Category Archives: Stone Jewelry

Float COPPER is Amazing Sometimes

An amazing Float Copper Cabochon, with a perfect Quartz Crystal inside, inspired me to wrap up a great pendant. This pendant is named “Float Copper Marvel”.

A close up of the included Quartz Crystal included in my piece of Float Copper.

Another picture of the Crystal under different lighting.

Quite a few years back, at the Tucson Gem & Mineral shows, I, as usual, checked in with my friend Ken Flood. Ken owns Keweenaw Gem & Gifts in Houghton. We go back a long way, and he knows I enjoy making jewelry from the rare and unusual Rocks & Minerals from the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Ken sells multiple Keweenaw products that his business manufactures. Ken said he had something special for me to look at. He produced a quantity of Float Copper Cabochons with beautiful Quartz inclusions. I have never seen such unusual Float Copper. He has a special wire saw that he uses to cut Float Copper. You need this special saw, as pure Copper really gums up the normal Lapidary saws. Normal Lapidary saw blades produce so much heat they tend to warp.

Usually Float Copper pure native copper, but in these special pieces it contained Quartz; some gorgeous Crystals. It was a surprise when to find this Quartz in the copper.

For those that do not know, Float Copper is copper that was ripped from copper-bearing basalt by the Glaciers thousand of years ago, then transported in the glacial till (floated) and deposited in other locations, usually not far from the source.

From many years ago–my buddy Chris Cooper. I told Chris to check a newly logged property in the Keweenaw for Float Copper. Chris headed out and within 10 minutes I heard a “YELP”! He came out and lo and behold, his first piece of “Float”

Here is Chris’ Keweenaw treasure all cleaned up.

The world record, 19 ton piece of Float Copper at the AE Seaman Mineral Museum.

Today, diligent searching with metal detectors, sometimes yields these transported pieces of copper. Smaller chunks are normally sold as specimens to rockhounds. Sometimes the Float Copper is very massive in size. The official Guinness World Record Float Copper specimen is 19 tons and resides at the AE Seaman Mineral museum (Michigan’s Official stare Mineral Museum) on the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton.

Quartz Garden Pendant-Quartz Crystals in Float Copper.

I have wire wrapped a couple of the cabs I acquired from Ken. One has a group of Quartz Crystals we call “Quartz Garden”, and one has a beautiful single Quartz Crystal. Completion of this pair or pendants has been a long time coming. I’m so pleased with these.

Visit our Copper Jewelry

You can find our Copper Agate Pendants, Copper Stone Pendants, and other Copper related stones such as Greenstone, or Datolite.

A Snob Appeal Christmas

Happy New Year everyone.

Are you wondering what Snob Appeal Jewelry Christmas gifts were delivered by Santa this year?

In this blog I wanted to show you what some special people got for Christmas. At our house all the girls received special Abalone Shell Pendants accompanied by the singing of “It’s an Abalone Christmas” to the tune of “It’s a Holly Jolly Christmas”.

It’s an Abalone Christmas, and a great time of the year. Everybody have an Abalone Christmas; this year.

This was great fun!

New Zealand’s famous Paua Shells are arguably the most beautiful and colorful mother of pearl available. You have to wear a mask when cutting these, as the fumes they emit are very toxic. I learned the hard way a few years ago.. I discover this shell shard in the bottom of a bucket of rocks that I had no idea where they came from. A nice surprise I saved for Bonnie.

My favorite girl (aka Bonnie) did not receive an Abalone, but did get a Paua Shell pendant. I consider these beautiful shells, the Cadillac of shells becaue of their fantastic pastel colors and amazing pearlescents. I read recently that the Maori people believe they see the symbolic eyes of ancestors gazing down from the night sky.

Bonnie also got a special pendant from Santa. I have saved the stones for a few years, waiting for the right time to make it and the inspiration. Both of these stones are super special. First comes a three gram Michigan Greenstone from the Phoenix Mine with a fantastic pattern, and second, probably the most fantastically colored yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite, I’ve ever seen. When you say “Canary Yellow”, this one exceeds that description. The best “Points” are found by diving off the tip of the Keweenaw.

WOW! The jewelry makers’s wife owns this beauty.

The pendant is a two-piece unit where the bottom swings from the top. The wrapping was a challenge, but the results were worth it. My jewelry model loved it, and it was one of the first Christmas gift jewelry pieces that was a real surprise for her.

Since we offer the best Michigan Chlorastrolite Greenstones on the web, we sell many of them. Here are some pictures of a few pendants that are being worn by customers wives and girlfriends.

It seems that the Gemstone pendants chosen were very diverse this year. Here are a few of those. We have heard from several happy gifters and giftees.

First, here’s a new 2020 pendant for sale, Remarkable Couple, just off the workbench. A Blue Datolite from the Isle Royale Mine. The Isle Royale cosisted of 14 shafts located in Houghton County (top of the hill past the present day Walmart). Most people associate blue Datolite with the Centennial Mine, but there were other mines that also had blue. This Datolite made friends with a nice North Shore Thomsonite.

This was a wierd Fordite that I was inspired to do some creating cutting and wrapping on. A Century Boat Paint from Manistee, I refered to this one as “The Alien”. A whimsical favorite around here, it became a Christmas gift to a lucky lady.

A pair representing many Greenstones sold this year as Christmas gifts. The left one is one I found at the Central mine years ago, and the right one is boitrioidal and filled with copper. I’m not sure where I found this one; but both have happy new homes. WOW!

Teepee Canyon Agates are close relatives of Fairburn Agates. Arguably they are Fairbun Agates that are still in their matrix. Some old ones I’ve had sported Amethyst, but the nice ones look like this. Someone is now wearing this gift that Santa delivered.

I hope you enjoyed this review of some of the Snob Appeal Jewelry Christmas gifts that went out this year. Didn’t get your favorite? Start shopping now!

Wear Stone Jewelry Sets!

Our very first regular customer always wanted me to make wire-wrapped earrings to go with her pendants. She was a good friend, so of course I had to do stone jewelry sets for her, but I hate making earrings. You might not know it, but a small stone is MUCH harder to wire wrap than a larger stone, so the very nature of earrings is troublesome right from the beginning, and I avoid it unless someone pesters me into making stone jewelry sets for them. But I am a married man, and do have someone to tell me what to make, and sometimes I even listen.

You may have noticed the many recently added products at www.snobappealjewelry.com, and Bonnie has pestered me into offering you matched wire-wrapped pendant and earring sets, and she added a new category in our Pendant section entitled Stone Jewelry Sets so you can see them all in one spot instead of scattered under different stone names.

To make a matching stone jewelry set you have to start with a big enough stone that has good pattern to it, so lots of stone are unsuitable. Part of the fun in the lapidary shop is trying to see what you can get out of a piece of rock.

We’ve had many customers ask about Pendant and Earring sets, we decided to give you an easier way to locate them. So check out our new button. Which set do you like best?

Blue Stone Jewelry to Die For!

A stunning example of blue stone jewelry, a Lightning Ridge opal

Gorgeous Lightning Ridge Opal

Singing the Blues might mean you have a sad tale to tell, but what about wearing the blues? Let the Blues, blue stone jewelry that is, cheer you! You will not find anything sad about this happy color.

From ancient time people have been charmed to find dark blue Lapis, or sea-colored turquoise, and have loved owning it and wearing it. Like Cleopatra or native queens, lucky women wore beautifully colored stone. A precious blue stone from another location was money in the bank for ancient traders.

Blue Stone Jewelry includes An opal pendant

Blue Angel Opal Pendant is a sparkling Boulder Opal with Mercury Mist Topaz. Will you look great wearing it?

Larimar; notice the copper in one of the cabs?

Ocean Shadows Larimar Pendant looks like the ocean waves washing up on the sandy beach. Who wants to call it Pectolite?

Two of the finest Larimar cabs I ever owned.

Here in northwestern lower Michigan beachcombers seek Leland Blue for their blue stone jewelry. A left-over product of industry from a bygone era, various colors of the blue slag glass are loved for the color they add to a beach stone hunt. Often smoky blue, it can vary in purity of color and depth of color, each appreciated by different folks. Other areas of the world also have colored glass, we saw some from Sweden at our last Tucson gem show.

Bonnie’s Centennial Blue Datolite with Copper Lightning running down the gemstone.

Another special Michigan blue stone comes from the Copper Country in the Upper Peninsula, the Centennial Blue Datolite. Currently we have the Centennial Charmer and Icy Blue pendants available.

Blue Lace Agate is a favorite blue stone for jewelry. Formed in volcanic south African areas, Blue Lace agate is characterized by close linear stripes of tones of pale blue or white. Sometimes natural druzy pockets make lovely variations, older stock can be deep blue.

The blue with white shadows of Larimar jewelry reminds me of a pristine lake where you are looking at the sunny reflections of sun on the lake. Larimar comes from the Caribbean area and it seems right that it should look so waterlike.

Beautiful Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

Turquoise is probably the most popular blue stone ever found. We have a very pure Intensive Flair Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Pendant. Other stones from Royston or Kingman have matrix incorporated in the stone color, making more interest for many stone collectors.

Dark Blue Lapis Pendant in gold fill

Another famous blue stone is Lapis. Found in mountains on the Afghanistan and Pakistan border, the political and geographic situations make it a challenging stone to get. We have several faceted dark blue pieces as well as a denim lapis heart. Pyrite is often found in Lapis stone. A stone of the ancient pharaohs, it decorated the tomb of King Tut.

Our Blue Opal Angel Pendant is an Australian opal.

Morenci Flowers Azurite/Malachite Pendant with gemstones

Close-up Azurite/MalachiteAzurite is a lovely blue stone but is not as well known. Our favorite pieces often combine with malachite and originate from our own southwest copper mines, Morenci and Bisbee being the most famous. Lasting Romance Azurite-Malachite Pendant is dressed up with some other precious gems to make a beautiful piece. Morenci Flowers Azurite Malachite Pendant is a smaller stone with various shades of blue and is also enhanced by precious gems.

And if that isn’t enough choices for you, how about the Victoria Stone which has some dressy and vibrant blues. The most popular is the bright blue like the Hues of Blue Victoria Stone Pendant, but you might also like the Indigo Bling Victoria Stone Pendant dressed up with London Blue Topaz.

Indigo Blue Victoria Stone with London Blue Topaz

Our gemstone pendant inventory goes far beyond what you see on the web. If you desire Lightning Ridge Blue opal, Kyanite, Sodalite, Dumortierite, Hemimorphite or Holly Blue Chalcedony, there’s a good chance that we can make a custom blue stone jewelry piece just for you. It might sound expensive, but it really depends on your stone choice. Go ahead, ask us!

After all that beauty, you must be over the Blues! Which blue stone jewelry is your favorite? Order today before it is gone!

Jewelry Gifts are for Year Round Giving

Hand crafted gemstones masterfully wire-wrapped by Don Reed are the heart of what you find on our website. Our one-of-a-kind stone pendants make thoughtful gifts. Hand crafted jewelry gifts are always well received. You don’t have to wait for a big holiday to give a pretty gemstone gift. A pretty stone pendant is appreciated anytime, and gifts given “just because I thought you’d like it” are fondly received.

Shopping during the Christmas season is brisk, because presents are expected, but try giving a nice gift in January or March “just because I love you”. Gifts for “no reason” are especially appreciated.

The holiday season is over, but we are still making jewelry. The holidays tend to energize me enough to make some of my best new things afterward. We know you need gifts for all kinds of upcoming events and occasions.

A small Greenstone from Isle Royale old stock. The colors and patterns in Island stones are amazing.

Watch for our Tucson Gem Show Reports

We have started thinking about the big shows in Tucson and Quartzsite and will be searching out those hidden treasures you expect from us. This month I’ll show you some recent hand crafted jewelry you have not seen. As I write this just after Christmas I have enjoyed making some of you happy, happy, and you are adorned with your newly-created jewelry. Other folks have birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or other special occasions coming up. You can purchase our jewelry on line, custom order using our gemstones or yours, see us at the Art Shows we participate in, or purchase our jewelry at Copper World in Calumet, Michigan, or Richardson’s Jewelers in Escanaba or Marquette.

Web Tip:

On any page of our website you can search for the perfect hand crafted Jewelry gift. Try typing in “special occasion” in the white box, and see what’s available today.

February’s blogs will be from the shows in Tucson (and perhaps Quartzsite). Keep checking this blog.

An amazing Copper Agate from the Kearsarge Lode in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This one has unusual banding.

Copper, Datolite, Epidote from the Kearsarge Lode.

A Koroit Boulder Opal dressed in lavender.

I decided this bright red Gem Bone is what many people look for in Dinosaur Bone. The bottom piece swings, and moves with the body.

Malachite pseudomorphs of azurite, Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Mun. de Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico. One of the prettiest gemstones you’ll ever see. These look like they’re sewn with green silk. The stones must be stabilized before being made into jewelry.

A Swarovski Crystal angel crystal set.

Marra Mamba Tiger Iron was Bonnie’s Christmas Gift Pendant. loc. Western Australia

Royston District Turquoise, Nevada

Druzy (Drusy) Quartz Jewelry

Treasures from Tucson Gem Shows

One of our first stops is to find a dealer with Druzy Quartz, with a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Druzy is natural Quartz pockets, mostly in Brazilian quartz, but these pockets are enhanced by various treatments, including dying, titanium vapor, and painting. Most of these start as plain white Quartz pockets, but when treated they are very colorful, bright and have metallic shine. The tiny quartz points pick up the titanium vapors and reflect light off the facets, creating a reflective surface with gives lots of bling to your jewelry. Many of our customers love treated Druzy and it certainly is showy. Here are several I’ve made since the shows.

None are posted on the website yet.

Our most popular color is Pink! But blues, greens, multicolors also have their enthusiasts. We also offer natural Druzy jewelry created from Amethyst or other attractive natural Druzy pieces. Treated Druzy is an affordable alternative to other gemstones and often appeals to folks who prefer a pretty bright color more than a naturally colored rock. Enjoy our Druzy Quartz pendants at our web page and here on the Snob Blog.

Still need a gift for Christmas?

I filled my tree with a few treasures from the website. Jewelry is such an easy gift. No worry about sizes. It is rarely returned. Our pendants are a long-lasting gift, and have no calories. Plus it fits perfectly in the toe of a Christmas stocking.

The pendants you see are linked here for you.
From the top down you might see Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Teepee Canyon Agate, Gold Dust Fordite, Desert Night Biggs Picture Jasper, Peach Moonstone, Lavender Lace Agate, Sea Green Victoria Stone, Pink Candy Druzy, Blue Bling Druzy, Hard to Resist Aspenite with Chrysocolla, Horizons Lake Superior Agate, Metallic Marvel Mohawkite, and Denim Sweetheart Lapis.

We hope you have a great holiday and thank you for your business.

A Loony Greenstone

In a large hoard of small tumbled Greenstones from Isle Royale, I noticed an odd shaped one. Closer examination revealed it looked exactly like a Loon. I had an immediate inspiration to combine this particular Greenstone with another gemstone of a unique pendant.

A couple weeks later my wife, who always seems to be trying to improve the neatness of my barn and shop, located a great piece of clear Quartz with Rutile ribbons included. The stone remind me of a reed bed in some Northern Lake where a Loon might nest.

The pendant turned out just as I envisioned it. At 2 1/4″ tall and 1 1/4″ wide, it makes an impressive pendant. I made it from Gold wire and Pink Gold wire. I’m going to test-wear it a while and sell it on line.

Datolite: One of the Keweenaw’s Colorful Mineral Treasures

I tried to do justice to a customer’s Yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite. earring and bracelet set.

You already know that Datolite is my favorite Calcium-Borosililicate. I just love the way that flows off the tougue, and it sort of makes you look smart when you say it. Datolite commonly occurs in the the Keweenaw in the Copper deposit host rocks in veins and vesicles. We also find Datolite in mine waste piles, often in the form of round, Califlower-looking crystals that have popped out of the host rocks left from mining Copper. If you find Datolite in the Keweenaw, you can be assured there is copper nearby..

Quincy Yellow

Franklin or Mesnard (?)

White Datolite can be from anywhere. This one containing classic Datolite Crystals.

The most common color of Datolite is white, and can be found in all the copper deposits in the Keweenaw. Pink is the second most common color. A close microscopic study of pink Datolite will reveal the pink hue is the result of micro copper within the stone. the darker the pink, the more copper in the Datolite.

Copper is the star in these three I’ve been saving for a personal piece of jewelry. From right clockwise: Keweenaw point Yellow Datolite, Copper Replacement Agate (Kearsarge Lode), Dark Chlorastrolite with Copper.

Centennial Blue (#2 Shaft)

Copper “Lightning” in Centennial Blue

Colors in Datolite run the entire color palette. Impossibly rare is the Canary Yellow from the Keweenaw Point. Unlike most Datolite in the Keweenaw this yellow Datolite gets its’ color from manganese and not Copper. This Point deposit is primarily under water, but has been covered with green algae for quite a few years now, making it almost impossible to find in the host basalt.

Most mines, where Datolite occurs, sport particular colors in their respective Datolites. I, and many other serious Datolite hunters can make educated guesses as to where a particular Datolite might have come from. I find my friend Jeff Anderson’s website the go-to site for Datolite ID. Check it out at http://www.sailorenergy.net/Minerals/MLDatolites/MineralMainDatolitesMI.html

Another rare Datolite is the Centenial, a white Datolite stained blue-green from oxidized copper. Several hundred pounds were removed, from a muddy pocket deep in the mine, in 1962 by miners. This was all that were found, and after the mine was closed, it flooded. If you have one of these “Tidy-Bowl” colored beauties, you are fortunate indeed. All Centennial’s were either full of copper flecks, or had less copper, making them lighter blue. Some blues came from other areas, like the Phoenix Mine (Phoenix), and the Isle Royal Mine (Keweenaw County). Even though blues are found in other locales, the best blues have always been from the Centennial.

Mesnard in the classic colors Mesnard is famous for.

Quincy Caramel!

Caledonia Mine. The red is Microcline (var Adularia)

Beautiful and striking Datolite colorations came out of the Mesnard, Franklin, and the Quincy. These three mines were eventually tied together by adits. The Orange/pink/red combinations are amazing from the Franklin and the Mesnard, as is the caramel Yellow’s from the Quincy.

Datolites of all colors were prolific at the Delaware and Connecticut Mines over the years. Many of the mine waste piles, including the Delaware, have been crushed in the last few years for road fill. Finding any Copper Country mineral is not as easy as in years past, mostly because of the incessant crushing of the old mine waste piles.

Bonnie found a wonderful bag of Datolites, I obtained several years ago, in my shop. I thought you would enjoy what I’ve been doing with them.

My Datolite jewelry is very popular at Copper World in Calumet, on our website, or see us every year in August at art shows in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor where you can choose your jewelry (Including Datolites) in person. All the types of Datolite’s mentioned in this blog are still available from us, but are becoming depleted as people realize if they don’t get one know, they may never get the ones they want.

Owyhee Picture Jasper and other Great Lakes Gemstones

Can you guess why I called this pendant “Sleeping Bear”

North Shore Thomsonite

Now that the Tucson shows are done, the jewelry creation process is moving forward. Over the past week I’ve made several pieces of jewelry, especially Michigan stones, from Lake Superior Agates, Datolites, Dark-eyed Thomsonite, and a really special and amazing Laker pendant.

Yellow Snow-don’t eat it. I did not enhance the color in this at all.

Sugar and stripes.

This is why Lake Superior Agates are my favorite gemstones. This one is “Stripes in Stripes”

I love these. I called this “The Red Continent”.

I have had this particular Laker slab that shows the classic Laker reds, but also Citrine. When you find the reds and the yellows together it is surprising and fantastic!

Even I was amazed. This one is called “Lady Luck”, a unisex piece of jewelry. I test wore it and won a fifty-fifty drawing. Do you need some luck?

A really odd Waterlevel Laker with a lot going on. It is not named yet.

Other Lakers I made into pendants are so very unusual with the banded Laker floating in Sugar Quartz or with the more common sugar Quartz surrounded by the colorful laker.

Peachy-pink Mesnard Datolite.

A Yellow Quincy-Outstanding!

Colorful Datolite is always a winner, and a gorgeous Peach from Mesnard, and a Quincy Yellow are new pieces. Really nice colored Datolite is getting very hard to find. The old piles are held by private interests (not allowing hunting for liability reasons), or crushed and hauled for road fill. Any colorful Datolite demands premium prices. I’ve been advising people to buy Datolite Jewelry now, if they like it. Old stocks of Datolite are being used up.

Greenstone-Central Ex pile (when there was a pile)

Just for variety I did a North Shore Thomsonite, which is another beautiful stone from the Lake Superior Region, especially Minnesota and the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Amongst all these Michigan gemstones, why did I feature a western Owyhee Picture Jasper? Well, when we saw it at a show, it looked so much like a picture of a Michigan lakeshore. If you have ever visited Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, you will recognize the resemblance to this beautiful Owyhee Picture Jasper. Welcome to my creative world!