Category Archives: Special Stones

Greenstone, Lake Superior Agates, and Custom Jewelry

I have been working on custom orders that mostly came from shows we did in the Upper Peninsula. These projects are always fun, as customers bring in Agates, Greenstones, and other U.P. rocks with ideas for jewelry.

The sister's Greenstones

After sitting in a drawer for 25 years, a pair of small Greenstones were rescued by Katherine and Judy. The Greenstones were already cut and polished, but needed a little extra work and TLC to bring them up to the standards they deserved. These lively sisters (and long-time customers) brought these stones to me and requested a wrap with “all gold and a fancy top”. A nice size for a Greenstone pendant, they converted into gorgeous jewelry . I love doing jewelry that has sentimental value, and these were not the only pieces of this nature I made this trip.

A custom piece for Nancy. Lake Superior Agate

Our buddy Nancy and her family have been long time lovers of our jewelry. She annually brings Lakers, and other interesting local gemstones, in for me to evaluate and make into pendants or polish. Nancy’s husband found what looked like a rather ordinary Lake Superior Agate (although large for a local stone), but when I cut the stone, it turned out to be a fantastic surprise. The reason the Lake Superior Agate is my favorite gemstone is the wide variations in pattern, colors, and types. The stone Nancy gave me was a mostly white, crack free, laker. I (and Nancy) were delighted with this stone. What makes this one special is the sentimental value that her husband actually found it. A great project. Thanks Nancy.

Shirley's Greenstone Geode. This one 1 3/4" across. I cannot believe someone would glue this in a spoon.

Our long-time friend Shirley has one of the most eclectic collections of my jewelry. She believes in supporting local artists, and loves U.P. rocks and minerals. I have fun sometimes in my shop when I see a certain stone, cut it, and immediately get a feeling that Shirley would like this stone. I make a pendant and when I get to a show where I know Shirley will appear immediately when the show opens, so I hide this special pendant (in plain sight) in my local pendant case. Shirley’s sharp eye and discrimination tastes, invariably spots this special pendant. The next time I see it, it’s around her neck.

This year she found a Greenstone Geode at another booth. The vendor had made a pendant with the stone glued into a spoon. I know, why would anyone do this? Shirley wanted me to free the Greenstone from the spoon and make a pendant from it. I had fun making a big, bold pendant. She likes Big, Bold, Pendants; she was very pleased with the finished results. This is a real one-of-a-kind..

Greenstone in matrix I found at a vendor booth.

The Greenstone pendant I made from that rock.This pendant is almost 3" tall. That's a biggun folks.

I found another Greenstone, entrapped in matrix, at the same vendor’ booths, and made a cash exchange with him. I put together a unisex pendant, and expect to wear it myself until someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse.

Before we went to the Keweenaw, I took a side trip to Canada to look at a rock collection. I bartered jewelry (plus some cash) for some of this large collection. One of the rocks was gorgeous;

A close-up view of a beautiful, odd, mystery rock. If you know what this is, let me know.

green and white in color, and even though it has been posted on the Lapidary Facebook site, no one has positively ID’s it. I made a pendant for John, the collection’s owner, and will make more jewelry in the future. My Facebook friends are hovering to get some of this stuff, but I think I will retain the 7 or 8 slabs I have until it is positively ID’d. It has the chatoyancy of Victoria Stone, and the color and starlike quality of chlorastrolite, but much bigger. Some of the material in this collection was obtained 75 years ago, so no telling what this is. It has been a fun research though.

Bonnie's Garden.

Amethyst in a salmon colored Laker. I called this one "Samethyst"

Our 36th Wedding Anniversary was last month. In honor of that and Bonnie’s love of gardening, I created a U.P. Thomsonite Pendant that I called “Bonnie’s Garden”. It is now in her private collection.

I have to show you a couple Laker’s I recently completed for our inventory. One is a red and white “Candy Striper” which is always a popular color combo, and one a rare Salmon colored Laker with Amethyst. Every amethyst Lake Superior Agate necklace I do sells as soon as I put it out!

It is not too early to start thinking of Christmas, especially if you have custom work for me. Now is the time to get your special stone to me; so I have time to do it justice.

Now is also the time to check out this website for special Christmas gifts.

There is so much happening right now with our business. We have grown every year, and expect 2014 will be no different. We try to treat our customers as friends, and if you order from us, like our website and/or like us on Facebook, you too can be kept up to date on all our adventures and jewelry. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

A "Candy Stripe" Laker with tubes.

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.

Mohawkite, Domeykite, and Algodonite

As I look at these names, I think what an unfriendly sounding bunch of names. I make natural stone jewelry out of this? How about calling it Silver Bullet or Shining Golden Bridal Stone? Instead this mineral has a name that reminds me of a donkey.

Gold Ore or Mohawkite? A real fooler.

Mohawkite was/is one of many local names for a copper ore comprised of Copper and Arsenide. The two primary Copper Arsenides in the Copper Country are Algodonite (Cu6As) and Domeykite (Cu3As). Between 1900 and 1901, 105 metric tons of Mohawkite were taken from the Mohawk Mine. Enormous masses of Algodonite also came out of the Ahmeek Mines. This area is on the north end of the Kearsarge Lode.

A silvery slab of Mohawkite. Siver coloration in probably due to high Nickel content.

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with any of these Arsenides. Allow me to explain my love-hate relationship with Mohawkite. Mohawkite is a local name for a mixture of Algodonite and Arsenian Copper found in the Mohawk and Ahmeek area Copper Mines. This material has been called many names in the past, and even today we hear solid pieces of Mohawkite called “Butchite”, another example of a local moniker.

Iridescent Mohawkite. The picture does not do this justice with it's metallic reds and Cobalt Blues.

While I love all the Keweenaw Mining District stones, like Greenstone, Datolite, and Prehnite, I dislike working with Mohawkite or any other Copper Arsenide. After cutting Mohawkite I seal the material using a lenghthy procedure I’ve developed over the years. After any Mohawkite cabochon is sealed it becomes perfectly safe in normal use.

What I do love about these Copper Arsenides is they are absolutely gorgeous. When this arsenide is intermixed with white Quartz, the effect is amazing. It makes beautiful jewelry, and has this ability to be, and look, like several other things. For example, it’s a real fooler when the golden Mohawkite couples with the white Quartz. You would swear it is Gold Ore from California. Customers love the jewelry I make from Mohawkite, and because it is found nowhere else on earth, it is another keepsake from the Copper Country that is totally unique. I suspect that the amount of Nickel, Cobalt, or other trace minerals in the Mohawkite causes some of this stone to remain stable in color, while others change to gold. The Arsenides are the cause of the iridescent phenomenon. I have found that in stones that contain a high level of Arsenides, the color change is almost instantaneous.

By sealing the stone, any potential toxicity is eliminated. The possibility of the stone tarnishing is prevented by my sealing process also. I think of Mohawkite as a Chamelion of sorts. When I get a cabochon shaped, I never know how it will react to oxygen. I cut some today that became iridescent within 5 minutes. I wanted a golden color so I went back and re-ground off the rainbow. The metal was silver in color when it came off the grinder. I put the cabs in water, and rushed them to my sealing area. I rapidly removed them from water, dried them. When I wiped them dry, they immediately changed to a golden color. I sealed them in time to inhibit them from changing to iredescent colors. I did leave several cabs to for a few minutes and sealed them when they rainbowed.

You see very few people making jewelry from Mohawkite, but I love the unusual look of it, and we sell many pieces of it. After my sealing process, the stone is perfectly docile and safe to wear.

My Mohawkite jewelry is popular at Copper World in Calumet, Michigan, I also sell this material on line. Mohawkite is challenging to find anymore, but occasionally I stumble over a good piece while exploring the piles. Remember that these Mohawkite mines are all on private property and should not be hunted without permission.

We specialize in jewelry made from rocks and minerals of Michigan, and Mohawkite is one I love to hate. You on the other hand will love it, especially when you get all those complements.

Finding the Ent

It’s about time I showed you some of the jewelry I made from all that stuff I bought in Quartzite and Tucson in February. I have been working both in my shop and on my workbench.

This is just so wild.

Another really cool Bumblebee.

One of the most popular stones in Tucson this year was Bumblebee “Jasper”. It is not really Jasper, but is a mix of minerals in a matrix of a volcanic Tuft from the island of Java in Indonesia. Most of the Bumblebee we saw was just yellow and black, but I was lucky to find one dealer that went to Java and hand-picked some of the best material that I have ever seen. These Cabochons were bright pumpkin orange and black.

Treebeard the Ent.

I bought some wonderful Yellow Feather Dendritic Jasper from Utah. Dendrites are tree-like Manganese inclusions in a rock, and make wonderful pictures. The Pendant I show you in this blog stood out when I cut a slab off the host rock. I am a big Hobbit fan and I actually saw what looked like the Ent named Treebeard in it. “Hroom, hm, come my friends.” He’s taking Merry, Pippin, and the Ents in a charge on Isengard. Now where else can you get a totally natural depiction of a Lord of the Rings character for your stone jewelry?

Blue Biggs.

Biggs Jasper is a long-time favorite with lapidary types. It is quite scarce now but back in the 60’s the famous Blue Biggs was very popular. Biggs was re-discovered while building a road, and the best that came out was Blue Biggs. The reason I say it was re-discovered is that Native Americans made arrowheads from this Jasper for many years. Some Biggs was also used for landscaping. I found a nice chunk and this pendant is one cab from this spectacular picture Jasper.

Dinosaur Bone-WOW

There were many sellers of Dinosaur Bone at all the shows, but when I saw a D-Bone slab with a red agate inclusion, I just had to have it for a special piece of fossil bone jewelry.

Royal Imperial Jasper

Royal Imperial Jasper has just such spectacular patterns and pastel colors. I really like this stuff, found in Zacatecas, Mexico about 50 miles north of the city of Guadalajara. Does is remind you of Edvard Munch?

Smithsonite

Smithsonite from the famous Glove Mine in Arizona caught my eye. These stones had unusual colors, and made some really lovely jewelry.

It was a real pleasure to find the oldest living thing in Middle Earth in my stone pile. One of the reasons I cut rocks and make jewelry is because I love these unexpected visions. Stay tuned for the next finds!

Green Stone and Greenstone Jewelry

Drusy Quartz.

For St. Patricks, my gift to you is some of my favorite green pendants from past to present. Many of these I am very proud of as some of my best work. Join me as I look at favorite green gemstone jewelry.

Easy picking of Turquoise at the Tucson Gem Shows.

Catseye Jade is set off by Sunstone and Faceted Topaz

Jade is one of the automatic gemstones that you think of as being green. I found a rare Catseye Jade from Russia a couple years back and teamed it with Moonstone to create a striking multi-phenominal pendant.

Meta Jade.

Malachite makes an amazing designer pendant.

Malachite is another green gemstone with striking patterns.

Turquoise and its relative Variscite are a couple other great green stones that cover many shades on the color wheel.

Azurite/Malachite enhanced with London Blue Topaz, Apatite, Tourmaline.

Apple green Chrysoprase.

Chrysoprase is the most valuable Quartz and is famous for its luscious apple green coloration.

Something that resembles Jade is Meta-Jade, the rare pre-runner to Victoria Stone. You really cannot tell it from Imperial Jade.

Green Victoria Stone, Peridot, Pink Topaz, and Morganite

Greenstone/Thomsonite

Dark green Victoria Stone is one of the most sought after colors from this long gone gemstone.

Azurite/Malachite would look good for a St. Patrick’s Day Pendant.

Greenstone with Cuprite Inclusions-The only greenstone with this combination I've ever seen.

A closeup for you viewing pleasure.

Sometimes wonderful greens are present in Royal Imperial Jasper.

My favorite green stone is Michigan’s State Gem, the Isle Royal Greenstone. As you can see, you don’t have to be Irish to love green stones or greenstone jewelry.

Royal Imperial Jasper.

Variscite enhanced with Pink Topaz

Simply a great Variscite

Snoopy and the Red Agate

I haven’t written an “On the Workbench” blog in some time, but I thought I would let you see what I’ve done with some of the stuff I brought back from the shows in Arizona. Check the back blogs to review.

Bumblebee Jasper is not really a Jasper. Finding bright orange Bumblebee is uncommon.

One of the things that seemed all over Tucson this year was Bumblebee Jasper. This orange and black (but usually yellow and black) rock comes from Volcanic vents on the island of Bali in Indonesia. It is a mis-nomer to refer to Bumblebee as Jasper. It is neither Jasper, nor is it an Agate. The rock is in reality an Anhydrite/Sulfur/Hematite with welded volcanic tuft (ash). This stuff varies widely in hardness and contains many hole and flaws, so it is tricky to make a decent gemstone. It is also hard to find bright orange. The pendant I made looks like an evil mask. The stone was so flashy it did not need a fancy wrap.

Keswick Agate

I cut a Keswick Agate from Keswick, Iowa, leaving quite a bit of ordinary Quartz on the side. This was intentional. I envisioned using some of my wire over the Quartz to really enhance the eye-like pattern of the Agate. A plain wrap, like I did on the Bumblebee, would not work with the Keswick. Keswick Agate is difficult to obtain and good Keswick is hard to find.

Picture Petrified Wood from near Holbrook, Arizona

Picture Petrified Wood comes from near Holbrook, Arizona. One of our oldest and dearest friends sells Petoskey Stones in Tucson. She wanted a pendant and swapped me some of her Dendritic Picture Wood for making this pendant for her.

Faceted Aquamarine and Amethyst; simply wrapped;simply beautiful.

I wrapped a really fine faceted Aquamarine as well as another of Amethyst. I wrapped these so they can flip over while being worn.

Thomsonite of this quality is always popular.

The Keweenaw Peninsula and Grand Marais, Minnesota both supply the beautiful Ziolite, Thomsonite. Dark eyed Thomsonite from the north shore is the most coveted. I was just mindlessly looking around the AGTA (American Gem Trade Association) show and happened to glance down a side isle and spot a couple trays in the bottom of a display case. My eye immediately focused in on a Thompsonite. I could not believe such a gemstone would exist in a show full of common Diamonds, Rubies, and Sapphires. This one even has copper inclusions.

I asked the lady at the booth if I could look at the two trays. In a humorous manner she said, “Oh, you want to look in my junk box?” I for sure wanted to get at that “junkbox”, and found several other treasures as well as this Thomsonite.

When the dealer dropped and broke one of my Malachite slices, I immediately thought of earrings to go with the bullseye pendant.

I could not help but purchase a perfect slice of Bullseye Malachite. I dislike cutting this stuff, but put my mask and gloves on, and went to it. What a great Pendant I made from the cab. The earrings came from the second slice off the same rock, but the owner of the business dropped it on the floor at checkout, and the slab broke in half. He gave me the two pieces, so I used them. I hate wasting good material.

Snoopy?

Speaking of Malachite, I saw Snoopy in a piece. Cool stuff.

Watermelon Tourmaline

Not much bigger than a dime, two other fantastic little pendants of Watermelon Tourmaline and Montana Agate called me. I have seldom seen a small agate with such a fantastic natural picture. Watermelon Tourmaline is the most coveted breed of this gemstone. Good Tourmaline, like this one, are always popular, no matter the price.

A small Montana Agate with a "big sky" picture.

Yellow Cat

Cardinal Candy: Another rare red Yellow Cat.

Yellow Cat Petrified wood is from remote regions of Utah, and was used by Tiffany back in the day. Yellow Cat is the brightest red of any petrified wood. It is really an amazing and scarce agate. I was very excited to see some at one of the Tucson Shows. The dealer told me people walked by his supply all day; not recognizing it for what it was. I am happy my mind is full of knowledge on many rare rocks.

You hardly ever see Blue Lace Agate Drusy.

Bonnie is especially fond of Blue Lace Agate. Imagine her thrill when I found some Blue Lace Drusy. Drusy means it contains pockets full of millions of tiny Quartz Crystals. This one I made into a designer cut beauty.

The workbench and the shop are still busy. I am so pleased with all the jewelry grade rocks I obtained out west, and am still exceedingly busy and thrilled about making a new crop of jewelry. I also enjoy sharing with you guys.

Nuumite/Nuummite-Jewelry from one of the Worlds OLDEST Stones

Today I wire-wrapped the oldest rock I have ever made jewelry from (I think). Nuumite is found a remote local near Nuuk, Greenland. It was discovered in 1982 and is of a metamorphic origin. Web sources claim that the site is accessible only by boat.

I bought this cabochon at the Tucson Shows years ago because of the sellers claim that it was “one of the oldest stones on Earth”. This is a claim you hear commonly in various locations. I hear it all the time in the Keweenaw Peninsula. So how old are the “oldest rocks on earth”? Sources claim Nuumite is in excess of 3 BILLION years old. The Swedish guy that sold me the Nuumite claimed it was 3.6 BILLION years old.

When oriented correctly the Nuumite shows and "Inner Gold".

When oriented correctly the Nuumite shows an"Inner Gold".

No glow is evident when the stone is turned.

Nuumite resembles Labradorite because it sports an oriented Labradorescence that some call Schiller Effect. I believe the stone to be a Hornblende and when oriented correctly it flashes a golden color on one axis. This is described as “inner gold”. When turned the stone is simply black and shows no “flash” until it is oriented correctly similar to Labradorite. I would say that the effect is more of iridescence, and not exactly like Labradorite. Nuumite is not as flashy as Labradorite.

Nuumite will probably not compete as a great gemstone, but it certainly has an interesting story and it does have a neat golden-brown glimmer. Also, many metaphysical properties are contributed to this rock. This piece of jewelry should appeal to the Geology Expert as well.

It is unfortunate you cannot see the “inner Gold” to its’ true effect.

In this pendant I used both gold and silver which complements both the black and golden tones in the rock. This is an unusual stone, an unusual cut, and an unusual wire-wrap. Everything about Nuumite is special.

Amethyst Glitz

“Can you make me a pendant that will match this”? Of course I can, but why would Bonnie want another piece of jewelry when she has hundreds of pendants to choose from?

It all started on Black Friday (that was actually Thanksgiving Thursday this year). She had a coupon for a local Department Store. I’ll man up and admit that I saw a dressy coat that I thought would look nice on my bride. It had a great design and Amethyst colors. We both like Amethyst. Paired with a glimmering silver blouse, this jacket looked really great.

Unbeknown to me, the jewelry maker”s wife had NOTHING to wear with these garments, and this is where I come in. After I realized the wife has NO suitable jewelry, and asked me in a nice way to help out, I actually thought about making something like I’ve never done before. Here’s the dumb part: I announced on The Facebook I was going to make this pendant so my jewelry-less wife would have something to actually wear to our Rock club Christmas Party IN THREE DAYS!

Bonnie thought a white gemstone with some Amethyst beads that she rooted out of her beadroom stash, would look nice. We thought at first white druzy would work, but she settled on the wonderfully rare shiny white Victoria Stone. Argentium Sterling was the metal of choice. You can read the intriguing story about Victoria Stone in my blog at http://www.snobappealjewelry.com .

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to make and more time figuring out HOW I was going to do it. After a good nap, I arose with my mind clear and a picture in my mind of what the pendant would look like. I usually do not use colored Aluminum wire, but Bonnie does with her beads. Alas, she did not have any purple (I thought she had every beading item available), so we made a not-so-quick-trip to craft stores (notice I said stores with an S) to locate this wire so I could continue.

After a few hours of watching various “Redneck” shows and wire wrapping, the pendant emerged from the workbench. A good hint is if you are using your mind creating jewelry, you can still watch mindless TV, but not anything deep like “Polar Bears Discuss How to Properly Prepare Seal Sushi”. 1. Wait for seal head to pop up in the hole. 2. Snatch seal from the hole and eat, no seasoning necessary.

OK, so I got off my point; deal with it. Maybe the reason that this piece of jewelry looks unlike anything I’ve done before is because of watching Redneck Duck Calls, or some such show while making it.

Since I was clearly focused on my task, Bonnie took this opportunity to vacuum, do laundry, make cookies, and in general stay clear of my area, and not interrupt my concentration. I do tend to get grumpy when interrupted at key points, and sometimes she can tell what’s key, and what isn’t.

I awoke this morning with ideas that came to me in dreams on how to finish this project. I got right on it even before coffee! The jewelry is actually finished ladies and gentlemen. I could go into a lot of details on how I pulled this one off, but it’s Christmas and the stores are open, and I have to set up for our Open House tomorrow. Remember, shop small or shop on this website (trust me, we’re small). Now enjoy, what Bonnie calls, “The glitziest pendant you’ve ever made”.

Here is my bride Bonnie, happily wearing the pendant that "matched" her new duds.

Close-up of Bonnie's Pendant. Those Swarovski Crystals really add glitz to this Party Pendant. White Victoria Stone & Amethyst Beads.

Fordite (Motor City Agate)

A nice chunk of Fordite and what I made from it.

Over the past few months I have been able to make purchases and trade for several nice pieces of Fordite. I have blogged about Fordite in the past, but haven’t talked about it for some time.

A new supply Fordite cabochons ready for jewelry.

I thought rose gold and silver looked good with Fordite of this color.

Fordite is a generic term for the build-up of overspray on non-vehicle areas within automotive, boat, and private paint booths. Much of the paint, after it reached a certain depth, was removed from overspray areas and hauled to landfills. Some paint chunks were taken home by employees.

Designed shapes flow with the Fordite.

Eventually some creative individuals realized that this waste paint could be re-cycled (but we did not use the term recycle back then). It was discovered that the chunks of scavenged material were especially suited for colorful jewelry!

How did this guy get into this slab of Fordite?

As cars, for example, flowed along the assembly line on assembly stands they were actually spray painted by REAL people (not robots). The car bodies were mounted on assembly stands that transported them along the line. Overspray saturated these stands, walls, and pipe surfaces. Each car was a different color, so excess paint was sprayed on the walls of the paint booths to get it out of the sprayer. The sprayer was reloaded with a different color, and the procedure was repeated. Paint build-up could be an inch thick or more.

Side 1 of a Fordite.

Side 2 of the same Fordite. I like both sides so I’ll make it so someone can wear it with either side out.

I like this piece. It is rare to find green in Fordite.

You would think that paint certainly is not suitable for jewelry, but this paint from the 60’s and early 70’s was very tough. Remember that the enamel was baked after each color was applied, so while the vehicle was getting baked, so was the overspray on the assembly stand. Layers were baked over and over, perhaps hundreds of times. Also the paint contained lead. Lead was added to allow for speed drying, pigment, increased durability, to resist corrosion causing moisture, and to retain a fresh appearance. I’ve been told that the paint “flowed” better with the lead. Bottom line is that Fordite is tuff stuff. I use my diamond wheels to form this paint just as I do with other stones.

At an art show I had one lady ask me in a sarcastic voice, “Does this paint have lead in it?”. I could see she was just “testing” me, so I asked her “Why, are you going to eat it?”. My counselor and wife admonished me later, but it was fun anyway. I think back to all the lead paint I ate as a kid. I couldn’t resist the lure of paint peeling off the wall! It’s a wonder any babyboomer is still alive. Virtually ALL paint had lead in it “back in the day”. You can be sure that the small lead content of your jewelry is certainly not the biggest threat to your health!

By the mid-70’s public safety rules from various Departments, regarding health and job safety, were enacted limiting lead exposure in the workplace, and robots began painting cars using powder coating, virtually eliminating Fordite, as the paint no longer built up on the assembly stands. Fordite’s days came to an end when powder coating was mandated in most applications. There are still things painted the old fashioned way. Non-metallic body parts come to mind, so in some manufacturing you still can acquire layered paint pieces.

It’s amazing to me the variety in pattern that can be coaxed out of a single piece of Fordite. The real secret of Fordite is that it may not come out of a Ford Plant. I cannot tell where exactly where most of my Fordite came from (I often call my Fordite “Motor City Agate” if I do not know it’s source), and neither can 90% of jewelry makers, although some car collectors can actually match colors to old cars. I try my hardest to find matching color charts for my antique Fordite.

This rare antique paint is quite expensive to buy, if you can find it. It’s a great day when I find someone with a stash of this wonderful old material. You also could own a piece of Fordite jewelry or give one as a gift. A wide variety of folks admire the Motor City agates–because they love the bright colors, the cool designs, they worked for an automotive company, or they just love jewelry. This is a surprising media, and is a good conversation starter. Which is your favorite wire-wrapped Fordite pendant?

Is your Jewelry “REALLY” Rare?

Old Crazy Lace from Mexico was turned it this wild set.

What is it that makes “old material” in the lapidary world more valuable than what is being mined today? Sometimes the value is true because a desirable area has been completely cleaned out, and sometimes the values are false or artificially created by a controlled market. The nature of people is to covet anything that is scarce, as we see when morons run over each other at Christmas to get that rare (?) toy or electronic device.

Rare Victoria Stone. This one is light blu, but they come in other colors also.

There are actually some lapidary materials that are rare, and some material, like Diamonds, that are artificially rare. Much of the materials I make jewelry from really are rare. They include Victoria Stone (the art of creating this was lost in the late 1970’sand has not been rediscovered), Wingate Agate (the land is now in a highly restricted military bombing range area),

Wingate Pass Agate from the China Lake Military Reserve, Death Valley California.

Old stock Cocoxenite from Brazil

Cocoxenite from Brazil, and old stock Mexican Crazy Lace Agate.

Mexican Crazy Lace Agate is still available, but not with the beautiful pastel yellows, pinks, and that most sought after material, that contained beautiful caramel opal sometimes found years ago. The only chance of getting this really old agate from the 5o’s and 60″s is to find an old collection. The primary reason I often buy up old rock collections is to obtain just a few pieces of really rare material that may be hidden in the collection grandpa had.

The "new" Cocoxinite (called Super 7) from Brazil is nice, but just not great, like the old stuff

The "new" Cocoxenite (called Super 7) from Brazil is nice, but just not great, like the old stuff

OLD Crazy Lace is jaw dropping. The caramel is all opal!

The reverse side. AMAZING! Two pendants in one.

I just finished a gorgeous pendant and matching set of earrings from some old Crazy Lace. I am sharing this set with you as well as some pictures of other old Crazy Lace pieces I have in stock.

I have found really colorful old Crazy Lace Agate at the shows in Quartzite and Tucson by carefully searching. One time several years ago, as I was walking by one of the hotel rooms at Tucson, I spotted old Cocoxinite through the window. The guy had acquired some old material in an estate sale. How happy I was, as well as other knowledgeable rockhounds, to find this rare, long time extinct, gemstone. The next day I went back to get more, but guess what? IT WAS ALL GONE! I quickly learned my lesson. If you see rare stuff, get all you can or others will scarf it up.

Colorful Datolites from the old copper mines are also getting harder and harder to find. The rarest is the almost impossible to find Centennial Blue Datolite. Also brown datolite from the old Arcadian Mine that now is under the Houghton Airport. I actually have some of this brown datolite, but I haven’t figured out how to make attractive jewelry from it.

Iron Lace Agate from the Republic Mine.

A small quantity of fortification agate was discovered at the Republic open pit iron mine in the metamorphic iron formations back in the mid-70’s. I have found some of this rare agate in old collections owned by veteran members of the Ishpeming Rock Club. After this agate was discovered members of the Ishpeming Club named this material Iron Lace Agate. A few rockhunting field trips were made to the mine and all this agate was collected. There may be more at the mine, but tons of rocks would have to be moved to find it. This stuff is impossibly rare.

Blue Centennial Datolite. Talk about rare.

There are many other really rare gemstones throughout the world, and I can only say that if you see it in a jewelry store, it probably is NOT what I consider rare. I concentrate on offering my customers rare and unusual gem material. Some of the rocks I have for making jewelry are so rare you may never see another person wearing the same gem.

Yellow Cat Petrified Wood, although rare, can still be found. This bright red wood was used by Tiffany for their jewelry years ago.

I have scores of truly atypically scarce stones. Call me if you want something unusual. I might have it in stock.

After I finished this blog, Bonnie told me there was just too much information (and pictures) for one blog. I told her you all could handle it. Picture-wise, I think this may be my best blog ever for jaw-dropping images.