Greenstone Turtles

Isle Royale Greenstones are already beach tumbled. Normally I grab a few hundred and after flattening the backs, they’re ready for dopping.

The blog pictures may be a bit out of the order they were accomplished, but you’ll get the idea by reading the text under each picture.

After the finish polish, my Greenstones are sorted into trays according to size and coloration.

My dop sticks of choice are brass rivets.

A typical, beach tumbled, Isle Royale Greenstone

One of these was finished from the above beach tumbled Greenstone. Both stones are ready for Turtles of other jewelry.

One of my favorites are “Picture Frame” pendants. This one is Top to Bottom: Lake Superior Agate, Isle Royale Greenstone w/ Thomsonite, and Datolite from the Isle Royal Mine near Houghton.

Sometimes Greenstones wil be hollow (not good), but on rare occasions the viugs may contain some copper of Crystals (VERY GOOD).

My turtles have Jade undersides. Not that is a bit extravagant!

Pendants made with Islae Royale Greenstones are our best seller.

A finished Turtle pendant.. I’ve assigned them names: This one is “Rocco”.

This was the very first Turtle Pendant I made as a Christmas gift for my buddy;s awesome wife.

TURTLES

Let’s talk about one of the most challenging Pendant projects I’ve ever finished; TURTLES!.

I have actually been thinking about this for a few years, but realizing how much time, materials, and troubles it would be, I’ve put it off. Admittedly I took the cowards way out—it seemed I always had something that was more important to do! I needed to get my Mojo back.

My goal this year was to create what was a roadblock in my brain. Here is the idea. Michigan’s Official State Stone is the Petoskey Stone, and the State Gemstone is the ultra rare Isle Royale Greenstone. We live in NW Michigan where, if you know where to look, nice Petoskey Stones can be harvested.

Petoskey Stones are sometimes referred to as “Turtle Backs” because they resemble turtle shells. Isle Royal Greenstones are said to have an “Alligator Pattern”. Greenstone, if they have a nice pattern, also look like turtle appendages. What if I could combine these two beautiful Michigan stones and made a turtle pendant?

One of the major problems is matching Greenstone patterns so the turtle appendages have a cohesive look.

Recently I manufactured a set of these pendants which were challenging in many ways.

Each turtle required five greenstones that closely matched in size, pattern, and color. This required cutting and polish around hundreds of greenstones, which has taken place over several years. Most of the greenstones used in this project are from an Isle Royale Greenstone collection that I purchased several years ago. These are even more rare than Keweenaw Greenstones. Picking greenstones on Isle Royale is against National park policy. Decades ago authorities on the island were not that particular about guests picking us a few greenstones. Today rangers are quite strict about the regulations regarding picking up rocks and minerals in the national park.

After cutting and polishing all these small stones. Cutting small stones involves gluing them on dop sticks or holding them in your finger with the risk of scuffing your finger tips. Foolishly and unnecessarily I chose the bleeding option many times. Separating them off the dop sticks, pouring out on a table, sorting for size, shape, and color, and finally choosing stones that might be used together for turtles were some of the steps taken over time. Some had to go back for shaping so they could pass muster as heads or tails. Many of the greenstones are up to 10mm in size which makes them large for greenstones. The appendages are all nice enough they could have been used for feature stones in jewelry such as rings or necklaces.

The Petoskey Stones are found by us in several secret locations in northwest lower Michigan, but rarely from beaches. They were sorted 2-3 times for top quality nicely patterned for the turtle backs. They were cut and shaped, mounded in ovals, and polished to a glass-like finish.

The next problem was how to attach the appendages to the turtle; how was I going to join the Petoskey stones and the Greenstones? I looked for a material that could be a backer. What material could be thin enough and strong enough to do this? Jade is strong and tough, often used for guitar picks, so it is strong even when thin. The Petoskey stones and Greenstones were glued onto green jade wafers using a strong 2 part epoxy.

Cutting the turtles requires special lapidary tools and a careful touch. Believe me when I tell you that this procedure was challenging, complicated, and time consuming.

After cutting the turtles out, I developed a procedure for wire wrapping them, which hides the wires behind the turtle. When the turtles hand on a chain, you do not see the bail, or most of the wire wrapping, allowing for no distraction from the beauty of the the Patterns of the Petoskey stone and Greenstones.

It took me months of thought and work to create these pendants.

I cut out a dozen turtles, and posted them on Facebook, receiving over 2,600 likes. It seemed everyone wanted a turtle, but not everyone realized what these turtles might cost.

People wanted them for desk ornaments, or to add to their turtle collections. I think for a turtle collector, this may work, but for someone that wants to put a turtle comprised of sizable Isle Royale Greenstones and Jade just our on a deck; not so good. I would sell these without a bail on the back, but they are designed for wearing.

The first turtle release will be six pendants as Christmas gifts, and perhaps more of the dozen I’ve made, depending on popularity. The scarcity of Gem-Quality Greenstones will severely limit my product every year.

Making Turtles from Greenstones that otherwise could be rings or necklaces is somewhat frivolice, and from a business standpoint, perhaps not wise; but so be it.

Unakite-A great Stone anyone can find.

Unakite is a wonderful, quite common, rock comprised of Pink Orthoclase (Feldspar) and Green Epidote, magnetite, chromite, ilmenite, apatite, zircon, and other minerals. If I see Unakite, I always pick it up because it is so irresistible. Something about the Pistachio Green and the Pink Orthoclase that makes it irresistible.

Feldspar is divided into two groups: 1. Orthoclase Feldpar contains Potassium, while 2. Plagioclase Feldspar contains Calcium and Sodium. Sounds like things that would be healthy to eat. I suppose you could try it IF you have a good dentist.

Some Unakite rocks we’ve recently found. This shows a bit of variety of this stone.

Bonnie makes some lovely jewelry from Unakite.

This set shows the color variety of Unakite.

Unakite is a rock used for jewelry, carvings, beads, headstones, sinks, and many other things.

TRIVIA ALERT: Unakite is sometimes used as an architectural and decorative stone. Slabs of unakite are used as flooring tiles, facing stone, stair treads, and windowsills. Its most prominent use is as a trimming to the front steps of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It is also used as floor tiles on a landing at the south entrance.

Unakite has a MOHs hardness of around 6, so it is a sturdy rock for any use (except eating). Bonnie likes a few larger pieces in her rock gardens.

Bonnie has suggested, in the past, that I write a blog about Unakite. Whether we are rockhounding in the Upper Peninsula, or locally, we always find Unakite. It deserved to be featured.

I generally do not write boring, complicated, detailed, scientific explanations of how rocks are formed, but you should know that Metamorphic rocks, like Unakite) were formed by heat and pressure converting one mineral into another. You can read enough about these types of rocks to totally fill your brain, and explode out your ears. There are actually educated people that do nothing but study types of Feldspar.

I would call the upper cab “More gem”, but the pendant more amazing.

Orthoclase is in the Potassium Feldspar Group of Feldspars (as I previously mentioned). Other materials I use for jewelry from this group include Albite, Amazonite, Moonstone, and Labradorite. In the Upper Peninsula some rocks contain a Feldspar called Adularia. Chlorastrolite (Greenstone) sometimes contain this orange/pink Adularia.

Enough of this scientific trivia; lets talk about my latest creation.

During one of our recent rockhounding trips, I picked up assorted Unakite rocks, from dirt roads that we sometimes hunt. One of the Unakite stones I plucked had an Epidote “bullseye” on it. Never in 40 years of hunting rocks, have I seen such a pattern. That rock was thrown into a bucket and later sorted.

Sorting, after hunts in NW Michigan, involves separating out the Petoskey Stones by quality, and all the other random rocks by whether I want to make jewelry from them, put them in grab bags, or throw them into the driveway. That bullseye rock was dumped in the “do something with this container”, and promptly forgotten. This was perhaps a couple months ago.

This Unakite had a circle of Epidote surrounding a center of pink Feldspar yielding the finished “Eye Catching” Pendant. What is not seen in this stone are the specks of Silver-colored metal. I’m not sure what the metal is.

Even with my Micro lens this metal is not real clear.

I looked down yesterday and noticed that “Bullseye” looking at me from a container under my workbench. I swear, that rock was ordering me to do something with it. So I cut out the bullseye, and used it as a base for cutting a cabochon. As I looked at the polished cab, I also see it is sprinkled with a metallic silver-colored mineral, that I will have to look at later under a microscope. If you are fairly sure what these little bits of metal are, let me know.

I did not get stingy with the wire wrapping. Ir featured more Argentium Sterling than in most of my Pendants.

I brought that Unakite right up to the house, and wrapped it up into a sharp piece of jewelry. To say this piece of jewelry is “Eye Catching” would be an understatement. Eye candy with an eye in it. I have named this piece of jewelry…don’t be shocked..”EYE CATCHING”. Check this one-of-a-kind Unakite out!

Check out our Michigan Pendants!

Crazy Lace Agate yields a Custom Pendant

Meeting Facebook Friends is often an amazing thing. My FB friend, Gary, called me from the Chicago area and ask if he could stop in and find some Mexican Crazy Lace Agate.

He knew I had some fairly good Old Stock, and he had previously purchased a Crazy Lace Pendant.

He stopped in and after a tour of the shop, we sat outside and swapped stories while Gary picked out some old Crazy Lace. I told him to pick out a piece he loved and I would cut it while he watched. His end game was to have me make a new manly pendant for him. I have to say he had good taste. This stuff from a couple decades ago is so much nicer than the Lace Agate available today.

His challenge was figuring out what side of the slab would be the front. A choice was made and I was prepared to tell him that the side he chose was the side I would have chosen. Both sides were wonderful.

It did not take me long to produce a drop-dead gorgeous cabochon. Since he was staying in the Traverse City area for a couple days, I wrapped it up overnight and we relayed it to him when we did errands in TC. It turned out so well that I guess I have to make one for myself.

Thanks Gary, you own a real bragger.

Custom work is one of my favorite things. Until you have a custom piece made, you can shop our available Crazy Lace Pendants.

Custom Jewelry-FOR ME!

Sometimes Kharma appears on my workbench!

I recently was working on some silver-copper nuggets from the Keweenaw, when I discovered a beach-tumbled nugget that I forgot I had.

A beach-tumbled Copper Nugget. It looked amazingly like a Penguin.

I thought “that little nugget looks exactly like a penguin”. This got me thinking of what I could do with this small discovery. I love penguins; they are so cute, and I really enjoy watching them at the Jacksonville Zoo, at the recently visited Tennessee Aquarium in Chatanooga, or in documentaries (or the cartoon movies adds my wife).

I thought of the Emperor Penquins, and their lives. nesting in their harsh Anarctica environment.

Examining a nice piece of Fossilized Coral.

There are infinite possibilities here. Botryoidal agatized Coral fromTampa Bay.

At this same time I found some beautiful Fossilized Coral from Tampa Bay. (Fossilized Coral is the State Stone of Florida). This was the perfect environment in which to set my copper penguin. He (or she) fit right in to this ice-cave-like Petrified Coral.

I’m going to reveal this piece of jewelry at our annual rock club show this month in Traverse City. But since you are reading this blog, you deserve the reveal.

I have claimed this for myself (for now). I have been wintering in Florida, and lived in Michigan all my life, so this is my Florida/Michigan piece.

Nostalgic Custom-Made Jewelry

The rocky coastline of Maine, near Pemaquid Point, delivered nostalgic rock fragments.

This small cove in Maine has meant a lot to Jeff and his family for over 70 years.

I love making nostalgic jewelry for people. It really doesn’t matter whether plain or fancy. The value is in the memories that a particular stone brings back. “I found this with grandpa when I was a child”; We found this in a special place or on a special vacation. The value is really in the memories.

Jeff P somehow found me on line, and recognized that I love making custom nostalgic jewelry for people. Some back and forth E-mails followed and I subsequently was mailed a small piece of Quartzite in the mail while wintering in Florida.

A small piece of Quartz was the beginning of Jeff’s vision.

Butterflied and precisely fit back together. After careful cutting I was able to cut a perfect triangle.

It was evident that in order to make anything substantial, I needed to “butterfly” that stone and glue it back together. Jeff’s vision was a very simple triangle shape; silversmith.

Since I was within a few weeks of heading back north to Michigan, I suggested that the project be delayed until I could use my Intarsia Machine in my home shop. An Intarsia machine allows for very precise fitting of stone components together.

Ken silversmith A perfect, simple, Sterling mount to accept the stone I cut.

After fitting the butterflied stone back together, and precisely cutting the triangle, I turned the piece over to my buddy Ken. Ken is a master silversmith, and created a simple mounting for the stone.

Jeff was delighted with the results and mentioned that his son had another piece of the same rock. This was a much smaller piece and I was given a more free rein with the second stone. I made it look as if the Quartz actually was part of the Fossilized Coral.

Since Jeff and his son have ties to Florida, and specifically the Tampa Bay area, I decided to place the second Quartz stone into a lovely botryoidal orange cabochon I cut from Tampa Bay Coral. Thanks for the free rein to make this one, Jeff.

I really appreciate JP writing the following. Thanks for the opportunity that allowed me (and Ken) to make your long-time vision come to fruition. I know how much this means to you.

“A quick story of origin about a couple rock fragments that come from a large quartzite boulder at the far edge of a small cove in Pemaquid Point, ME that has been frequented by my family for more than 70 years. Many generations of relatives (to include my own) both know and love this special place and describing it alone brings back a slew of incredible memories. Early one morning on the last day of a recent family visit my son went down to the cove in the early morning hours on a mission. While the tide was still up and after scaling another rock he managed to hack two small pieces of it off as souvenirs. It was dangerous proposition at the time considering the waves crashing against the rocks, the high tide, and the fact that he was alone. I was so touched by the thoughtfulness of this act that I embarked on my own quest of creating something unique from his original gift. With the help of Don Reed’s superb skills and artistry my vision of transforming these small shards from a special place into the precious keepsakes you see displayed here was realized. Thank you Snob Appeal Jewelry!”

Click to see some of our prior Custom Work.

I Can Cut, Shape, and Polish your Rock

One of our primary services, at Snob Appeal Jewelry, is custom lapidary services.

ocean jasper slabs at Snob Appeal Jewelry — Polished slabs of Ocean Jasper

Stones are fascinating and invite us to pick them up and enjoy their uniqueness. Sometimes we want to do a bit more with them, requiring custom lapidary work. We realize most people do not have the skills of equipment to bring their dreams to fruition. Here are some of the lapidary techniques we use to assist our customers in enjoying their rocks.

Rock Cutting

With several sizes of saws I can cut rocks up to 12″ tall, or slice your rock into pieces, chunks or slabs. I can face polish these rocks in most cases. (Face polishing means polishing just one side, leaving the other outer crust natural.) People sometimes request slabs of certain sizes to fit a backsplash or tabletop. Some rocks would not be suitable for a tabletop, but for a backsplash or wall trim piece, they may be perfect. I cannot guarantee your rock’s stability. Any solid rock may have cracks in it that you don’t see.

Rock Slabbing

Slabbing: rocks and minerals are generally slabbed in order to cut cabochons or custom shapes. We do this.

I wire wrapped this CZ for the person who cut it. It turned out very striking.

I never did figure out what this was, but the customer found it and wanted a pendant. I re-worked it by cross etching, so the fossil would stand out.

Enhanced fossil at Snob Appeal Jewelry — Doesn’t this look better?

Cabochon Cutting

Yes; I can cut your African rock into the shape of Africa.

Shaping and polishing cabochons: We can cut almost any shape from a slab or rock. We make cabochons both calibrated (round, oval, square, triangle, and such), and freeform designer shapes as well. “I found this rock in Africa, can you cut out the shape of Africa, out of it?” YES! I can. “Can you make Christmas Tree ornaments from my Petoskey Stones?” YES! I can.

Colorful Datolite Cabochons. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Datolite Cabochons ready for jewelry,

CustomBeading

We can make a custom beaded necklace and matching earrings. Tell us your vision, and we’ll work with you to create a special piece of jewelry. Bonnie is professionally trained in beading, including hand knotting. She doesn’t just go buy beads at a craft store and throw them on a string. This is not “art” to us.

Petoskey Stone and Leland Blue Bracelet. Snob Appeal Jewelry — One of Bonnie’s creations. Petoskey Stone, Datolite, and Leland Blue.

I polished this for a lady whose husband had terminal cancer. I had no idea there would be an angel in it. It was really a good omen for them. He saw it before he passed on.

A customer sent these stones from a nostalgic family outing. I drilled and stacked them into a 2″ tall pendant. Happy Camper!

Small Unpolished Michigan Greenstone. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Perhaps you have found a Greenstone that needs polishing.

Isle Royale Greenstone cabochon. Snob Appeal Jewelry — A Greenstone like the one above, might look this good. Have you found one you think is nice. Let me cut it.

Custom Lapidary Work

Making Jewelry from a Special Rock. People often call or send me an E-mail, for example, that they have a certain nostalgic rock, found many years ago with Grandpa, found on a memorable trip, or found in the basement of garage of their Rockhound grandparents. These are perfect candidates for custom lapidary work. I’ve made a pendant for a lady whose husband had terminal cancer, and she wanted me to cut and wrap a rock that he had given her years ago. I was able to get this done before he passed away, so he could see it.

I can get backed up on these custom orders, but I will advise you of my estimated backload, and when you should expect any custom work. No matter how homely that nostalgic stone is, I treat it as it is the most treasued Diamond; as if it were mine. You are always kept “in the loop”, with progress reports as your project is made.

Star Crinoids. Snob Appeal Jewelry — A customer sent these Star Crinoids, he found, to be made into pendants and earrings. The material was not very stable, and was a challenge.

Polishing your rock: Polishing is often combined with cutting, but not all the time. As an example, we live in an area where people find Michigan’s Official State Stone, the Petoskey Stone. These stones are almost pure Calcite, and some of them get pretty beat up in the surf of Lake Michigan. Barely any Petoskey Stones are water polished, so the crust needs to be removed, and a nice polish needs to be added. If you are looking for someone to polish your Petoskey, or most other stones, look no further.

One of my all-time favorite projects, A Greenstone and Petoskey Stone Turtle I made for a Christmas gift for one of my friends’ wife. A Christmas present of a lifetime.

Did you find any Yooperstones in the U.P.? Let me make something of them.

Datolite with Copper Lightning. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Datolite with copper Lightning.

Laguna Agate. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Very unusual Laguna Agate.

My Busy Workbench

An average day on my workbench. Several things happening at once.

Lake Superior Agate slices. Snob Appeal Jewelry — I cut some deluxe Lake Superior Agates for myself. I could cut yours’ also.

We are like that guy on the TV commercials, that’s seen it all. When it comes to rocks, I have not seen it all, but I’ve been around long enough that I have seen a lot, and done a lot, with rocks.

Even though I make jewelry from Precious Metal Wire, I have studied Lost Wax, Silversmithing, Chain Making, faceting, and other disciplines at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts. I have settled on Wire wrapping, because it is very a very creative art form. My wire wrapping skills are a step (or many steps), above most. This is because I try to improve every aspect of what I do, each time I do it. I never settle on “Good Enough”. I strive for perfection, but realize there is always room for improvement.

Lake Superior Agate Pendant and cabochon. Snob Appeal Jewelry — **Send me a picture of what you have, and there is a possibility I could make something amazing for you.**

Wire Wrapping

The stone is the star with my wire wrapping. Our custom lapidary work enhances whatever gemstone I use. I do not hide my gemstones in a lot of wire. Some Wire Artists use lots of wire with loop-de-loops and curlicues galore, but it is not my style. I spend too much time cutting my unusual, and/or rare stones, to hide them in a tangle of wire. I have been taught wrapping using a lot of wire, often referred to as “Wire Sculpture”, but my personal style is considered “classical”, with a more restrained use of the wire as decoration.

We are not a big production shop, so if you want multiple. production line, type work, I’m not your guy. We are a small business, based on honesty and integrity, creating one-of-a-kind pieces. We always treat our customers as if they are friends and family.

If you have a Lapidary project that you have been thinking about, let us know. We look forward to working with you. If I can’t do your project, I may know someone who can.

Read more about our custom work:

Making Custom Great Lakes Stone Jewelry

Cabochons, Custom Lapidary, and Found Treasures

Custom Rock Cutting, Lapidary, and Wire Jewelry, Created Just for You!

Thanks for over a decade of support for our “Snob Blog”

Ocean Jasper – Amazing Pastel Colors and Patterns

The variety in both pastel coloration and pattern in Ocean Jasper in phenomenal.

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.

orbicular jasper rough — Obicular Jasper from Madagascar was readily available back in 2010

Ocean Jasper rough — I wish now I’d have purchased more.

Ocean Jasper close up show Orbicular patterns — This is a closeup of and Ocean Jasper intarsia tabletop. Tucson 2011.

Ocean Jasper beads. We may still have some of these.

Surprising colorations are not uncommon.

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.

Crystal Glory Ocean Jasper at Snob Appeal Jewelry — “Crystal Glory” was this one’s name.

Flowers Ocean Jasper Pendant at Snob Appeal Jewelry — We called this one “Flowers”

Ocean Jasper Pendants at Snob Appeal Jewelry — A selection of Ocean Jasper pendants of various colors

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.

Bonnie, while editing this blog, mentioned that I should make some new Ocean Jasper Pendants. I told her if she could find some, that I would. She rooted around and found some beautiful slabs from 2011. I guess I have to get busy.

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!

Rock Foolers and Other Thoughts.

Some stones confuse or surprise rockhounds by looking different from the norm. For April Fool’s, let’s take a look at some of these Rock Foolers!

Sodalite Granite pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Fluorescent Sodalite Granite Pendant from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This stone has many names, Filrefly Granite (my own name), or YooperStones, found by Johnny Gladstone. It is a fine grain granite found on the shores or near Lake Superior
when hunted with UV lights at night. It is typical granite in the daylight, but….

Fluorescent Sodalite Granite Pendant under UV light — but under UV lighting, this granite sports amazing bright yellows and oranges.

If you have ever attended the Tuscon Gem Shows you know how massive they are. 50 some shows with hundreds of dealers at each. Anyone experienced at Tucson knows that many times the same stones are sold by different dealers, but have different names. This is done for marketing purposes and fools many unwary buyers. Blue Pectolite, for example is sold as Larimar. A picture jasper might be sold under three different names even though it is the same thing.

Cold Mountain Thunderegg is surprisingly like Butterfly Jasper

Sometimes these deceptions are intentional, but sometimes a dealer might not know or remember what it is, and randomly gives it a name. You can be fooled at the shows! I have also benefited from dealers not knowing what they have. One time in a major dealer show in Tucson, I purchased an amazing Black & Red Kentucky Agate because a facetted gen dealer did not know what she had.

In my own barn I have come across material that has fooled me into thinking it was something else. In this blog I show you a few surprising variations, that might fool us into thinking it is something other than what it really is!

In my business, I won’t sell something that I’m not sure what it is. Sometimes it takes a lot of research to discover the identity of a stone.

I know that turquoise is somewhere in the turquoise range. Sometimes people say they have white turquoise, but there is no such thing. There is white buffalo which is sometimes sold as Turquoise.

Petrified Wood from Holbrook, AZ, just outside the Petrified National Park. Here it is dressed in rainbow colors with no indication of the normal patterns associated with Petrified Wood.

Another fooler is Picture Petrified Wood from Holbrook AZ.

Rhodochrosite Pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — The common Rhodochrosite is basically pink, or even brown. Rhodochrosite color varies from brown to brightr pink. This piece has yellow bands alternating with pink Rhodochrosite.

Crushed Pattern Petoskey Stone by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Michigan’s State Stone is the Petoskey stone. Ocassionally we find Petoskey Stones that are very unusual and might not be readily identified as our statre stone. This stone has a crushed pattern with unusual blue mottling….

Close up of crushed pattern Petoskey Stone — This close up clearly shows the Hexagonaria patterns. It takes a close examination to determine the true identity of this April Fooler!

Great Lakes Gemstone Pendant on Steroids

It isn’t often that a write a blog about one pendant, but I had to do it with this one.

Extravagant Greenstone Pendant with ten Greenstones plus two Thomsonites — A challenging pendant yet to be named. My two suggestions are “Extravagant Wire Whimsy” or “Don’s Wrestling Match”. Since I’ve already sold it, I told the new owner, she could name it.

Sometimes when wire-wrapping, things happen that you wish had not happened, and you end up going in a totally new direction. This is how I made a Great Lakes Gemstone Pendant on Steroids, and it started by an accident.

It was a heartbreaking moment. While creating a really nice Blue Datolite Pendant a week ago, during the final setting, the top of this rare gem fractured. I am capable of reworking a stone, but I decided, as a challenge, to use the wire frame; adapt it, so to speak, to make another totally different pendant.

The decision to change tracks in the middle of the race, was spurred by thrift, I didn’t want to waste the wire frame I had just built! I looked through a couple trays of Great Lakes Cabochons, and plucked out an amazing dark-eyed Thomsonite that fit well in the bottom of the original wire bundle, but it wasn’t nearly as big as the Datolite I had started with. So I paired this with both a slender Isle Royale Greenstone, and a very unusual Green and dark pink Prehnite. Wow, now I had the challenge I was looking for. How do you securely fit three Great Lakes stones in a space designed for one?

Fortunately, Bonnie (my wife), was not around for all the expletives, as I wrestled to re-shape this wire frame to accommodate new stones. There was much bending, pushing and pulling involved . Most of you do not wire wrap, so I have to explain that it is a finesse skill. Precious metal wire will harden as you work with it, and eventually, if you work it too much, will get brittle and break. After a couple decades of wire wrapping, I generally get a feel for when the wire will break. I HATE when this happens–it means you have wasted wire and time. You have to start all over again. I have to admit, the wire (and myself), were right on the edge of breaking.

close up of Calcite with copper in Greenstone — Notice the Copper included Calcite in the bottom of the long Greenstone.

The pendant took large quantities of coffee over three days, to get it right. I finished the original cage for the stones, but the pendant lacked balance. This is an artistic term that means that it looked “not right”. Not quite that it looked like crap, but something else was needed.

How about some Greenstone beads? Now that would be decadent, wouldn’t it? I strung 8 tiny Greenstone beads along on edge. After this more messing around took place. How do I fit this stone in, how do I attach this all together, that doesn’t look just right, this needs to be fit in and so on. Finally I added a Thomsonite Bead on the top. NAILED IT!! I just know when things have melded.

Extravagant Greenstone Pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Thomsonite, Prehnite, Greenstone

Bonnie liked it also. If it passes the “Bonnie inspection” all is good. She may say “it’s nice” and bring me a cup of coffee, I feel worthy when she does this.

back side of wire pendant — I REALLY liked the rear of this pendant. Doesn’t it look like an abstract art project?.

One of my favorite parts of this pendant, is the back. The wire design on the back, accidentally; No wait; purposely came out amazing. Usually when we sell a pendant, the buyer will examine the front AND the back. I can’t wait for someone to carefully look at the back of this pendant.

When I finish a new pendant, and it passes the Bonnie quality control inspection, I always say that I “Got Lucky Again”. I think I got lucky on this crazy Great Lakes Gemstone on Steroids!

Visit our jewelry pages to see current selections:

Great Lakes Pendants

Greenstones

Thomsonite Pendants

Lake Superior Agate Pendants-My Favorites

Small is often wonderful. A dime sized Candy Striper will make someone happy.

My Favorite Gemstone

Those that know me and/or follow my Snob Blog, know that my Favorite Jewelry Stones are Lake Superior Agates. I love the variety of types, and the amazing natural designs and colors.

The different banded patterns of Lakers is amazing.

The deep Maroon red and bright whites makes this Candy Striper “Classy”.

Refined Pendants

My self-isolating and social distancing has provided time and inclination to make the perfect piece of jewelry. Even if most people cannot readily discern any difference in my pendants, I can tell I’m using new techniques and liking the results. My designs are becoming often more complex and intricate, and I’ve been experimenting more. My recent pendants have reflected these refinements.

Pinks were the colors I tied together in this free-swinging triple-stoned pendant. The top is a Delaware Datolite with the pink that that location is famous for. The middle gemstone is, of course, a pinkish banded Laker, and the bottom is a grouping of Isle Royale Greenstone beads with pink Thomsonite inclusions.

I love the unusual! There is a lot going on in this stone, including a bit of Smokey Quartz.

One of the most eye-appealing Lakers ever. Unusual coloration with lovely Shadow-effect banding. The transparency is amazing also.

Banding and designer shapes flow perfectly together in this remarkable Lake Superior Agate treasure.

Small and simple, requiring nothing but neat wire wrapping. The stone is definitely the star here.

Since “Lakers” are my favorites, they have been imbued with some extra special thought and development as of late. Many of my recent Lakers have been combined with other gemstones in diverse ways.

Lake Superior Agates are a Great Investment

Why do we sell so many Lake Superior Agates? Several factors are involved. I look for the very best rough material, perfect agates; mostly fracture free, with spectacular colors and banding. These qualities are difficult to obtain, and I’m never really sure how an agate looks until I cut it. I reject the majority of the Lake Superior Agates I look at Our customers appreciate quality. I refuse to compromise when it comes to jewelry.

I try to match the shaping and finishing to the particular agate. Many of our pendants are wrapped in more than one precious metal. This makes buying easier if you are not certain what a special person might wear regarding metal. I try to match the metal to the stone pendant I am making.

The best Quality Control Available

My wife, Bonnie, serves as quality control. She is brutally honest with me. I appreciate her opinions, and make any adjustments she recommends (sometimes). I can trust her to match any pendant with the correct chain.

Our jewelry always looks better in person; this delights our customer base. Many of our customers become old friends as they purchase jewelry repeatedly from our inventory. We also produce jewelry for our customers stones.