Category Archives: Wire-wrapping

Whimsical Agate.

Lucy gave me an agate cabochon a few weeks ago and wanted a whimsical pendant.

Lucy's Agate on my workbench. Do you see the face?

This cabochon had a big smile and little eyes. Lucy saw glasses on the face, as did I.

I thought about this face for a couple weeks and today an idea popped out. I saw the glasses and envisioned little curls.

Does this make you smile?

Here is the finished pendant. I hope it makes you smile as it does me. Lucy will really like this piece of jewelry in her collection and enjoy making other people smile.

Petoskey Stone Twins

Same stone; Different pendants.

Today I wrapped Petoskey Stone jewelry from a pair of cabochons of the same perfect stone.

The stone on the right was wrapped in Argentium Sterling and Pink Gold. The Pink Gold wire is a new product, so it is fun to try it out with different stones. This Petoskey stone really looks good in that combination, and result in a new jewelry look. This one is available for purchase today.

The next slab produced the stone on the left. I wrapped this one in 14/20 Gold Fill and Argentium. This one looks great also. This one will be for sale in Copper World in Calumet at the end of the week. You’ll have to call them!

I expect to make more Petoskey Stone Jewelry in the near future from some of the rare pick Petoskey’s I have, so watch for it.

Enjoy this pair; more to come.

Victoria Stone and Imperial Topaz-The Retirement Pendant

Sometimes making handcrafted jewelry requires a lot of thinking before any action is taken. I’ve been thinking about how technically to create this pendant for several weeks, and for various reasons all the pieces of the puzzle did not come together until now. What I see in my mind’s eye sometimes does not easily translate into a finished piece of jewelry. On rare occasions the process of how to make a pendant has to simmer inside of my head for a while.

I could not figure an easy way to create this piece of jewelry. I am showing you one of most complicated wire-wrap jobs I’ve ever accomplished. Alert: I would recommend you not attempt this at home!

This has been in holding since June 15th. I’ve got the stones, now what should I do?

I started with an impossibly rare bottom end piece from a Victoria Stone Boule. I previously mentioned in another blog about the unusual, chatoyant, flower pattern that appears on only the bottom of the Victoria Stone boule. (http://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/?p=159) Among Victoria Stones, this is the most unusual of patterns. I have been saving this particular Cabochon for several years, until I figured out something to do with it that was worthy of its’ beauty.

I had one of my “jewelry dreams” one night and thought that Imperial Topaz might work with this green Victoria Stone Cabochon.

Imperial Topaz is considered by most to be the Cadillac of Topaz, and quite expensive (so is the Victoria Stone). An opportunity to buy a large faceted Imperial Topaz presented itself last year, so I jumped at it. I liked this natural 28.9 ct Imperial Topaz from Pakistan because it has a large platelet inside. The platelet produces a rainbow within the stone. Unfortunately under the photo lights I use, you cannot see the phenomenon. You’d have to see this in person to really appreciate it.

What do you think of this one? BLING! BLING!

Putting the Topaz and the Victoria Stone together was a match made in heaven, but not quite enough bling for old Don. I added two faceted Pink Topaz and a pair of lovely green Peridots. NOW there was something unbelievably nice!

Several hours of work over several days produced this amazing piece of jewelry.

I refer this piece of jewelry The Retirement Pendant because it is the pendant I have been planning ever since retiring from my day job a couple weeks ago! Bonnie wants me to give it a more fitting name when I post it on this site for sale in the next couple days. It’ll take me this long to figure out the perfect name, but if you have any suggestions I will consider them.

Enjoy this special piece.

Read more about Victoria Stone manufacture and colors at https://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/victoria-stone-the-new-research-and-victoria-stone-color-chart/

Celebration of Agates Jewelry

I have been working on several cabochons for the upcoming Celebration of Agates Show at Hopkins, Minnesota in July. There is a lot of buzz about this show already, and it is building up to be a well-attended and exciting event. I will be exhibiting at this special rock show, and

Amazing Royal Imperial Jasper enhanced with a Mystic Topaz.

Sea Scene Jasper. I think this is quite tranquil.

Ocean Scene Agate is quite tranquil to look at. This wonderful rock is from British Columbia.

am striving to bring some unusual agates to this show as well as many unique Lake Superior Agates and other rare stones.

Lets just have some fun and see some of the stone jewelry I have made thus far. Which is your favorite?

Chevron Amethyst

Great colors in this Kentucky Agate!

My favorite-The Lake Superior Agate in classic "Candy Stripe".

Agate/Drusy with Calcite. WOW!

Amazing Cats Eye Jade and Stunning Greenstone with Thomsonite

I had a dream last night. I often dream of rocks I covet, but on rare occasions I have dreams of jewelry I must make. I woke right up at 4 am and pulled the rocks out so I would not forget that which my brain had imagined.

What will Don do with these?

I was looking at a piece of Cats Eye Nephrite Jade that I had bought in Tucson. I had never seen this material from Siberia, but I had heard of it. The lovely green looks like that optical glass that marbles are made of and has a “cats eye” effect similar to Tiger Eye. I bought this one piece because it was so intriguing, and there were no others like it.

My dream brought this Jade together with a wonderful piece of Moonstone that had another phenomenon called Labradorescence. I also invisioned Pink Topaz in the picture. I laid out the stones on my workbench and when I awoke went right to work.

These multi-stone pendants are a real challenge and take a great deal of time and deep concentration level. Success! A wonderful pendant was produced, just as in my “Nice Dream”.

Cats Eye Jade, Moonstone, and Pink Topaz in Argentium Sterling.

Also today, off the workbench, came one of the most amazing and stunning Greenstones I’ve ever made. I cut it a few weeks ago and could not believe what I was seeing. As I ground the stone the most beautiful Thomsonite unexpectedly broke out of the center of the Greenstone! I never have seen more gemmy Thomsonite in any Greenstone, nor have I seen such a large quantity of georgeous pink Thomsonite in one Greenstone–“Unexpected Romance”.

Greenstone with a Thomsonite Inclusion. WOW!

This especially large (4.5 gram) stone is so amazing I have to show you the picture. Yes, it is for sale until gone–one only! Some stones are so stunning they cannot be described.

Copper Shoots–an Amazing Greenstone

Check out the copper in this one!

A most fascinating Greenstone crossed my workbench this week. When you cut a piece of chlorastrolite, you expect to see green, or dark green. To see the shine of copper throughout, and feel the resistance of tough metal when cutting, you know you have a most unusual Greenstone. Normally when copper appears in a Greenstone, it is a spot, or a small part of the stone. This has copper from bottom to top! The Chlorastrolite on this one does not exibit the classic alligator skin pattern generally expected on a grade “A” Greenstone, but this has a shiny character highly regarded by folks who appreciate a most distinctive gemstone. The Copper Country does not often offer up a stone this large, with so much Copper! We have many Michigan Greenstone cabuchons for sale as well as Michigan Greenstone pendants, but as you look them over, you can see this is one-of-a-kind.

Due to the approximately 50% copper content and it’s large size ( 7 gram weight), this Greenstone pendant is showy and unusual.

Click here to see our available Greenstone pendants.

Azurite-Malachite. My latest “Pièce de résistance”

Pendants are my specialty–I have made over a thousand and lost count along the way. I can make a good quality pendant in an hour or two if I am not interrupted. When I am doing a demo of wire wrapping, customers often ask “How long does it take you to make a pendant?”. I try to field this type of question with care. Is someone fishing to see how fast they can make a pendant? Or are they just showing real interest?

Generally these curious people never think of the time I have in finding the stone, cutting and polishing it, and then finishing up the piece of jewelry. This is a question that cannot easily be answered and I usually explain this to a customer. What used to take me four hours, might take one hour now that I am more proficient both in skills and tools.

When I get down to the actual wire wrapping I can get it done in a very proficient manner.

What, you may ask, can Don make in 8-10 hours? I’ve been sitting on a project that I just have not had the time to do. Fortunately and unfortunately I have been laid up recovering from a knee replacement. This has given me the opportunity to tackle these challenging projects.

A great stone is always the start for my jewelry. I bought the finest matched pieces of Azurite-Malachite I’ve ever seen at the Tucson Gem Shows last February. I could envision the finished pendant the minute I saw the stones.

After my successful operation I decided to jump in and challenge myself.

I first laid out the pendant. I would make this as four separate components. Any time I do a multi-stone pendant, it requires a lot of thinking ahead, about how the various parts will mesh together, as well as what stones to use.

The dark blue azurite perfectly matches the coloration of London Blue Topaz, and the pendant needed something at the bottom to “anchor” the design. I decided on a 16X12 mm, 12 ct gemstone. Pinks and shades of lighter blue also fit into the color palette. I decided to run a strip of 5mm facetted stones down the center between the two mirror Azurite-Malachite cabs. After some experimentation I decided on Pink Tourmaline, Apatite, and London Blue for the 2.5 caret facetted stones. I roughly laid out all the components.

Pendant components laid out

Now the real work began. I had to think on how to to best combine all the components, so I had to slow down and really decide how things should go together.

The pendant progresses.

Now let’s push on the the finish while fighting the tiredness the pain medication is causing. I just love a challenge. Fortunately the plan came together. The finished pendant is named “Lasting Romance”. I think that just about sums up one of the most beautiful pendants I’ve ever created.

Lasting Romance--the finished pendant.

WOW!

Michigan Greenstones-on the Workbench

I had a knee replaced a couple weeks ago. This has given me substantial blocks of time that I am using to make jewelry. This jewelry is comprised of pieces that have been on my to-do list, but up till this time I have not had the time to get it done. The pain medication I’ve been taking has caused drowsiness at some unexpected times, and at other times keeps me wide awake in the middle of the night. I have found that I can be quite productive when it is very quiet in the house and I am in complete focus. I have made a few really complicated pendants that I just have not had the time to do previously. Also I thought I would catch up on some really fine small greenstone pendants. These are from very nice Michigan Greenstones (chlorastrolite) and do not exceed one inch in height. Anyone that has wire wrapped can testify that smaller pendants and earrings are not easy to make. They take more care and finesse than regular sized pendants. The 24 gauge wire I use to make these pendants is delicate, easily scratched and gouged, and requires a skilled and steady hand. However, the resulting greenstone pendants are very popular.

Small and awesome greenstones have been on the workbench for the past few days.

My petite greenstone cabochons do not require complicated wire wrapping. It does not take much to overwhelm a small greenstone, so I keep it simple. I like to creatively name my creations–what do you think of them?

This is from an old collection and was found on Isle Royale years ago.

"Small Wonder" is from an old collection and was found on Isle Royale years ago.

"Concealed Silk"-a perfect petite Greenstone.

"Beautiful Mystery is REALLY nice," says Bonnie.

TThis is a very rare Isle Royale Greenstone with pink Thomsonite inclusions

"Cool Factor" is a very rare Isle Royale Greenstone with pink Thomsonite inclusions. Suberb!

Green Mist--What great chatoyancy!

On The Workbench (9-13-11)

“Orange-aide” Agate wborangecabs

I’ve been slicing some elite Lake Superior Agates that I recently acquired. As you may know “Lakers” are my favorite gemstones. The colors and variety of patterns and types are incredible. This week I cut some amazing stones including one so unusual it defies description.

I would describe it as a wild orange and black atypical “Laker” that is unlike any I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of lakers). To me it looks like orange and black paint dabbed haphazardly on it. Bonnie thinks it looks like Mexican fire opal, it has such a depth and bright shimmer. I saved a piece of the stone to prove it is a Lake Superior Agate. That one agate begged me to wrap it, so this is one of my workbench projects this week.

wborange11

Orange "lakers" on the bench

As you can see the “orange-aide” agate is really fantastic. I decided on upscale wraps that enhances both cabs, yet does not take away the beauty of this agate. I wrapped both these agates in Argentium sterling and 14/20 gold fill, allowing the use of either a gold or silver chain.
This Lake Superior Agate is so stunning that they allowed me to add a bit of “bling” to the top of the pendant, and not take away from the stone in any way. I have always felt that one should never allow a wire wrap to distract from the gemstone. I see so many wire wrappers that do too much wire and cover up the beauty of the stone.

In many cases these “sculpture” people cover a perfectly good gemstone. Most wire wrappers also buy their stones and do not cut them. In most cases the cabochons are as bad as the wrapping. Check the web if you don’t believe me. OK, I’m off my soapbox for now.

wbpendant2

I hope you appreciate my style and stones. Thanks for checking out my blog. wbfinish11

On the Workbench (August 31, 2011)

My 100th Blog!

Bonnie had a great idea last week that I think will be great fun. She suggested that I show you what is on my workbench. I will show you what I am doing both before making jewelry and after my jewelry is finished.

a 3+ gram Isle Royale greenstone

My first post is a very nice fine-patterned Isle Royale Greenstone that I acquired in Michigan’s U.P. This was a rough nugget that I cut in half. I offer many greenstone cabuchons for sale on my website which folks use to create their own rings and other jewelry. A large stone with a great pattern like this I make into my own wire-wrapped creations.

Here I am making this pendant on the beach at Crystal Lake near Benzonia

Here I am making this gorgeous pendant on the beach at Crystal Lake near Benzonia

I cut it in a designer shape and wrapped it in 14/20 gold fill and Argentium Sterling. I was very pleased with the finished product. You can see this Greenstone pendant on my website along with other chlorastrolite pendants.

A gorgeous Greenstone with included Thomsonite. A winner for sure!

A Luminous Superstar Greenstone with included Thomsonite. A winner for sure!