Category Archives: Wire-wrapped gemstones

A “Painted” Lake Superior Agate

Lake Superior Paint Agate

I thought a short little blog was justified for this fine little Lake Superior Paint Agate.

“Paints” are onte of the many varieties of Lake Superior Agates. The majority of Lakers are banded, called fortification agates and are fairly transparent in that you can see light through them. People will say the difference between Jasper and Agate is that you can see light through Agate, but not through Jasper.

This is not always the case as there are always exceptions to this rule. In most cases this rule is true, but sometimes we see opaque Lake Superior Agates, mostly as painted agates.

It is like someone took a wide paint brush and made swooshes (is that a word?). I guess if Nike can use it, so can I. These brushstrokes are wide and bold; in many cases in reds and oranges that make very striking Jewelry.

Here’s a paint I wrapped that I really liked. Enjoy

Morrisonite Jasper Jewelry

Treasures from the Tucson Gem Shows

Oregon’s Morrisonite Jasper has been called the “King of Jaspers” because of it’s range of colors and patterns. The deposit is located near the Owyhee River; the small town of Watson is nearby..

Many times the Gem Shop will have lovely Morrisonite. The Gem Shop sells both rough and cabochons to lapidary artists. I found one amazing piece that caught my eye at his location. I looked at it 3 times before I decided that I really wanted to make jewelry of it. Yes on occasion I do buy cabochons if they are worthy! Eugene (Gene) Mueller, of the Gem Shop, occasionally mines this material.

What struck me was the simply amazing patterns in this special piece. It seemed other worldly and sort of fit my personality. The difficult part, with this piece, was figuring out what should be the top and bottom. what it boiled down to was the mountain (volcano) in near the center top, that appeared to be spewing lava that runds down the landscape. Forget the cost; I just had to have this piece. Visit our Jasper Jewelry page to see what is currently available.

Rear

Yellow Datolite from the Delaware Mine (and Other Places)

Classic Delaware Yellow. The color is corrected in this picture to reflect the true color.

What I bought in Tucson-Part 3

Sometimes I find unusual things in odd places. Bonnie was perusing my friend Gary Wilson’s booth at one of the major Tucson Shows, when she spotted three slices of Yellow Datolite. All were from the same piece of Datolite. Yellow is one of the most sought after colors in Datolite.

Most Keweenaw Datolite sports a wide range of coloration caused from small copper inclusions ranging from orange to red to pink. White is the most common color and was found in all the Keweenaw mines. Yellow Datolite is rarer, getting it’s color from manganese, which is not as abundant as copper. The finest bright yellow is found around the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost land in Michigan. Fine yellow Datolite has been found at the Quincy, Franklin, and Mesnard mines. Often these three mines had mixtures of colors that looked like they were stirred together, and not quite mixed enough. These three mines as well as the Centennial (blue) are historically the gourmet Datolite collectors Favorites.

Yellows are also found in other mines including the Delaware and Connecticut. Often, Datolite colors can be fairly specific to one mine, and yellow shades are ones you can often determine the source from the hue of the stone, but we Datolite collectors can sometimes be fooled by yellows.

The Delaware Datolite cut into three pieces. I have a couple more to wrap.

The king of yellow Datolite; The ultra rare Kewenaw Point.

The Quincy Mine produced a wonderful caramel yeollow. This little beauty I made for this blog.

The Delaware mine tailings pile has all been hauled away and that historic site for hunting Datolite is now extinct. Enjoy these Datolites while they are still available.

Datolite, Copper and Quartz Pendant

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

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

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

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

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

I hope you enjoy these small blogs.

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.

2015 at Snob Appeal Jewelry

Royal Imperial jasper is considered the cadillc of Jasper’s

Morenci Blue Turquoise with Pyrite inclusions

Royal Imperial jasper

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

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

Fordite ( real deal, not the new fake Fordite)

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

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

Deschutes Jasper

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

Kentucky Agate

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

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

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

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

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

Deschutes Jasper

Biggs Picture jasper

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

Thomsonite Smiles

Apologies for the logo over the picture, but this is the type of picture that if I did not do this, it would be stolen and posted in unauthorized web locations.

I have been putting some time in recent weeks wading through a stash of Thomsonite from the North Shore. I purchased a collection from an estate that was collected back in the mid-60’s in the old diggings near Grand Marais, Minnesota. This was all gem grade material, much of it the most coveted dark eyed variety, as well as lovely pieces of Pastel Thomsonite.

Thomsonite belongs to a group of minerals called Zeolites. This group of Minerals contains the popular gemstone, Tanzanite. The biggest use for Zeolites is in laundry detergents, but these Alumino-Silicates have 40 natural occurring frameworks and many more synthetic frameworks. These varied frameworks allow Zeolites to have many uses and applications. The Thomsonite Framework is of interest to Lapidary types and jewelry makers, for it includes the beautiful chatoyant Gemstone everyone seems to love.

This dark Thomsonite indicates a mixture of Zeolites and possibly other things.

This dark Thomsonite is so unusual. It resembles an agate, but the material is not Silica. Indicating a mixture of Zeolites, and possibly other things.

Thomsonites (and other Zeolites) often mix together, forming striking and unusual patterns and colors. The Thomsonites from the North Shore of Lake Superior and the Thomsonites from the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, seem to often co-mingle with other Thomsonites and minerals. It is possible to see Copper, Natrolite, Mesolite, Calcite, and many other mixes in Thomsonite.

Sometimes Prehnite resembles Thomsonite or Ocean Jasper. This is why you have to know where you found it.

A form of Zeolite known as Mesolite, and closely related to natrolite (another Zeolite) often has a “feathery” appearance; hence, I call this “feathery Thomsonite”. Because I am not that picky on exact material a Zeolite has in it, I still, in my jewelry, say these are Thomsonites, even though they may be another Zeolite (or mixture thereof). Most of my jewelry buyers could care less about the exact make-up of a Thomsonite-like Zeolite. Some people prefer feathers over eyes in their Zeolites! Sort of like some prefer dark Turkey over White Meat.

I do not find fault in my friends that say something may be more Mesolite than Thomsonite, but I just call any eyed or feathery Zeolite, Thomsonite. If customers are interested in the details, or what exactly I think is in a Thomsonite, I can expound on that for them.

This could really fool someone into believing this is Thomsonite, when it is actually Prehnite (AKA U.P. Thomsonite)

Proof that beauty comes in a small package. What a great Thomsonite.

The pattern, variety, coloration, and inclusions are vast in Thomsonite. It’s common to hear people comment on the unusual nature of the Thomsonites we set into our pendants. Often, customers are surprised at the prices quality Thomsonite demands. The reality with Thomsonite is the same with many other gemstones. The highest quality demands higher prices. Thomsonite lovers understand this reality.

If Thomsonite “pollutes’ Isle Royale Greenstone, it increases the value of the Greenstone. Everyone seems to want one of these amazing mixes that often look like pink flowers among green foliage.

Some minerals and rocks resemble, and are therefore sometimes mistaken for Thomsonites. One common “fooler” mineral is Prehnite. Prehnite is sometimes found in the same vicinity as Thomsonite making identification more confusing. Just because a stone has “eyes” is no guarantee you have a Thomsonite.

Feathery, variegated, eyed Prehnite was originally thought to be Thomsonite until it was tested by Michigan Tech and found to be Prehnite. Locals often refer to Prehnite as “U.P. Thomsonite“.

Copper sometimes appears in Thomsonite. This is a beautiful pastel Thomsonite with Copper Inclusions

Thomsonite is not closely associated with Copper, but Prehnite is. Much of the Prehnite found in the Keweenaw has Copper inclusions in it, and indeed pink Prehnite’s coloration is caused by microscopic copper particles. Prehnite saturated with micro copper is commonly referred to as Patricianite.

To finish this blog I’m going to tell you a recent Thomsonite Story. Many of you know my retail outlet for Snob Appeal Jewelry, in the Upper Peninsula, is Copper World in Calumet. I am proud to have CW represent my jewelry. Tony and Tim Bausano are experts in the rocks, minerals, and gemstones of the Great Lakes, and represent and present my jewelry very well. Plus, they are fun!

Many Copper World customers, and in particular, one lovely, bubbly, lady from Lima, Peru, love my jewelry. She came into Copper World on her weekly visit and spotted a beautiful dark-eyed Thomsonite, but had to check with her husband (who teaches at Michigan Tech) before investing in this nice piece. Unfortunately, when she returned a couple days later, her choice selection had been sold. She was so disappointed, but heard that I would be up doing in-store demos the next weekend. This gave her great hope of finding a suitable replacement.

I was doing in-store demonstrations on a Saturday and Sunday, and had already been alerted by Tim of the Thomsonite tale. She entered the store Saturday on a refreshing breeze; so happy and full of life. After careful consideration, a gorgeous, new dark-eyed Thomsonite cabochon was chosen.

We talked about her vision for the piece, and metal choices were made. She seemed surprised and delighted when I told her I knew exactly what she was looking for. I guaranteed she would like her new pendant, or I would make her another one. I just felt I needed to match her bubbly outlook, but also design an elegant, yet simple piece of jewelry that matched her joyful personality and obviously discriminating tastes.

Here’s the Pendant that got me some hugs.

I got to work on her pendant, and had it done by closing on Saturday. Sunday she bubbled in, and when I showed her the pendant, she was so delighted, I got a big hug. She danced around the store in a state of pure ecstasy. She gave me another me another hug; gave Tim a hug, gave me a hug, and I really expected her to run outside and start hugging random people on the sidewalk. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone so eternally blissful.

She spoke with a fairly pronounced accent, and I could not understand everything she was saying while in this state of glee, but it was obvious she was in another plane of enjoyment. Customers generally appreciate my Pendants, but this was at another level entirely. She really made my day, and many other people in the store were also smiling. I ask Tim if she was always like this, and he replied that, yes, this was her normal state. “Sometimes she’s even worse”, he said, smiling. I can’t even imagine her being more hyped.

When she left on the same, fresh breeze she came in on, I walked across the street to a coffee shop. I needed coffee after this encounter; even though any amount of caffeine would not put me in a mood even approaching what I had just witnessed. Guess what? She was in the coffee shop showing everyone her new pendant and just gushing about how delighted she was. “Oh”, she said, smiling “here’s the artist”, as she saw me smiling and standing in line behind her. The owner came over later and bought a Turquoise pendant. Someone, like this vivacious lady will sell more of my jewelry than any amount of advertising I could ever buy.

She already possesses a few pieces of my jewelry, and this piece augmented her collection nicely. I’m sure I Copper World, and I, have long time habitué.

My days of making jewelry are not always as eventful and delightful as this one Saturday was in Calumet, but it’s days like this that convince me I just may be doing something worthwhile in my life!

Thanks for reading my blog. If you like my story, please share with your friends!

Wirecrafting New Stone Pendants

Montana Moss Agate chock full of Dendrites. This one is called "Snow Swirl".

Montana Moss Agate Pendant I called Foggy Marsh.

Montana Moss Agate Pendant I called "Foggy Bog".

I have been very busy this last month. Internet business has been brisk, and I have been posting up many new pendants. If you haven’t checked recently, you should have a look. Christmas is coming up fast. Every year someone (guys in general) will call three days before Christmas wanting something immediately. We prefer not to rush the USPS! I can send things out overnight service, but cannot guarantee the USPS, especially during the holiday rush. Overnight here often means 2 days.

I made a couple of new Montana Moss Agate Pendants within the past week. I love Moss Agate, and as you may know there are many different varieties. The “Moss” in these agates is not actually some sort of petrified moss, but is inclusions of Manganese, Iron, or other minerals that formed moss or fern-like structures within the Quartz agate. These inclusions are called Dendrites.

Careful, and often thin, cutting can really enhance these organic looking inclusions. I’ve ruined more than a few of these moss agates learning proper cutting. It’s worth learning when you see a virtual garden of “Moss” in what looks like a fantastic picture of what you might see in a real-life landscape, or underwater vista.

I called this Fire Agate "Fire Nebula"

Sometimes I come across a very beautiful Fire Agate with deep botroidal pattern and a rainbow of colors. These are again very tricky to cut, as the “fire” forms in a micro-thin layer on the bubbly looking inclusions in brown quartz. If you cut too deep, there goes the fire; if you cut too shallow the brown quartz will disguise the true colors under it. There is really a fine line between taking off too much or too little. There are Lapidarists who specialize in Fire Agate only.

Poppy Jasper

Poppy Jasper is increasingly rare orbicular jasper. It is a brecciated jasper, meaning it probably came from sun-dried and oxidized iron-rich clay. The cracks were filled in by other substances, in the case with these; Agate. I cut two pendants from a fine piece that Bonnie found when cleaning (or rather rooting) around in our barn.

I added a pair of garnets to the top of this one.

Isle Royale Greenstone is our best seller, so I thought a couple new creations would be in order.

Greenstone lillypads afloat in Natrolite.

You may think you’ve seen this Natrolite and Greenstone before. You almost have! I posted the opposite half in my November blog.

Just a really fine Greenstone. I called this one "Day to Dinner"

The other new Keweenaw beauty is simply a very nicely patterned Greenstone Pendant.

Bonnie says I must make Christmas Jewelry, so I guess I have to get to it. I’ll show you later.

Some of these pendants in this blog are for sale and linked to the shopping cart. Just click on the picture and have a look. If nothing happens, the pendant is spoken for, but get ahold of me and I’ll make a similar one for you.

Shadow Agates, Greenstone, and Thomsonite Jewelry

As winter blasts keep us close to the fireplace, I have been busy creating new pendants with favorite gemstones and wire. Enjoy these two new Great Lakes Jewelry Treasures and two new Shadow Agates.

A beautiful and rare North Shore Thomsonite.

Unique to the Lake Superior region, I acquired a quantity of old stock North Shore Thomsonites over the summer and have started cutting and wrapping them into jewelry. These dark-eyed beauties are very rare and highly coveted. Since these Great Lakes gemstones came out of a site near Thomsonite Beach near Grand Marais, Minnesota that is now buried under a park, no others are found at that location.

Greenstone Lily Pads in Natrolite

The second Great Lakes Jewelry Treasure I recently made was a remarkable stone with Greenstone Lily Pads floating in a pink sea of Natrolite instead of floating in a sea of green Chlorastrolite. I made a pendant from the opposite side of this stone and it sold immediately. Never have I seen another Greenstone like this.

Shadow Wave Laguna Agate

I also made a pair of agates with shadow effect. In certain agates with opaque bands, the bands cast shadows on the adjacent bands as the agate is rotated back and forth. This crates what is referred to as “Shadow effect”. The bands casting shadows also have to be spaced correctly in order to “shadow”. the easiest was to explain shadow effect is if you lined up dominos and shined a light on the top of them. When you move the light back and forth over the dominos you see the shadow that are cast on the adjoining domino change. It’s the same with the lines in the Shadow Agate. This purpley-pink and white Laguna has a great Shadow effect. Laguna Agates from Mexico are famous for “Shadow”, but most banded agates, including my favorite, the Lake Superior Agate, can sport Shadow at times.

Blue Lace with shadow

In this old stock Blue Lace Agate I found wonderful shadow. Two Mercury Mist Topaz added at the top give elegance and sparkle to the glorious pale blue/white agate. What a great piece for a special holiday occasion or wedding!

All these are available at www.snobappealjewelry,com, Click on “View all our products”. With over 375 pendants, chains, and earrings on our site, we hope you will start your Christmas shopping with us now!