Category Archives: Michigan Stones

Prehnite Adventure

Monday, August 8, 2011

When you’re rock hunting you don’t always know how good the pieces are that you have found. But I spotted a promising prehnite piece today while “driving by”, that I think might be a highlight. Here’s what’s been happening.

The famous (or infamous) lift bridge separating Houghton and Hancock.

We arrived and got settled at the Houghton Campground last Thursday. The campground that the City of Houghton owns has 22 campsites for non-tent camping located right on the channel. This is a very scenic area and it is wonderfully tranquil with the occasional boat or jet ski traveling by. The channel bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula and is a shortcut from the east side of the peninsula to the west side.

Ships can pass thru the channel and when they do the lift bridge is hoisted, causing what the locals refer to as a “traffic jam”. We have been here when the lift bridge got stuck open and it really causes havoc. There is no other way to the north and the hospital is on the Hancock side, so if there is an emergency on the Houghton side (South) there is no way to get across except by boat.

U.P. Thomsonite is really ugly, but surprises await inside the ugly shell.

Today we headed out seeking U.P Thomsonite (which is pink and green Prehnite). This makes wonderful jewelry and often shows chatoyant “eyes“. When you find the stones, they are an ugly brown or bleached white and you cannot know what is inside until you cut the rind off. Picking up the right white/brown stones is the tricky part! Lots of calcite and granite show up as little white stones, but they are not of interest and I had to keep throwing them out of Bonnie’s bucket!

I'm looking for the eroded out Thomsonite.

We were with our friends Chris and Crystal. Prehnite fills voids in basaltic material, that over the years rots away and the Prehnite nodules drop out. You can dig for them in the rotted basalt, or sometimes find an eroded bank where you can simply pick them up. We filled a small bucket in short order from mostly eroded stones. We said goodbye to Chris and Crystal and decided we were done hunting for the day.

But, before we went back to the RV, I decided to explore an old logging road. I poked my head out the window, hoping to see a large agate. Chris got a big one today, and I was hoping to catch up. I saw a large seamed rock in the road and dug it up. A fantastic large seam of eyed Prehnite appeared in the rock. This was the find of the day and I think it will make some great jewelry.

A wonderful Prehnite seam.

While hunting today we found good patches of wild raspberries and Thimbleberries. No bears were about so we ate our fill. YUM!

We have not decided what is on tomorrow’s agenda yet, but we will keep blogging on our adventures here in the Keweenaw. The weather here has been ideal in the mid-70’s, but our best hunting is in the rain, so we are hoping for some soon. It has been very dry here all summer, but there was a nice shower the other night. That’s all for now.

A Most Unusual Rock Hunt

This is not the Favosite I donated to the Seaman Mineral Museum, but is a museum grade "feathery" fossil.

At our Grand Traverse Area Rock & Mineral Club meeting recently we had a request from someone coming to the area. He wanted information about hunting stones in this area, and about the geology. Because of glacial activity, we have an interesting mix of stone here. I will write about my rock hunt recently, because of the unusual specimens I found. I sometimes hunt in a private gravel pit, and often find really odd things that the glaciers have dragged down.

Our area is famous for the Petoskey Stones, of course, but other fossils include, Favosites, Horn Corals, Brachiopods, many other Devonian corals. Many other fossils from the Devonian Period as well as the Silurian Period appear.

Most of the Devonian fossils are calcified, but prior fossils can be the same species and are silica replacement. I love this one particular gravel pit because you never know what you will find. Once you think you have found everything, something else appears.

One time I found a fantastic Favosite specimen, so delicate I do not know how it servived 300 million years without deteriorating. The only thing I can think of is it ended up under a large boulder that protected it from water damage. Our area is primarily sand, so drainage is great. Normally the Favosites I get are round and glacial tumbled, but this particular specimen had much of its delicate structure intact. This particular specimen was donated to the A E Seaman Mineral Museum in Houghton, and can be enjoyed there.

A large Horn Coral about 7" long.

The first thing I found the other day was the largest horn coral I have ever found in the area. Into the bucket it went! The second specimen was another horn coral that was silica and contained a banded agate. I have never found anything like this and I have been hunting this location for a decade at least. What a delight to turn over a horn coral and see a fortification agate inclusion.

I also found a piece of Kona Dolomite of the Verde Antique variety, a lovely green Dolomite with lines of white similar to what you might see in Marble. I was amazed that this soft material survived a glacial push from the Marquette area.

I have also found Datolite and copper-included rocks at this gravel pit in the past. These were carried from the Keweenaw Peninsula. Pudding Stones are also not uncommon, and these came from the Sudbury, Ontario area. I found only one on this particular rock hunt, but it was a beauty.

Pudding Stones can be quite large. These are just babies!

Pudding Stones are red jasper and other igneous pebbles that have been “stirred” around in a white quartz matrix. The quartz is generally slightly porous and is difficult to obtain a high shine on it. These Pudding Stones on occasion contain banded agates.

People often ask me where they can find Petoskey stones, and although I do not often give away my secret spots, or areas on private property where I exclusively have permission to hunt, I can readily state IF it rains the finest Petoskey stones can be found on the back roads. Just find a dirt road and look, especially on the edge. Look in the road cuts, and washed out areas also. I guarantee you will find some nice stuff. I have seldom hunted Petoskey stones on the beach in recent years. The gravel pit stones are so much nicer. Stones from the roads have clearer patterns, and are generally much nicer. You may even find the rare pink Petoskey Stone if you are lucky. Let me know if this was a valuable tip for you.

My prize of the day was a fortification agate in a fossil. The first one I have found in 15 years from our area.

The beach rocks get really picked over so in general they are not as pristine as road rocks. Road rocks, on the other hand, are not picked over. Also the road commissions plow when the roads are wet. If you get lucky and find a freshly plowed and washed road, you can find a bucket of stones in short order.

Don’t just look in the Petoskey area. Spread out. Find someplace where no one has hunted. This is the best tip I can give anyone. Enjoy your hunting!

OUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS THINGS

With holiday shopping on the news, and the calendar showing the holiday shopping season is here, I thought I might help readers find our most popular Christmas gift items. The photos posted in this blog are recent creations not as yet on the website. Call if you are interested.

A giant 4.2 gram Greenstone (may be available)

Our most popular pendants are Isle Royal Greenstone. Some people call these Michigan Greenstone. In any case they are Michigan’s State Gem. The correct mineral name is Chlorastrolite, which is a variety of pupellyite. These lovely green stones, with a chatoyant alligator pattern, are extremely rare and are a single source gemstone. We sell lots of individual Greenstones as well as Greenstone Pendants, Greenstone bead or stud earrings, necklaces, and bracelets using Greenstone beads often combining these Greenstones with other Michigan minerals. Most people have never seen a Greenstone, let alone own one, so these become treasured gemstone jewelry gifts.

A lovely Larimar waiting for you. (may be available)

Our next best sellers are Lake Superior Agate Pendants. Our “Lakers” are the best flawless gemstones we can find. No expense is spared in obtaining the very best Lake Superior Agates, giving you great pride in your jewelry purchase. Many of our agates are rare varieties and of course we do have the popular red and white Lake Superior Agates known as “candy stripers”. We also have requests for other colors of Lake Superior agates, such as the pinks, grays, or ones with certain patterns. We also have Laker beads which we use in necklaces and bracelets.

Brown Rhodocrosite was one of the most popular gemstones in Tucson this year. (may be available)

We also feature Michigan’s State Stone, the Petoskey Stone as jewelry and as polished specimens. This fossilized coral is found widely across Michigan and is prized by visitors and residents alike. A plain gray rock, it takes on a distinctive look when it is wet or polished, giving a magical quality. Our Petoskey Stone pendants, like all our jewelry incorporate 14/20 gold fill and argentium (tarnish-resistant) silver to make their care easy.

Wild Horse Magnesite. (may be available)

bluvic

We are famous for the rare stones we use in our jewelry. Among the most rare are Victoria Stones, which really dazzle customers when they get them. You can choose from a full selection of the most beautiful colors of this curious stone product. Shiny and chatoyant, you will enjoy wearing it and telling the unusual story behind their creation. These stone pendants will really get noticed! Read the amazing story behind these stones in this blog.

If you see a particular stone in a pendant on our website, you are only seeing a small sample of what we have available. Our show inventory is substantially greater then what we have available on the web. We are always willing to send jpeg’s of products not on our website. We also have thousands of cabochons and thousands of pounds of rough rocks, minerals, and fossils that we can cut, polish, and wire wrap for you.

We also have Michigan rock and mineral specimens available that are not on the website.

Give us a chance if you want something unusual. You can never know what we have or can do for you unless you ask.

Lake Superior Agate Fish

Sometimes when I’m cutting a rock I come across one amazing slab from whatever I’m slicing. Well that happened recently when I cut a larger Lake Superior Agate.

I was amazed to observe a beautiful fish show up. This fish so astonished me that I had to make a pendant out of it immediately. So here is a photo. What else can I say? I did not re-touch the color of this fish. This fish lasted two weeks and sold off this website.

fish

Fire Brick

Firebrick shows it's true colors when slabbed. This chunk of firebrick looks ordinary, but it is very heavy.

Copper, over the last century, was the Upper Peninsula’s most important export. Although the mines closed for copper production in the mid-60’s or before, many of the mine structures, including the smelters remained. Over the years these smelters were torn down or crumbled.

The smelter ovens which turned the native copper into molten copper for making ingots were built of brick. Over the years of operation the clays and mortar were gradually replaced with copper from gasses and the molten metal itself. You will see small white flecks within the firebrick. these are the inpermeable silicates within the brick. Much of this brick which we refer to as “firebrick” was saved, while some was used as land fill.

Today firebrick is used to make beautiful bookends, display slabs, and jewelry. I am fortunate to have enough firebrick to make fine jewelry pieces. The firebrick cabochons are either left uncoated for those that like natural aging of their copper, or are coated with an industrial epoxy which makes the jewelry shiny and prevents any oxidation of the copper.

A nice firebrick slab-note the copper morter lines.

A nice firebrick slab-note the copper mortar lines.

Firebrick is difficult to shape and grind as it gums up diamond wheels. I have to alternate cutting fire brick and agate. The agate removes the copper from the wheel until the next pendant is cut.

For all those that have acquired a pendant made of this historic material from me; thanks. You have a real piece of history.

I can’t believe I do not have a picture of a finished firebrick pendant. I sell them as fast as I can make them and apparently have forgotten to take any pictures. I promise to take photos of the next one I make and post it here.

Native Elements

The Keweenaw Peninsula is known as a source of native copper. A question I sometimes get is “What do you mean when you say NATIVE copper?”

p7260103 Simply stated, the copper (mineral) is in its natural state and is not combined with any other minerals. A few elements can be found in their native state, but the only ones that are commonly encountered are Gold, Silver, Copper, Graphite, Diamond, and Sulfur.

Most of the native copper in the Keweenaw Peninsula does have a dash of silver in it, which made it more conductive, and therefore coveted by the burgeoning electrical companies back at the turn of the century. Native copper also requires very little refining. The copper mined in northern Michigan was just run through a stamp mill where the copper ore was smashed and the rock surrounding it was pulverized off. The copper then went directly to the smelters without any further processing.

The metals listed above are true metals, but I also see semi-metals in the U.P., such as Arsenic that combines with silver and copper to form Mohawkite. Mohawkite is an attractive find on some of the mine dumps, but care must be taken in handling and working with it due to the arsenic content. Mohawkite does make beautiful cabs that look like gold. The cabs will tarnish with time but can be re-polished with care and they make really distinctive jewelry. Lately I have been coating the Mohawkite cabochons with industrial epoxy. This prevents air from reaching the metals and thereby inhibits oxidation. (See also my post on Mohawkite of 9-14-09) Sometimes a treatment enhances a certain stone, making it a much better jewelry stone. This is what happens when Mohawkite is coated with epoxy. Some of my customers like the natural oxidation that is common with Mohawkite. I like the golden, shiny look of the coated stones. You can make your own selection.

We generally have many similar gemstones, other than those posted on this website. I am always willing to take a few photos of alternative pendants and send them to you. By the way, I love a challenge. What non-traditional gemstone pendant are you looking for?

Picture Frame Pendant

I have come to the realization that I have not talked about any of my new designs in quite a while. My latest picture frame pendant has become my recent favorite, and I think these will become a popular items this year.

My interest has not always been in jewelry making and the lapidary arts. I started out in visual arts, especially water color. When you paint a picture, it always looks better in a nicely matching frame, so I thought why not stones? This got me thinking of all my wife’s beads and especially beads made from Michigan rocks and minerals. Between the rocky Great Lakes shorelines, stony gifts from the glaciers, and mineral finds in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan has a real variety of stone to choose from. Many of our Michigan stones are miracles, found here and really nowhere else on earth. What if I could frame these beads in a collage featuring a variety of the most popular of these Michigan stones, making a picture of Michigan Miracles, or Lake Superior Miracles?

I started playing around last year with sizes and designs for my window boxes and this winter decided that the most pleasing shape and size may be a rectangular box of around 20X30mm. Stones can be arranged in pleasing and artistic ways within these confines. Thicknesses of the frames can also be manipulated to protect the beads therein. I have made a couple of much larger frames also that some people enjoy. Larger, or more stones can be used in these larger frames.

The featured stone in a Michigan pendant could be expected to be our Michigan greenstone (chlorastrolite) which is found in small areas of the Keweenaw Peninsula or on Isle Royale. We had some very nice Isle Royale Greenstone beads that were drilled incorrectly. These beads were drilled so when they are strung, you can only see the sides of the beads and not the widest and best part of the greenstone. By using a prong-set on these beads I was able to turn the best faces to the front of the pendants, giving folks a very large size greenstone for a reasonable price. The cost of these gemstones alone is worth our low pendant price. p4080180

I think it is important that the best possible beads be used. If I’m going to make a little piece of art, I want to use the best media (stones), that are available. I am selecting from a nice variety of Michigan miracles: greenstone, Petoskey stone, datolite, jasperlite, thomsonite, firebrick, kona dolomite, epidote, favosite, hematite, prehnite, copper/silver half breeds, and Lake Superior agate.

Wire wrappers should be warned that these pendants take me three times the time that I commonly spend on a pendant! I also think that it helps to have some training in balance, layout, and color and an artistic eye to make these little treasures.

We have posted a couple of these little Miracle treasures on out website, and hope you will experience the same enjoyment wearing and showing these pendants as I do making them.

Chrysocolla from Michigan

Chrysocolla with cuprite is shown in the front surrounded by Turquoise-like Chrysocolla cabs.

Chrysocolla is quite abundant and widespread in Michigan’s copper country. I have found some wonderful specimens while hunting copper on the old spoil piles. Some of my best finds are copper-included chrysocolla. These copper inclusions involve large areas of native copper and not merely specks which I have observed in Arizona material.

Chrysocolla is always associated with hydrothermal copper deposits. Beautiful examples have been found at the copper mines in Arizona and other locations, but here I will talk about Michigan Chrysocolla.

Sometimes the Chrysocolla is so nice in the Upper Peninsula that you would swear it was Turquoise. Other times this U.P. gemstone is beautiful blue as it combines with malachite. Michigan chrysocolla is sometimes referred to as “U.P. Turquoise” when found in a high quality. I have friends in the U.P. that would swear in court this material IS Turquoise and not chrysocolla. p3220165

The very best chrysocolla I’ve found in the Keweenaw Peninsula is blue and combined with clear silica. According to the book Minerology of Michigan by E.W. Heinrich and revised and edited by my friend George W. Robinson there has been no Turquoise located in Michigan. This book is my rock bible when it comes to Michigan minerals, and I highly recommend it to anyone that hunts rocks and minerals in Michigan

Chrysocolla is a hydrous copper aluminum SILICATE whereas Turquoise is a hydrous copper aluminum PHOSPHATE. Chrysocolla is a harder material than it’s relative Turquoise, simply because of the silica content. Chrysocolla requires no stabilization, as is often the case with the softer Turquoise.

A typical piece of Chrysocolla from the Bumbletown location.

When I find Chrysocolla I can sometimes find associated minerals such as cuprite, malachite, limonite, and native copper in the same area. One of the mines rich with Chrysocolla is the Bumbletown (Bumblebee Mine). You can load up with ornamental rock if you want to carry it home. The green Chrysocolla fills the space between the unusual matrix at this location. I must tell you that 15 years ago this location produced some really excellent Chrysocolla but I think it would take a lot of digging and luck to find the “good stuff” now. If you dig at Bumblebee look also for Datolite. Before hunting any mine dumps in the Keweenaw, check on current ownership. These properties do change hands occasionally. Happy hunting!

What gifts are you giving this year?

This time of year your mailboxes are filled with catalogs full of imported items, from the cute and cheap to the “what’ll they think of next” high-tech solutions to problems you didn’t know existed! The products we offer are of a different kind: long-lasting, treasured items that people really enjoy forever. I think the greatest gifts are custom made, one-of-a-kind which is what we really specialize in. We offer spectacular natural stones, each a bit or a lot different from it’s brothers, not common diamonds or jewelry store products, but truly unique pieces of art you can obtain on our website.

We offer beautiful stones from around the world, but we know that our best selling products represent something from our customers interests or past—often someone who once lived in the UP and has moved away wants a greenstone or Datolite to remember rock hunting in the Keweenaw, or someone who lived in the Midwest and loved Lake Superior agates

Burgundy Beauty Lake Superior Agate Pendant

or Thomsonite and now wears it in their new home far away. Stone jewelry is beautiful and helps keep us grounded in things that we value.

Purchasing items we make assures you we stand behind our quality and gives you the peace of mind that you are buying an American made product. You just can’t tell what you’ll get when you buy imported goods. Bottom line is you are sending more money overseas and not supporting the U.S. economy.

Our customers enjoy the stories behind the stones we use, like where they came from, how we got them, and how the jewelry is made. We really appreciate all our customers, and many seek us out both at shows and on the web. They know they are getting the best when they deal with us and are proud to give our products. We have never had any reports that someone did not like our jewelry.

Bonnie and I are just normal, hard working people like most of you. We know what we would like someone to get us for a gift, and strive to make products we would like to receive.

Thanks for your support in the past. We are looking for an even better 2010, and hope we can meet more of you at one of our shows next year.

Extraordinary “Lakers”

Everyone enjoys the classic “candy striper” Lake Superior Agate, but lately I have seen a trend toward the unusual, atypical Lake Superior Agates. “Lakers” are my favorite type of agate, mainly because I enjoy finding them or purchasing special ones from other collectors.

When I say “unusual”, I include unique colors and patterns as well as rare types of lakers. pb010093 Lately I’ve been cutting some of the best lakers I’ve ever seen. Generally agates of this quality are not available on the market. They are crack free with the best patterns possible. They will make class “A” jewelry that my customers expect. I really had fun cutting these stones and am having more fun making jewelry from them. I have recently posted a quantity of special pendants made from these agates on this website. Look for the new stuff in the Lake Superior Pendant folder. Or of course you can do a search for Lake Superior Agates and it will bring up anything we have with Lakers.

Recently I heard from Kathy Jo who had just purchased an agate pendant that she had been admiring. She wrote: ” I just received my Lake Superior agate pendant–it is just amazing, your jewelry is just beautiful, thank you… I was very excited to see your Lake Superior agates were not all red, white, orange, tan. The agates I find … are white, gray, hints of blue and pink.” Thanks Kathy Jo, I also like the variety of colors and patterns that are found in Lakers.

As you know I NEVER enhance or retouch my jewelry photos, but because my jewelry is photographed with indirect lighting it looses some of its’ sparkle in favor of detail. When you receive a piece of Snob Appeal Jewelry you can always expect it to look better then the photo on the website.

My goal is to post at least another dozen Lake Superior Agate pendants in the next few weeks. What a great Christmas gift for the agate-loving woman.

Here is a photo of some of the fantastic agates pa250095 I’ve cut recently. Some are sold already, some are posted, and most have not been made into jewelry yet. If you like any of these agate cabochons let me know. If you’re lucky it will still be available.