoskey Stones that I find are concentrated in NW lower Michigan in glacial tills and on the beaches of Lake Michigan. I have found the Petoskey Stones on the east side of Michigan are not generally of the quality I find on the west side. These east side stones tend to be porous and will not take the high polish that a more solid stone will take. Quality Jewelry and nice specimens require solid stones. Don’t get me wrong, some nice stones have been found on the east side, but I’m happy I spend my time hunting on the west side.

Hunting in an old gravel pit or small stream may produce some nice Pink Petoskey Stones. Most people hunt the shorleline, but there are other areas to find Pink Pets.

A good stone is solid with a clear pattern (not muddy). This is what I look for. It is hard to find a Pink Petoskey without flaws (pits, holes, and the like). I believe somehow the Iron Oxide in the Calcite is a causation in the weakening of the structure of these rare stones. In addition, there is never any guarantee as to how far into a stone the pink coloration permeates. It could be surface color or just as easily be throughout the stone. We do not know how deep the pink goes in a stone unless it is cut.

A nice Pink Pet is hidden in the gravel.

Most of you know that the Petoskey Stone is Michigan’s State Stone. Hexagonaria Corals are not strictly concentrated in Michigan, but indeed are found around the world. The finest Petoskey Corals are found in Michigan.

How can you find a Pink Pet? Over many years of hunting I have discovered that perhaps one out of 300 Petoskey Stones may display some pink. The pink hue can permiate thoughout the stone, or may be only skin deep. Rockhounds should stay alert for Petoskey Stone with a pink hue, instead of just looking for the common greys associated with the calcified Petoskey Stone.

Some Pink Petoskey Stones are hidden in the days catch.

The grey color of Petoskey Stones can vary. The difference between the light colored and the dark colored Petoskey is the level of petroleum in the stone. When I polish a darker stone I can actually smell a distinct odor of petroleum. Darker stones, because of their petrolem content, tend to take a higher shine than their light colored brothers. When iron is deposited with the calcified Petoskey the colorations very with light stones showing classic pink in the patterns and dark stones becoming almost a mahogany color.

You can see the difference between the dark pink and the light pink in these pendants I made.

Where do you look for rare Pink Pets after you telling yourself to think pink? I am not going to give up my secret spots of course, but I will say that I find many on the gravel back roads on a rainy day. Petoskey Stones are elusive when dry, but “pop” when wet. Any rainy day, we are out looking. Property owners in NW Michigan are very protective (and have weapons), so do not trespass. Private property includes many gravel pits as well. So get permission before hunting. You are not trespassing if you are hunting rocks on the public roads, but of course, use caution while hunting. Road cuts are another place not to pass up in your search. Utility poles generally designate the road right of way in Michigan, so if you are inside the utility poles, you are probably on public property. You will want a container to put your treasures into, and my favorite is a large ice cream bucket.

There's got to be a Petoskey Stone around here!

They try to hide...

Beaches, as well as back roads, produce Petoskey Stones. I am surprised by the novice Petoskey Hunters that think they have to go to the Petoskey area to find Petoskey Stones. Anywhere from Manistee to I75 and north is prime hunting for quality Petoskey Stones but Manistee east to Alpena and north is good hunting. The Straights of Macinaw seems to be the end of good Petoskey Stone hunting as flat broken rocks inhabit the shoreline.

When enjoying northern Michigan, and the weather turns wet, make lemonade out of lemons and go for a wet hike on the beach, along a roadway, or a roadcut and look for that rare pink Petoskey Stone.

Snob Appeal Jewelry can Polish, cut, and make jewelry from your rock finds. Just contact us through this website.

http://www.snobappealjewelry.com

Petoskey Stones-Hunting in December?

Do we go Christmas Shopping or rock hunting? What a stupid question!!

Seldom does Northern Michigan weather allow rock hunting in December. Under normal circumstances we would be under at least a foot of snow by mid-December.
Unusual temperatures above 50 as well as misty conditions came together to allow for one amazing Petoskey Stone Hunt.

Where's the Petoskey Stone?

I no longer hunt Petoskey Stones on the beach for several reasons. The main reason right now is that the water level is way low and the rocks are covered in moss and slime. You cannot even identify a Petoskey Stone under this mess. The second reason; as experience has taught me that the more perfect, mud-free Petoskey Stones, can only be found in the on shore gravels. I hunt a few private gravel pits for the best stones.

Just a bunch of plain sandy rocks?

Today we found the stones damp from the mist, and washed out of the gravel by the melted snow cover. Bonnie was happy today with her finds. She sometimes is discouraged as she has trouble finding Petoskey Stones if the weather dries up. Today was moist, but not drowning us. Treasures were found by both of us.

Fist sized Petoskey Stones seemed more common than usual. We found some nice little bead stones and several of the most coveted Pink Petoskey Stones. I picked up an assortment of glacially tumbled rocks to consider for jewelry later.

After they're sorted and washed, they look a LOT better.

I sorted the stones by “Grade A”, “Pinks”, and what I call “Weirdos”. These include all the other fossils, jaspers, agates, and strange stuff that the glaciers brought for me to find.

The "Nice Ones" pile.

Today I found Petrified Wood, Pudding Stones, Agates, and assorted “Heinz Stones” (These are stones that are all mixed up and contain a lot of stuff). I usually identify some of the materials within these Heinz Stones, but some of these stones are really stunners.

The "Weirdos" pile.

My Favorite, the rare "Pink Petoskey Stone" pile. Three to five of these is a good day indeed!

We have actually hunted Petoskey Stones on New Years Day several years ago, but rock hunting, especially a great hunt, seldom happens in December.

Pink Petoskey Stones-Rare and Luscious

We live in Northwestern lower Michigan, the Petoskey Stone capital. Although Petoskey Stones are found in other places, the finest ones come from our area. The state stone of Michigan (the greenstone or chlorastrolite is the state gem), the Petoskey stone is found around Petoskey of course, but also on beaches, gravel pits, and gravel roads across the state.

On the stone piles, Petoskey stones blend in with the other gray rocks common around here. Whenever it rains you can find us donning our raingear and heading out. Rain makes the wonderful eye-like pattern of the Hexagonaria Fossil just POP! We also sometimes find other Devonian Fossils including Favosites, Horn Coral, Chain Coral, Crinoids.

A majority of Pink Petoskey Stones have some distortion caused by the Iron Oxide inclusions.

The rare Pink Petoskey Stone is one thing we especially covet. We do not find many of these beauties, but when we do, we save them for jewelry or for collector pieces. Research has shown that the pink coloration happened during the calcification when small amounts of iron permeated the Calcite. It really does not take much Iron to tinge Calcite with a Pink coloration.

The pendant on the left in a darker Petoskey Stone and the iron tinged the stone almost mahogany. The stone on the right is lighter and just has a "hint" of pink.

The pendant on the left is a darker Petoskey Stone and the iron tinged the stone almost mahogany. The stone on the right is lighter and just has a "hint" of pink.

My favorite thing to do with Pink Petoskey Stones is to make pendants. Light colored Petoskey Stones generally have light pink coloration, while dark Petoskey Stones produce wonderful maroon colors.

One of the specialties of Snob Appeal Jewelry is Pink Petoskey Stone. When I find a stone, I can only guess how deep the pink color saturates into the stone. Many times the pink hue is only skin deep. I find that often the Iron Oxide has distorted the Petoskey Fossil, making a less then satisfactory gemstone. If I find a pink Petoskey actually is gem grade, it is a special moment knowing that this will make some great jewelry.

I’ve talked a lot about my love for the Pink Petoskey stone, but I still make pendants from the other Petoskey Stones I collect, as long as they have a vivid pattern. Unfortunately, often a Petoskey Stone may be porous, making it impossible to polish to a suitable jewelry finish. Other times the Petoskey Stone may be “muddy” (pattern has mud visible in the mouth of the fossil). I do not use these muddy fossils in my jewelry.

I find Petoskey stones throughout our home area, but I realize just how uncommon these fossils are throughout the world. Our Petoskey earrings, bracelets, and necklaces are most popular with people who have visited or lived in Michigan, searched the beaches and remember those times fondly.

Petoskey Stone Twins

Same stone; Different pendants.

Today I wrapped Petoskey Stone jewelry from a pair of cabochons of the same perfect stone.

The stone on the right was wrapped in Argentium Sterling and Pink Gold. The Pink Gold wire is a new product, so it is fun to try it out with different stones. This Petoskey stone really looks good in that combination, and result in a new jewelry look. This one is available for purchase today.

The next slab produced the stone on the left. I wrapped this one in 14/20 Gold Fill and Argentium. This one looks great also. This one will be for sale in Copper World in Calumet at the end of the week. You’ll have to call them!

I expect to make more Petoskey Stone Jewelry in the near future from some of the rare pick Petoskey’s I have, so watch for it.

Enjoy this pair; more to come.

A Donation to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum

Anyone that knows me, knows that one of my favorite places in the world is the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is a beautiful, historic place, as well as my best rock-hunting area.

The New A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

In Houghton, on the campus of Michigan Technological Institute is one of the great mineral Museums in the world, one that, unfortunately, most tourists pass up. The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum located at 1404 Sharon Avenue. The seaman Museum is Michigan’s Official State Mineral Museum.

The Seaman moved to their new building last summer. The new building is still lacking the space to display all the museums collection, but it is all they could afford when forced to move from their old space in central campus location. The new museum building has room for expansion in the future.

Donating my Pink Petoskey Stone to Dr. Robinson at the Seaman Museum. I am pointing the case where the specimen should fit.

The curator of the museum collection is my good friend, Dr. George Robinson, who also teaches some of the geology classes at Tech. The director of the Seaman is Dr Ted Bornhorst. Based on all the work done in moving the specimens, and setting up all the new displays, I would also point out the work done by George’s wife, Susan. You might as well call her co-curator.

The new museum opened officially in August 2011. I told George that when the museum opened, I would donate a world-class Pink Petoskey Stone to add to their display case containing Michigan’s Official State Stone. I took a mineral photography class in 2010 and George saw the Pink Petoskey Stone when we photographed it in the class.

The world-class favosites I donated previously to the Seaman.

I have previously donated a Favosites specimen that is on display, but it was an honor for me to share my Pink Petoskey with the world. I know of no other museum that has a pink Petoskey Stone in their collection.

You can clearly see this Petoskey is Pink!

Next time you are in the Houghton area, check out the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum and look for my donated fossils.

I’ll blog more about the museum and show you some of the displays in the near future.

The Museum Collections

(as listed on the AE Seaman Museum website):

World’s finest collection of Keweenaw Copper District minerals

World’s finest collection of Lake Superior Iron District minerals

World’s most comprehensive collection of Michigan Minerals

One of the best fluorescent mineral exhibits in the United States

One of the largest systematic mineral collections on public view in North America

Collection includes individual specimens that are the best of their species

One of the world’s best suites of Fairfield, Utah Variscite

One of the world’s best suites of Yukon phosphate minerals

Guinness World Record copper specimen (satellite exhibit at the Quincy Mine)