HEARTS have been on the workbench off and on lately. This blog is to simply show some of the hearts we have available for your Valentine. Your Valentine gift choices are plentiful at Snobappealjewelry.com and
Hearts for your Valentine
Category Archives: Wire wrapped jewelry
Ocean Jasper – Amazing Pastel Colors and Patterns
I have never written a blog about Ocean Jasper, even though it has been one of my favorite non-Michigan stones. I expect this blog will atone me of that sin–Amen!
When Ocean Jasper appeared in Tucson at the gem shows, around 2000, it was the hottest stone in town! Paul Obeniche discovered Ocean Jasper in 1999 after years of searching. Eugene Mueller, of the Gem Shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and Paul Obeniche introduced Ocean Jasper to Tucson in 2000. Gene was responsible for the trade name “Ocean Jasper”. For several years, Ocean Jasper was all over Tucson, and I purchased a lot back in the day. The orbs, veins, and crystal pockets make each piece have its own special character.
Discovered in NW Madagascar, this colorful Obicular jasper was ripe with patterns and colors, as well as crystal veins throughout the gemstone. There were two mines, one on land, and one on the shore. The deposit on the shore was mostly harvested during low tides. Even though the name Ocean Jasper was copywrited, others tapped into the demand for this material. The veins were depleted in 2006. Most of my Ocean Jasper has been purchased from Enter the Earth (Entertheearth.net). Enter The Earth owns the now depleted Ocean Jasper Mines in Madagascar.
Obicular Jasper from Madagascar can still be found at rock shows, and it remains one of my favorite pendant-making stones. Even though the fun days of searching though 50 gallon drums, or Gaylord Boxes of OJ are over, still, searching through my barn piles might produce Ocean Jasper. I bought a lot of Ocean Jasper back in the day. The colors are so varied and unique it is hard to resist.
By 2002 this jasper-agate was all over the Tucson Gem show as beads, slabs, spheres, bookends, and all other things lapidary. By 2006 the source was pretty much depleted, but the stockpile must have been huge. Ever since around 2011, availably is becoming less and less.
The demand for this Obicular Jasper has decreased over the years, but I still produce an occasional pastel Pendant; Ocean Jasper just makes me happy! Our pendants are elegantly wire wrapped with top-quality 14/20 yellow gold, pink gold, and tarnish-resistant argentium silver wires–Check out our Ocean Jasper jewelry page to see what makes you happy!
Mushroom Rhyolite/Mushroom Jasper
Several years ago I purchased an amazing Mushroom Jasper/Rhyolite slab at the Tucson Gem Shows. I was attracted by the bright orange of the matrix , and the amazing gray, Perlite “Mushrooms” floating like gardens in the Silica matrix. Much of Mushroom Jasper, if it has a matrix color, it is redish hues, and not bright orange.
Mushroom Jasper’s source is NW of Phoenix on BLM land. My sources testify that it is very difficult to cut through all the bureaucracy to even get a permit to mine for it. In general, it is a money losing proposition, digging for this Ryolite.
As is my norm at the Tucson Shows, I shipped large flat rate boxes back to Michigan, full of goodies purchased at the shows. Try as I will I just can’t seem to organize all my rocks as I should. This Mushroom Jasper/Ryolite slab was relegated to a drawer in my slab cabinet. The Steel cabinet has about 50 or more drawers containing assorted slabs, ready to cut, shape, and polish. Long story short, this beautiful Rhyolite was covered by other slabs, and forgotten.
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock formed when the magma rapidly erupted from a volcano, and is cooled rapidly on the surface, rather then cooling slowly underground. There are many forms of Rhyolite including Rain Forest Jasper, Butterfly Jasper, and Obsidian. Those mentioned are attractive, but Pumice is also a Rhyolite, and not a jewelry stone.
Ten years later, while rooting through the drawers I reconnected with the Mushroom Jasper, and immediately took it to my shop for cutting. This cutting produced one of the most amazing cabochons I’ve ever produced.
Last year I loaded some trays filled with cabs that I thought I might work on while “suffering” as a snowbird in Florida. Subsequently, I chose the Rhyolite one day, repolished it, and wrapped it in Argentium Silver.
Since the cab was 2 3/4″ X 1 1/2″ is a good sized cabochon, for an eye catching Pendant. After a few hours of careful wrapping, a gorgeous pendant, meticulously wrapped in Argentium Sterling was produced.
I used three times the precious metal wire I normally use for a pendant. This stone demanded the extra attention. Rhyolite is not an uncommon stone, but what I was working on, was an uncommonly attractive Mushroom Rhyolite Cabochon.
Here’s a link to the Orange Mushroom Pendant, if you’re interested.
Wire Wrapped Pendants- All New for 2021
In many ways we’re glad 2020 is over. In other ways 2020 has been great. Our business has been surviving despite the Pandemic. Our Loyal customers have continued to support our small business, but being semi isolated has allowed me to expand my jewelry line, produce some great pendants, rings, and many custom pieces of jewelry for a lot of people.
I made many very special pendants for the New Year of 2021. Beginning January 1st, I’ve been remarkably productive and creative. I keep cabochons in jewelry trays and pull them out as they inspire me, or are “Begging” to be wrapped. My goal for 2021 is to improve my wire wrapping and creativity. I hope you enjoy all my new things.
Several years ago, while “rooting” through a bin of scrap slabs at Quartzsite, Arizona, I found a less than stellar looking slab. What attracted me was the red coloration. I decided to adopt the slab, and took it back home with many other homeless slabs from that “by the pound” bin.
One day I’m looking through the stuff I bought that day, and again was attracted by the unusual red in that same, large slab. I cut, ground, and polished that particular slab; working around several cracks and issues. The more I worked on it, the better it became. This was a three hour, three coffee, cabochon. That ugly duckling was transformed into a gorgeous, big, round, Agua Nueva Agate cabochon, featuring bands, tubes, moss, eyes, and still retaining the unusual red coloration. This cab had amazing character!
I took it to Florida, where it was made into my first pendant of 2021. A big, bold, beauty, wrapped in lots of shiny Argentium Sterling. The cabochon was so fantastic by itself, I felt it best to keep the wrapping precise, neat, and simple. This pendant can be worn by a man or a woman. The large 3/8″ bail can accommodate a cord or a chain. Find more agate jewelry on our Agate Treasures pages.
Another 2021 Pendant is one of my now famous “Yooper Special” pendants featuring a Firebrick Upper Peninsula, and an Isle Royale Greenstone, floating on an angry Lake Superior made of Blue Lace Agate. This one is in silver with 14kt gold fill wraps. I change the metals on each piece, and the Greenstones offer up different characteristics, so each one is a little different. I’ve actually made three new Yooper Special Pendants. You can see current offerings on our Greenstone pages.
Here are several other pendants made this year.
I do not believe I have ever made this many pendants, in one week, since my times at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts, many year ago. I have no idea why I have been so inspired recently, but it’s been a boon to our jewelry inventory.
Bonnie said, “Isn’t that about enough Blog Pictures?” This Blog was many hours of work, and I need sleep and/or coffee. I think 17 Pendants, so far, this month is a good start for the New Year. Only a few of these have been posted up so far. Some are going into show inventory, but if you are interested in any, let us know.
Bonnie and I sincerely wish everyone has a happy 2021. Keep us in mind if you wish to stimulate the economy by supporting our small business.
Remember; I can cut, polish, and wire-wrap your own treasured stones. Visit our Custom Work page.
Wire-wrapped Pendant–Best of 2020
2020 brought many challenges to all of us. For me, self-isolation brought the opportunity to focus on my craft; with more time to create some special pendants. Jewelry making takes my mind off these trying times. I always try to improve my work, even though, people say, I’m a fairly skillful and competent wire artist.
Recently a “major” pendant was created from a combination of inspiration, a dream, and the need for a challenge. If a piece of jewelry takes me several hours of total focus (with coffee breaks), over three days, that’s a “Major” pendant.
Can I pull this off? Until a multi-piece pendant is created, the answer is “Maybe”. When the project turns out as you envision it, or better in this case, I feel satisfied and worthy. I know all the mind-challenging work was worth the effort. Bonnie knows when I am in “the zone” I am so totally focused, everything except the piece of art is blacked out. The Zone was active on this work of art, for sure. She does not come near me when I’m in “the Zone”, but she knows something good will result.
Deciding on Color and Shape
Let us talk about the procedure end result, shall we? Four totally different Keweenaw rocks and Minerals were chosen for their coloration. PINK was my choice; so every piece was associated with the color pink. In my mind was projected a three-piece pendant with amazing colors, textures, and shapes; eligant in detail.
The top stone selected was a banded Lake Superior Agate, with beautiful pink waves of banding, some shadow effect. In some Lakers the banding is very fine and the bands are close together. When you move these agates in the sun or in bright light, the shadow of one band is cast on the adjacent band. Since there are many bands casting their shadows on their adjacent bands, you get a shadow effect. The agate in the pendant has some “Shadow” for sure. Lake Superior Agates, as many of you know, are my favorite Gemstones. I cut a lot of “Lakers”, but not often one with so much rich class. It just screamed for attention, and made the top tier.
The middle of the pendant is Firebrick. Firebrick formed from the Copper smelting operations in the Keweenaw. The smelters were made from brick when they were built. Over the years Copper vapors and molten copper permiated into the brick walls of the smelter and replaced all the material in the bricks except the Quartz/Silica. That is why you see small white specks in the Firebrick; the Quart resisted permeation.
The bottom stone is a stunning pink-hued Datolite from the Mesnard mine on the Quincy Hill in Handcock. The small Mesnard Datolite needed to step up in order to fight the bigger cabochons in the top. I added a pair of Isle Royale Greenstons with pink Thomsonite inclusions, making the Datolite more than equal to the other two cabochons up above it. My personal opinion (shared by others) is that there are only two true precious gemstones in Michigan, Isle Royale Greenston (Michigan’s Official State Gemstone), and Datolite.
The stones being selected instigated the shapes required. Datolite, Greenstone, and Lake Superior Agates can all be polished to a glass finish, but the Firebrick required a proprietary industrial Epoxy coating. This coating protcts the Firebrick from tarnishing, and adds a glass finish like the other two stones in the pendant.
Engineering the Pendant
Each of the three major parts of the pendant “swing” individually from the others. If all three were wrapped as one piece, they become very stiff and just don’t have that pizzazz required. The pendant will move with the wearer.
The top and the bottom stones are elegantly wrapped in double 14kt gold fill, while the Firebrick is enhanced by a double gold fill Pink Gold. The pink gold brings out the Copper in the Firebrick. Who says a piece of jewelry has to be one single type of precious metal?
Happy Results
Now, several hours later, the results made me smile; Bonnie approved, and this Major art work was complete. I named this pendant KEWEENAW SPLENDOR
I’m hopeful some lucky person will find this one in their stocking.
Floral Fireworks Rhodochrosite and Turquoise Pendant Jewelry Set
I sometimes actually require a challenge when making my jewelry. The opportunity of a challenge presented itself when I cut a very special translucent Rhodochrosite. I found it some years back, at the Tucson Gem Shows.
Rhodochrosite most often presents itself in a banded gemstone of widely varied color and quality resembling agate. It can have brown or white inclusions. You can find Rhodochrosite lurking all over the Tucson shows, but not many dealers have the highest grade stuff.
I seek out wonderful clear pastel pink translucent Rhodochrosite, from Argentina, without the common banding. If you do find a stash, it’s very pricey.
Over the past three days I used the cabochon I made from some of my Grade “A” Rhodochrosite as the base for a new pendant. Pendant ideas often pop into my head, many times, in the middle of the night. If pendant ideas come in a dream, I know I should get to it ASAP. Two A.M. is a wonderful quiet time to be creative.
I wanted to make a three-piece pendant, but what other stones and colors look great with Rhodochrosite? Green is a go-to color when you have pink. I chose a piece of Nevada Turquoise, cut it into a more-less oval shape, and placed the two cabs on a table. What a perfect fit! Next I needed figure out the bottom section. I tried several cabochons, settled on a Mystic Topaz for the bottom. It was nice, but after a while it didn’t seem just right.
I have made thousands of pendants, and was confident something would come to me on what to do for the bottom.
Inspired in the Bead Room
Some of you know that Bonnie is a professionally trained bead artist (attended my Alma mater, The William Holland School of Lapidary Arts). She has thousands of beads in her bead room. I went there for inspiration. She had perfectly matched beads to both the Rhodochrosite and the Turquoise. She also is my strongest critic, and I generally take her criticism and suggestions seriously. She is also a fantastic gardener, and suggested I somehow incorporate these perfectly matched beads into, sort of a, garden/fireworks, floral design. She suggested a pink and green flower garden. I recall those fireworks that explode and “spray down in an umbrella shape”, sparkling as they drop.
Another few hours, and another wake up in the middle of the night, produced, what I think, was the perfect “fireworks garden”. Random bead placement insured an informal look. The pendant was finally talking to me. It told me what it wanted. The question is always; “But can I pull this off”/
The pendant is made of double gold filled wire, and twisted Argentium Sterling. The second pendant is hinged to the top so it can swing. The bottom bead strands are also hinged, and hang from the second (Turquoise) pendant and each set can also swing freely. Over the straight, swinging, bead sections, I’ve hinged in a 6-bead round circle, that also is hinged, and swings freely from all other areas. This pendant has maximum animation!
My number one critic says it’s one of my prettiest pendants ever. I like it myself; so two out of two “yes” votes.
Pendants, like this, take much thought, careful planning, and many hours of careful and skillful work, but the results? FANTASTICAL!! YES, I did pull this off.
The name of my new creation “Floral Fireworks“.
Many people consider crystals found at the Sweet Home mine in Colorado many years ago to be the finest Rhodochrosite ever found. This Rhodochrosite is clear red, in crystal formation, the most valuable ever found; some specimens worth many millions of dollars. An entire 6′ pocket, from the Sweet Home was purchased by Coors and donated to the Denver Museun of Nature & Science. This is a bucket list, must see. I’ve been there, and was awestruck.
For more information see Variety in Rhodochrosite Jewelry in our Snob Blog.
Watch for more about Turquoise in an upcoming Snob Blog.
Making Socially Independant Jewelry
I’ve been ahead of the curve as it relates to this isolation. In January, I opted for an Ankle Fusion (not as much fun as it sounds). I was in three different casts in 6 weeks, than a boot for another 6 weeks, now a walking boot. During that time I could not get out and about.
This isolation allowed me to be pretty much home bound in an RV in Florida. You cannot imagine how much jewelry a person can manufacture with so much time. I took the opportunity to up my jewelry game by making not only more jewelry, but more complicated and innovative jewelry.
This blog will be things I’ve made just the past month. All are for sale, but may not be on line or in our show inventory yet. If you are interested in any of these, call or message me.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Turkish Stick Agate: One Stone-Different Looks
My next cab is ready to be cut.
Turkish Stick Agate is an interesting pseudomorph agate, from Turkey with a variety of intriguing patterns and colors. The Turkish Stick Agates come in different types. A distinguishing characteristic of Turkish Stick Agates is needle-like tubes, forming what looks like pointy, sharp sticks within the stone, so it can be referred to as Needle Agate.
Experienced rock collectors will have in their mind what a certain agate looks like or what represents a body of agates with that name. When I say Lake Superior Agate for most people a red and white banded agate might appear in their mind, but we know that there are many types of Lakers.
When we say Stick Agate you might expect needlelike structures in a clear quartz agate, but there are many types of Turkish Stick Agate even from the same mines. I thought you would enjoy seeing these samples which are quite different. You can see another very nice piece at mindat.org.
Just a little aside folks.This brings up an important question; Can you poke your eye out with a Stick Agate? My mother had four boys and unlike kids today, we played OUTSIDE a lot. It was not uncommon for her to yell at us for doing dumb things. ” Don’t run with that stick; you could poke your eye out”. As I have grown up (maybe) I came to realize it was impossible to “poke your eye out” while running with a stick. You can only poke your eye IN. The only way you can poke your eye OUT is to stick the stick up your nose and then you could theoretically “poke your eye out”. Now back to our regular program…
The most characteristic form of Turkish Stick Agate shows needle-like patterns.
This one sports fortification banding showing some Parallax (shadow effect) and tubes.
Tubes and banding as well as beautiful colors make this a Turkish Stick Agate with no sticks!
High quality Turkish Stick Agate is quite expensive in the rough, and every time I’ve tried to get a break on it, Turkish miners, at the Tucson shows, decline to give much, claiming how difficult it is to find and mine. Much of this material comes from mines near Ankara, Turkey. Actually the good stuff comes from Cubuk, Turkey; but who knows where Cubuk is? (Central Turkey: I looked on a map)
Quality depends on how solid a particular Stick Agate is. Most Turkish Stick Agate has geodes with gaps, or vugs, and also can vary in hardness within a stone.
I find it intriguing that such variety can come from the one source. I am not an expert on Turkish Stick Agate, but I do know it is very beautiful. I guess that’s why I make jewelry from it.
I lied; When I did a search on Turkish Stick Agate, I came up as one of the experts. This has often happen. Bonnie (wife) says it’s because I’ve written so many blogs over the past 10 years. I guess I could say I’m a pseudomorph of knowledge on many subjects.
This agate has only become known in the United States within the last 20 years, and is not commonly available. Usually there is a Youtube video on everything, but there seems to be no video of actual mining Turkish Stick Agate.
In this blog I show three pieces of jewelry I made from expensive rough I bought a couple years ago in Tucson from the Non-negotiable (price) dealer.
Can you poke your eye out with a Turkish Stick Agate? Like a stick, the answer is probably “NO”, unless you take a small, sharp shard and shove it way up your nose. If you ever try this experiment, make sure your camera is recording it. I’m betting you could go viral; until Youtube pulls it off.
*pseudomorph
1: a mineral having the characteristic outward form of another species:
Good examples in the mineral world happen quite often in replacement fossils, where minerals replace, for example, wood; they often look like wood, with patterns, bark, and even knot holes. Another good example is petrified dinosaur bone where you can see every cell (each cell is actually an individual agate).
2: a deceptive or irregular form
In. The “sticks” in Turkish Stick Agates were originally Aragonite Crystals but they were replaced by Silica. The sticks still look like Aragonite, but they are not. Pseudomorphs are common in many Agates, but that is a whole other subject.
3: Don Reed
Don Reed, according to the Internet (and we should always believe the Internet), is one of THE experts on Turkish Stick Agates. Don Reed appears to be something he is really not. This may not be true, or perhaps it is…..Like the Internet; Don Reed would never intentionally deceive you.
Pseudomorph of Don Reed in Crystal Quartz from Brazil.
If this craziness is of interest to you, you should also read our embarrassing story about a missing chunk of this Turkish Stick Agate.
Visit our Turkish Stick Agate jewelry page for currently available pieces.
New Wire-Wrapped Pendants
Winter has been very productive at Snob Appeal Jewelry. Many beautiful stones that have been patiently waiting for their turn to become wire-wrapped pendants called out to me, and have finally turned up on the workbench.
I’m like a dog that sees a squirrel; I pick out a stone that grabs me, then I might decide not to chase it, and grab something else. All my stones beg, plea, and whine; they tease me, and all of them want to be elevated to the pendant level. The ones that whine the loudest are the “Chosen”. The pendants in this blog were all whiners; can you hear them. Let me know which ones are whining loudest for you.
There will be no rhyme or reason for the pictures in this blog, except they are all new. Many Michigan gemstones are mixed in with assorted worldwide stones. Most have not been listed for sale on the website. Contact us it you have an inquiry. Many will go to our show inventory or are scheduled for shipment to a retail outlet.
I have also been playing around with new ways to wrap gemstones, but still keeping with my policy of never distracting from a fine gemstone by using a lot of fancy doodah and froohaw, what I call it when people run wires all over the place. I do classical wire wrapping that enhances the stones. I spend too much time cutting rare and unusual stones to cover them up with a bunch of wire. Most customers appreciate my clean, neat, style.
So, without further rants, here is some of my recent favorites (AKA the sucessful whiners).
Sometimes it pays to look through old buckets. I recall digging this Chrysocolla with Copper from the Old mine dump at the Bumbletown Mine, maybe 15 years ago. Digging is not as good as it once was, but there are still a few pockets of nice Chrysocolla in the Keweenaw, The brown matrix gives this away as Bumbletown material.
Shattukite set. These from Bisbee, Arizona.
If a Lake Superior Agate Island appears in a Laker, it’s refer to as a “Floater”. Here’s a fine Floater I cut and wrapped.
A happy Trilobite couple..I really enjoy the challenge of wrapping these odd shapes. Elrathia Kingii from Utah. Most trilobites you see are missing their cheeks; these beauties are perfect specimens.
Drusy are natural Quartz Pockets that are treated in different ways. The customers like ’em so I make ’em!
Rainbow Obsidian Starfish has been sitting for a few years. It needed to be done.
A carved Ametrine, about nickel size turned out pretty nice.
Thomsonite; one of my favorites.
A composite Turquoise with Copper inclusions.
A very special piece of Gembone. Red is one of the most popular colors. Each cell is an individual agate. Dinosaur Bone; I love it!
An atypical Greenstone with Greenstone beads on top. I just wanted to be whimsical.
Some people call Owyhee Picture Jasper the king of Picture Jasper. A really good piece (like this one), is so realistic. Found a slab in my shop; Where did this come from? Doesn’t matter if I smiled. From the Owthee Mountains on the Idaho/Oregon border.
Thomsonite form Superior’s North Shore. Big perfect pieces like this are very scarce.
Perfect Morenci Turquoise.