Category Archives: Wire-wrapped gemstones

Petoskey Stone Treasure

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Many times in our hunts for Petoskey Stones, we stumble across other fossils from the Devonian often mixed together in a sort of “soup”; Fossils that lived in the same neighborhood calcified in the same stone.

This fossil was special; a small piece of a Thamnopora right in the middle of a Petoskey Stone. The stone was smallish, but it went into my pocket and not into the bucket with the rest of the fossils. I did not want to see this cutie smashed when I threw another stone into my bucket.

I knew I was being called to make something wonderful.

I cut and polished the Petoskey and wrapped it in pink gold and silver. I love this piece! It will be up on the website tomorrow, so act quickly.

Keweenaw Point Datolite Pendant

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A cute little unit, this pendant is exactly Quarter sized. I used both pulled wires and prongs to secure the gemstone. This is a rare opportunity for you to own this rare little gemstone beauty.

Out of all the endless colorations of Datolite in the Keweenaw Peninsula, arguably the most rare and coveted are the almost canary yellow ones. These are found at the northern point in the Keweenaw (and the northernmost point in Michigan).

The two in the middle are not dateline, but the ones on both sides are.

The best ones were harvested by divers that knew where they were in the basalt. This area had been silted over for quite a few years now, making finding these yellow beauties almost impossible. There are some exposed in outcrops in the area, but very few of any size.

Rare is an understatement with regards to yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite. What makes these unusual is that most Datolite in the Keweenaw is colored by copper, but these yellows derive their colors from Manganese.

The unusual story of this particular Datolite is that I found it in Tucson, in a small tray of Datolites at Gary Wilson’s booth at one of the wholesale shows. (Just look for the hub of eager buyers–it is the busiest sales booth at the show.) He sells cabochons that are coveted by the wire wrappers. (This is what makes me different than most wire wrappers; I actually cut most of my own stones). The Datolite tray was picked over, but others did not recognize the sweet yellow one.

This Datolite is NOT from Lower Michigan, but it acts that way.

Greenstones-Reincarnation or Not

On occasion a customer may choose a different precious metal, or style over the way a pendant is wrapped, or design. Even though I carefully craft each pendant, I always put customer satisfaction over other considerations.

The original wrap of the most unusual Greenstone I've ever cut and wrapped.

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Normally, a nominal additional fee is involved in the re-wrap. My recent re-wrap involved probably the most stunning Greenstone I have ever found, or most knowledgeable rock aficionados, have ever seen; an ultra rare Greenstone infused with beautiful red Cuprite. I have found no one, including folks at the Seaman Mineral Museum, that has seen this gorgeous mineral combination.

Close-up of the Cuprite in this Greenstone.

My discriminating customer informed me his wife preferred Silver and a more simple wrap, over the gold more elegant wrap. I thought just a couple pink gold wires would further enhance the Greenstone. Pink Gold looks remarkable with Greenstone. My customer was in agreement with the pair of pink gold wires. Pink gold resembles copper, and Greenstone (Chlorastrolite) is a copper-associated mineral.

Here are the original Greenstone, as well as the reincarnation. I was happy in both cases, and this just shows how wraps can be different styles, and yet still be amazing. I’d like you go to my Facebook business page and comment on which wrap you prefer (if you are a FB user).

Also, since I am talking about Greenstone, my most recent stash seems like it had some good potential. The difficulty with Greenstone is that you never know what you have, It is not uncommon to cut a hundred stones to get one really good one. Half your finds may not even be Chlorastrolite. Some will be Calcite Balls, Copper Balls, or Mud Balls. They can also be Greenstone wannabes, or for a better description, half-baked Greenstones. You guys that have collected, and worked with this material, know exactly what I’m talking about. The rock hunter can begin with a good size pile of stone and after lapidary work, end up with very little, or maybe sadly nothing. But when Karma is smiling on you, the Michigan Greenstone Jewelry that can result, is very special indeed.

Lake Superior Agates, Datolite, and Greenstones on my Workbench.

I just can’t stop cutting Lake Superior Agates; Making
jewelry from them, or digging through my buckets, looking for that perfect jewelry stone.

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Recently I’ve cut some unusual pieces. One was a very rare Lake Superior Moss Agate. It resembled a Montana Moss Agate, but had banded eyes. I had to play with my photo studio lighting so you can see this detail. Another couple featured red Islands floating in seas of clear Quartz. roundislandlaker2

Lake Superior Agate Pendants are my passion. Enjoy these few additional pieces of eye candy.

Mesnard Datolite with Isle Royale Greenstone.

A few cabochons of Datolite from the Mesnard Mine in Hancock have been sitting on my workbench for a few weeks. I look at gemstones for a while sometimes, and eventually they speak to me and tell me what they want me to do with them! This was the case with the Mesnard Datolite. Sometimes I put off wrapping these because my idea was a bit complicated and I need to be in the right frame of mind to work on them. I’m sure you will love the results, especially with the pair of Greenstone Beads I added to this free-swinging creation. The Mesnard is known for its’ bright pastel colors, but as with most of the old mines, material is scarce and getting harder to find each year.

This is a busy time at Snob Appeal Jewelry. We have taken some time off to make jewelry. In August, we have shows in Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, and doing demos at Copper World in Calumet (AKA the best gift store anywhere around Lake Superior). See you there.

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Radial Sagenite Laker.

Made you smile!

A rare Lake Superior Moss Agate (both sides)

Larimar Jewelry-Treasures from the Caribbean

The blue form of Pectolite, Larimar varies widely in shades of blue, quality, and price.

Seeking an eye-catching Sea Blue colored stone streaked with crystal white, a customer once asked us “What is that stone that looks like the ocean waves rolling up on the sandy beach?” We knew it could only be Larimar, appropriately mined only on a single island in the whole world, near Bahoruco and other small towns in the Dominican Republic. This Caribbean treasure was once called Stefilia’s Stone, but is actually a blue form of the mineral Pectolite. The normal color of Pectolite is white or gray, but a little Cobalt does wonders for this otherwise ordinary mineral. Doesn’t Larimar sound better than Pectolite? The makeup of Pectolite (Larimar) is NaCa₂Si₃O₈(OH) or sodium calcium inosilicate hydroxide.

I love the gemstone Larimar.

This lovely blue stone was originally discovered in 1916, but nothing was made of it until a rediscovery of the stones by a Miguel Méndez and Peace Corp volunteer Norman Rilling. in 1974. Miguel took his young daughter’s name Larissa and the Spanish word for sea (mar) and formed Larimar, by the colors of the water of the Caribbean Sea, where it was found. This information was gleaned from Wikipedia.

A mine soon opened, but mining conditions were terrible. Tunnels collapsed, miners were electrocuted by faulty wiring, and miners lost their lives digging the mineral out. I talked to one of the former owners of a Larimar mine. I say former because the main mine has changed hands several times. The former owner told me that she went bankrupt trying to bring her mine up to strict Government standards put into effect because of the deaths at the mine. There are numerous Larimar mines west of the village of Jose Joaquin. Many of these mines are simply small holes in the hillside, dangerously shored up. The larger mines are well run and care is taken in mining safety.

Larimar drop earrings (Bonnie Reed design)

I am not really sure how rare Larimar actually is, but it is a one-source gemstone and expensive to mine. There always seems to be a good quantity around the shows in Tucson, and Larimar has been mined for near 40 years, so there is a lot around. The quality varies widely, as do the prices. The best quality, pricey larimar is inclusion free, beautiful blue with good pattern, while the poorer grade has inclusions, discoloration, and often a poor pattern.

Larimar is very brittle, and care must be taken when working with it. If careful, you can get a beautiful polish on it.

Larimar jewelry is very popular with cruise ship passengers in the sailing the Caribbean. Jewelry is available on the ships, in the ports of call, and even and roadside vendors. It is possible to see some of the mines if you make arrangements at some of the hotels in the area. People buy Larimar as a souvenir of their vacations. I see people wearing this gemstone at most of the art shows where we sell our jewelry, and often they are looking for a piece to accompany their vacation souvenir. We offer jewelry at prices easily competitive with these souvenirs.

Over the years I have made and sold many Larimar pieces. I have one dealer, that specializes in the very best Larimar, I visit every year in Tucson. High quality Larimar is quite expensive.

Bonnie says this is "The pendant of the year), and who am I to disagree.

Recently I made the most beautiful Larimar pendant I have every made. Bonnie said it was the “Pendant of the Year”, and I cannot disagree with her assessment. The perfect gem grade Larimar is approximately 2″ tall and 1 1/2″ wide. I’ve been saving it waiting for inspiration to come over me. One day, an idea formed, and so did the pendant! I wrapped it in Gold Gold and Pink Gold. Wearing this on a large ribbon omega would be very impressive.

Larimar Post earrings.

We also have other Larimar products. Many people ask for earrings to match their souvenir that they purchased on vacation. Bonnie is happy to make earrings from our inventory of Larimar Beads.

We are not alone in our love of Larimar. There is something magical about the mystical patterns and the gorgeous pastel blue color that makes people happy. You just feel better every time you look at Larimar. But be warned–compliments will freely flow while your mind may be thinking of ocean waves washing up on the shore!

Greenstone Pendant Marathon

I especially like the old Isle Royale material.

My fully dressed Greenstone Army.

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

After flattening the backs, they are ready for dopping.

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

My little greenstone army standing at attention.

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

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

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

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

I hope you enjoy my new Greenstone army.

Wire Wrapping 101-NOT! ( My most Challenging Wire Wrapped Pendant)

One of the Gem Bone Slabs I found last year.

One of the Gem Dinosaur Bone Slabs I found last year.

Jewelry I made from the above slab.

Last year I bought some amazing gem dino bone slabs in Quartzsite. These particular slabs came from the estate of a famous bone collector. I love gem grade Dinosaur bone. It amazes me that each individual cell is many times an individual agate, within the agatized D-Bone. These cells can be fortification agates of just nice clear Chalcedony or some of the great colors in good gem Dinosaur bone can be vivid red, orange, yellow, pink, brown.

I cut a few slabs with a multi-stone pendant in mind, and searched out some bone-shaped dinosaur bone beads. I layed out the pieces and saw good possibilities. Bonnie has wanted me to make a pendant for myself to wear at shows, and D-Bone seemed to be a good choice for a manly pendant.

My most challenging pendant thus far.

I thought about this piece of jewelry for at least a year. With multi-stone pendants you have to know the end, and mentally work backwards. Sometimes I need a challenge, or I think I do. No matter what stage you are in your wire wrapping endeavors, you should always look for something to challenge your brain, fingers, and tools. I sometimes get bored just making simpe single-stone wraps and enjoy the challenge of multi-stone wrapping.

Even with all my experience I sometimes try things that just do not work; I have to start over, and try again. This is very frustrating at times. I can almost wire wrap a single stone with my eyes closed, but these multi-stone things are another issue entirely.

Multi stone wrapping is equal parts of engineering, art, and expertise. I find myself inventing techniques to conquer challenges when using multiple stones. A good understanding is also important as to what your wire, your tools, and yourself may be capable of. Sometimes it really upsets me when I think I can do something, and it fails. But I find the best way to learn is from your mistakes (sometimes it takes reminder mistakes).

Ahead 1 year: I laid out my dinosaur bone cabs on my workbench and was certain that I had a plan, but instead I had two complete failures which frustrated me and taught me that perhaps I should rethink this pendant. What I had in mind was extremely complicated and intricate. Can I really pull this off? Finally after being on my workbench for approximately three weeks the pieces began to come together. The big challenge was how to connect piece to piece and still make the work come together artistically.

Also you have to think about what metal to use. In this pendant I decided to use Argentium sterling, yellow gold and pink gold (three tone). I decided that twisted pink always looks nice with silver and I bound it with half-round gold. In this pendant the center rectangular dinosaur bone cabochon is the featured stone: bright red and a perfect pattern. I used another slab of dinosaur bone to fashion the top and bottom pieces with the beads coming from another piece of dinosaur bone. I worked on this off and on for three weeks so that my frustration level would not exceed my judgement. Backing off and thinking things through entirely indeed helped.

I had a larger gap between the second and third pieces than I expected, which gave me the chance to insert the two 5mm faceted garnets between which adds a bit of dignity to the piece. This entire piece is about 4 1/4″ by 1 3/4″.

The finished piece exceeded my expectations, and I will be happily wearing this piece beginning with the upcoming Tucson gem shows. It will open discussions with other wire wrappers that I meet.! I enjoyed the challenge of making this piece of jewelry, but I am elated now that it is done! I name this the Dinosaur Boneyard. So if you are at the Tucson shows and you see a guy wearing this, say hi and introduce yourself!

Speaking of the Tucson Gem shows, my daily blogs will start later this week–hope you join me for my adventures!

Top Stone Pendants of 2013

2013 was a very exciting and productive year for Snob Appeal Jewelry. I made many beautiful pendants and even though it was hard to pick favorites, I had some success picking these for your viewing pleasure. They are in no particular order, but these are my favorites:

Malachite Bullseye Pendant and Earrings

The first is a bullseye malachite set. While at the Tucson Gem Show in February I saw two unbelievable bullseye malachite slabs at a booth. I snatched them up as soon as I saw them and willingly paid by the gram for these beauties. During packaging, the vendor dropped one of the slabs and it broke in two. My heart sank, as did his. But I noticed that the slab broke perfectly i half. This pleased me, because I knew I could make a set of earrings to go with the pendant. Since he broke the slab, we renegotiated our deal, and I went away confident that I could make a gem out of a broken gemstone!

Mystic Quartz

At the Tucson Gem Show I also found a vendor selling large impressive faceted mystic quartz. Looking at these meticulously faceted gemstones I could picture what they might look like when finished in a precise wire wrap. Only one of the three gemstones I bought remain in my inventory. They are very eye-catching!

Royal Imperial Jasper

Another favorite is a double Royal Imperial Jasper pendant with Swarovski crystals around the top. Royal Imperial Jasper is the most beautiful and coveted of the jaspers because of the diverse colors and patterns. I think this pendant does justice to this regal pink and green stone set, making a striking and elegant jewelry presentation.

Dinosaur Bone Pendant

Sometimes you find something so unusual and spectacular that you just have to have it. This was the case with a piece of dinosaur bone I purchased in Quartzite. Fully banded fortification agate embedded within the dinosaur bone matrix. This stone does not need any fancy wrapping to make it shine.

Samethyst Laker Pendant

A Lake Superior Agate with amethyst, what a great jewelry combination stone. I was fortunate to have several slices of agate and amethyst to work with this year, and they all sold promptly. Only one survives for me to share with you today, Samethyst, with a combination of salmon pink outer layer and light purple amethyst in the center. Pink gold and argentium silver made this beauty stand out. I had a great run with amethyst and agate this summer, with them selling as fast as I made them. I don’t think there are any other cabochons of this in my stash, certainly not any as nice as this. An unusual combination, specimens of this are hard to find and highly coveted.

As of this writing, these are all available for sale, but are not all on the website. Contact me if you are interested. It is difficult for me to make choices as to my favorites. Every pendant I make is part of me. I hope you like these in particular. Which is your favorite?

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.