It’s always heartbreaking when a good friend passes away. I hope you will indulge me as I remember Beth Harland, a loyal member or the Grand Traverse Area Rock & Mineral Club.
I recall that John and Beth joined our club in 2005 or 2006, when they moved up after retirement to Traverse City. John became Club President shortly there after and Beth took notes for the Club Newsletter that I edited.
Over the years Beth invested in many pieces of jewelry that I made, and I mentored John in Wire Wrapping. We became close friends.
In 2009 John handed me a Greenstone, and asked if I could make a pendant for Beth. The Greenstone was 3 1/2″ by over 2″! “You want me to cut this Greenstone; are you sure?” Over the course of the next week, I asked him if he was still sure, and the answer was yes every time.
The following incorrect information was found on the internet:
“The largest gem quality stone is in the Smithsonian Museum and measures 1.5 by 3 inches. It was first described from Isle Royale, Lake Superior by C. T. Jackson and J. D. Whitney in 1847. Chlorastrolite, also known as greenstone, is the official state gem of Michigan.”
John found this Greenstone on Isle Royale back in the early 60’s, and it sat on a shelf for all those years. The above information was on Pinterest and is obviously incorrect . John’s Stone was the REAL world record. The finished stone easily covers a half-dollar with room to spare! It was 1.75 by 3.25 inches! It actually covered 2 silver dollars! The finished pendant is substantially larger, or course.
The Greenstone had previously been worked by someone unskilled in cutting Greenstone, so my challenge was increased by correcting someone else’s errors.
This was, and still is the most challenging and scary rock I’ve ever cut. It was especially scary, when I found out that I was working on one of the largest Gem-grade Greenstones ever found. Those that are skilled at cutting Chlorastrolite, know that there are numerous pitfalls that could happen. Holes and pits (which this was full of), cutting through the pattern, or not developing the pattern to its fullest (this also had taken place. So how do I proceed?)
I studied this Greenstone for several hours, and developed my plan of attack, based on my experience of cutting thousands of Greenstones. Mostly working slowly and carefully, using my intuition and hoping my choices were correct. I actually took three days on the cutting alone, and the results were fabulous. That stone had full pattern and was very hard.
Beths World Class Greenstone
I was finally able to produce both an amazing pendant and a set of large earrings from that monster.
The back of the above Greenstone.
Beth loved that piece of jewelry, and I was honored that John ask me to make it. I personalized the pendant, and she wore it often.
Her recent passing brought up one of many good memories of Beth. We’ll miss her and think of her often. I can see her wearing that stone as if it were yesterday.
Here’s another Pendant I made for Beth. She loved Bling!
A Quartz pocket containing pink and blue topaz–Beth loved Bling!
Valentine’s Day is coming soon! As a result, I have created several new Gemstone Heart Pendants, and I also will show you a few hearts in our inventory.
Beautiful Royston Turquoise from Toropah, Nevada. Ruby Crystals in Fuchsite from India.Very unusual coloration for Ocean Jasper. This agate type is mined out in Madagascar.Leland Blue Stone is a Slag Glass from an old foundry in Leland, MichiganBeautiful “eyed” Thomsonite from the North Shore of Lake Superior.Variscite from Clay County, Utah, is one of the worlds best.I found this piece of Ametrine was found in a bucket in my barn. Ametrine is a cross between Amethyst and Citrine.If cut properly, Rainbow Obsidian will show lovely hearts.Luna Agate from Chihuahua, Mexico.
I would not count on the USPS to deliver any of these at the last minute, nor would I count on any of these hearts to still be available; so order quickly.
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.
Mushroom Ryolite/Mushroom Jasper looks like Mushroom Gardens floating in the matrix.
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.
impressive in every way with triple pulls of wire around the edges. Anyone that wears this can expect loads of complements,
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.
Even the back looks spectacular!
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.
What should I do with this remarkable Favosites? I’ve saved this fossil for the better part of a year, awaiting inspiration. I don’t see many Favosites specimens so clear, and showing every single Polyp. I had to add some color using Swarovski bi-cone Beads. Bonnie made the matching earrings. Favosites (common name Charlevoix Stone) and Hexagonaria (common name Petoskey Stone) were both colonial Corals and were important reef builders in the Silurian and Devonian Periods (400 million years +/- ago) Favosites is an extinct Genus of Coral. The Favosites corals’ corallites had perforated walls, and shared nutrients between Polyps. I make no political statement with this piece, but it does suggest a “sharing” vibe.
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.
From a deposit 20 miles south of the Agua Nueva Ranch, in Northern Mexico, Agua Nueva Agate became very popular in the 1970’s. The Agua Nueva deposit is about 40 miles from the famous depostit of Laguna Agate. Agua Nueva Agate is famous for its’ variety of colors, eyes, and moss. This one had everything and is an impressive 2″ round. The Apple Red in this stone is pretty impressive.
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 New Year’s pendant was made from a very unusual Datolite slab from the old Clark Mine near Copper Harbor. “Unusual” is an understatement. The stone features a picture of chaos. I named this pendant “Datolite Explosion” for it’s resemblance of a landscape “EXPLODING”. The Datolite has a hint of pink. This Datolite reminded me of how 2020 seemed at times. You will find our Datolite pendants are each very different.
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.
The Pantone colors for 2021 are gray and yellow, so I made this really crazy, Crazy Lake Agate to adhere to the 2021 colors.Just a very fine Laker was transparent, with beautiful banding .Chevron Amethyst is always beautiful; especially when cut into a designer shape.From the Wheeler Shale of Delta,Utah, comes Elrathia Kingii Trilobites (among many other fossils). The fossils in this Cambrian Shale are over 500 million Years old! During the Devonian Period most Trilobite Orders became extinct. I love how large and perfect some specimens are. Most have full cheeks that you do not often see in Trilobites from Morocco and other places. Trilobites actually lost their cheeks during their “Molting phase” On a whim, I wrapped this in Pink Gold and Silver. I think it turned our great!Coprolite is petrifided feces of prehistoric animals. I’m not an expert as to if this piece of crap came from a Dinosaur, a prehistoric Tortoise, or something else, I did name this pendant “2020”; a year that was pretty crappy at times.This Pendant is different under UV light. Sodalite-infused Granite from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, in the top; Ruby in Fuschite from India in the bottom. The Sodalite and Ruby are Fluorescent under the UV light.It’s difficult to take a good picture under UV light. I played around with camera settings and got some advice from my friend Johnny Gladstone. This gives you an idea what this Sodalite/Granite looks like under UV light.. Rubies are also Fluorescent, as you can see. Johnny calls these “Yooperstones”. I like to call them “Firefly Granite” Since I bartered with Johnny, I will call them Yooperstones. TRIVIA: Rubies are actually red Sapphires!Isle Royale Greenstone; Michigan’s Official State Gem, This small pendant is very nice in both coloration and pattern.Many have tried to duplicate the famous Victoria Stone from the early 1970’s; some of the copies are actually pretty good. No one has been able to match the colors and chatoyancy of the original. This particular color was called “Reddish Purple” and shows wonderful silky flash when moved in the light. Very rare and very coveted.Our exclusive YOOPERLAND Pendant. Firebrick, Isle Royale Greenstone, and Mexican Blue Lace Agate. Lots of time and trouble to create, but one of our most popular original designs.A Lake Superior Agate Pendant made from Many Striped Agates Bonnie gave me for Christmas. This one turned out great! I have lots more of similar banded beauties to work with. Lakers are my Favorite stones.A Leland Blue Heart…Valentines day is just around the corner. Hint Hint!Bonnie often has fun checking our multitude of buckets around the shop area. This is a Datolite she rooted our one day last summer. I immediately cut it. WOW! I’m not exactly sure what mine I discovered it at.A close-up of the Previous Datolite, with more light on the Copper in it.This Lake Superior Agate (also made from gifted Agates) is about dime size, and has wonderful coloration.A small, but amazing dendritic Opalite I called “Lone Tree” for obvious reasons.
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.
Snob Appeal Jewelry has made many people happy this holiday season. Santa was busy delivering gifts, made by us, throughout the Land.
Two Christmas gift pendants stood out from the crowd. The first was made for the Jewelry Makers Wife (Bonnie). The idea formed while cutting a piece of Fairburn Agate from Teepee Canyon, South Dakota. This was old stock, containing yellows and reds.
Although Bonnie has a fantastic jewelry collection, there are not many yellow gemstones in it. I cut the Teepee into a Teepee shape. I had a very fine piece of Citrine nearby and formulated an idea. This whisper of an idea all formed around May. Now that’s thinking of Christmas early!
Cutting and polishing was no problem. The problems were keeping the stones safe and secret for the better part of a year, AND remembering where they were while secreting them from Bonnie. Still, there was one more component the pendant needed. I developed a ploy to enhance the proposed pendant with facetted Gemstones, and initially made this piece while she was gone to a Garden Club Meeting.
The “Gem Strip” as I called it contained an Imperial Topaz, flanked by a pair of Peridot’. I put all three components in a little zip-lock envelope and hid them in the RV, in a sock drawer. I knew I’d re-find them. I did pretty much forget them until we Snowbirded to Florida, and I looked for socks.
I was inundated with custom orders before Christmas and finished them all up a couple weeks before Christmas. it took another week, off and on. to finish the pendant. The finished pendant was one of my best, fitting for a Jewelry Makers’ Wife. She was very happy when I gave it to her on Christmas Eve.
The second Pendant I Custom made for one of best buddies’ wife. Andy sometimes helps me with minor RV repair issues. He installed a Wi-Fi extender unit and said “I don’t want money. I need you to make something for Whitney” (his bride). “She loves Turtles, and Greenstones”. Almost instantaneously an idea formed.
I cut a turtle-shaped piece of Petoskey Stone for the body. I always have a good supply of Isle Royale Greenstones and I picked out four matching legs, a tail shaped Greenstone, and I saw I had another Greenstone shaped like a Snapping Turtle’s head; PERFECT!
The challenge was attaching the appendages to the turtle so they would not get knocked off while wearing the pendant. This was solved by cutting a thin Jade backer. Jade has the ability to be cut almost paper thin, yet still maintain strength. My diamond bandsaw made quick work of this.
The pendant glued together perfectly and a Prong setting also increased the integrity of the Pendant. The bail was hidden behind the head of the turtle, and I “Collared” the turtle’s neck. Now he’s “Whitney’s Pet”.
Whitney is delighted. This was really an amazing and fun piece for me to make.
Some meticulous wire artistry enhanced beautiful Keweenaw treasures.
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 Michigan Quarter allows you to see the finisned size. I was very happy with my work.
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
YES
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.
I’ve successfully completed many, many, custom pieces of jewelry over the years. People find that I do custom Lapidary and make custom jewelry. whether it be word of mouth or from a web search, somehow they find me. Often kharma plays a roll. They were meant to discover me.
I find that, many times, they have a treasured rock; a keepsake that means something to them. Perhaps something lost and re-found years later; a rock that stimulates fond memories of times past, or of a loved one long since passed. Whatever the reason, we are brought together by a single rock. I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPENS. There is a story behind every “nostalgic” rock, and I often ask the owners to tell the story of their special stone.
A ordinary brown rock, turned into a beautiful Montana Moss Agate.
Debra sent a couple E-mails telling me how much the stone I made into jewelry for her has meant for her and her family, and how much her, her daughter, and her Grandaughter loved the pendant I made from it. I really appreciate her taking the time to write the “story’ behind her special rock. I made this jewelry while wintering in Tucson in 2018.
Debra’s Story
My story sadly starts with the passing of my parents. My siblings and I were subsequently at their Minnesota farm house to clear everything out. As I was entering the front door, I saw a polished brown rock sitting on the hand rail. How unusual that was, like it was just waiting for me to pick it up! I did so, put it in my pocket and forgot about it for several years. When I came upon it again, I was thinking that my dad must have been keeping that stone for some reason. It maybe was something special. That is when I went on line and found Don at Snobappealjewelry.com. It was so easy to work with Don as he listened to my story and suggested I send him the stone and he would evaluate it. I did as he asked and sure enough that old brown rock turned out to be a Montana moss agate! That was kind of astonishing because my family had moved to Minnesota from Billings, Montana over 40 years ago. I knew then what I would do.
Debra’s gorgeous Montana Moss Agate Pendant
I asked Don to make me a heart shaped pendant for my granddaughter. I fully trusted him to make a piece that would be a family treasure, a gift from a great grandfather to his great granddaughter. The one-of-a-kind pendant turned out to be beautifully crafted with, it seemed, as much love as it truly represented to my family. Both my daughter and granddaughter wear it with joy. One day, their prodigy will wear it as well! I feel so lucky to have come into contact with Don, his wife, and Snobappealjewelry.com. They are people who are truly trustworthy, professional, talented, and creators of lifetime treasures.
That story is one of the reasons I do what I do. Special people send me special rocks, and I make special jewelry. Thanks so much Debra.
It just so happens that today is Thanksgiving. For Bonnie and I it means being thankful for many things. One of those is being thankful for our special customers that have supported our small, locally owned business over the years. We love people like Debra, that choose us for their custom creations. We are well aware that our work for people like Debra mean more than any amount of money.
I want to share the story of Cheryl’s rock which became a custom nostalgic stone jewelry set. One of our specialties is making custom pieces of jewelry using stones precious to our customers. It may be a stone found when searching a beach with Grandpa or Grandma, or a stone from Grandpa’s old rock collection. It may be that special Agate that was re-discovered in a drawer or lived in your pocket every day. It just may be a stone you’ve wanted to do something with for years, and just never discovered anyone who could transform it for you.
Cheryl’s Kazakhstan rock became beautiful jewelry
There are a multitude of reasons that someone may want a piece of custom jewelry made.
It does not matter how beautiful or ugly a rock might be; the true value of a stone is in the memories that it evokes.
Behind these nostalgic treasures; every one is treated by me as if it were the most valuable stone I’ve ever worked with. The utmost care is taken to produce a piece of jewelry that elicits fond memories.
Cheryl’s Story
Hello, Don, Here is the story of my rock.
In 1994 my husband went to a very remote area in southeast Kazakhstan near the Chinese border to advise a beginning sheep farmer. My husband was working with an organization called VOCA (Volunteers for Overseas Cooperative Assistance) and Mercy Corps International. There were many problems faced by farmers in the area due to the remote location. My husband would sometimes sit close to a nearby river while he tried to come up with suggestions that could be used by people who had so little to work with. Somewhere near this river, he found the rock.
My husband gave the rock to me when he returned. He suggested making a necklace out of it. I had no idea how to accomplish that. The rock was too big to use the whole thing. I looked at a few craft fairs for an artist who could turn the rock into jewelry, but the rock remained just a rock for many years. I even occasionally tried to find someone online without any luck. Finally, this year I came across Snob Appeal Jewelry as a result of a Google search. I now have not only a wonderful heart-shaped necklace but also a ring, thanks to Don’s talent and Bonnie’s feminine insight.
My husband was killed in a car accident in 1998, so he was not able to see the transformation of the rock, but I am sure he would have been pleased. I wear the ring all the time. It reminds me that my husband was always thinking about me.
Thank you so much for your personal story Cheryl.
It was a pleasure to make these pieces for Cheryl and know that she will always enjoy wearing them. I’m not certain what Cheryl’s rock is, but that really does not matter; does it?
I have made many custom “Remembrance Rocks”, and there are stories behind each one. I know some, but not all the stories. Over the next few months I’ll share some of the stories I know.
If you are interested in having a custom nostalgic jewelry piece made, be sure to visit our Custom Work page, visit and like us on Facebook, or send me some pictures of your rock.
Step 1 is finding the Greenstones of course. Past blogs have covered that subject. Step 2 is to tumble the stones and discard all the bad ones.
Overwhelmed with Greenstones
I’ve been trying to catch up on my Isle Royale Greenstone cutting. Isle Royale Greenstone (Chlorastrolite) is the Official State Gemstone of Michigan). This can get overwhelming. Unless you work with Greenstones, you have no idea what is involved, so let me walk you through the steps.
I never do fewer then 100 Greenstones. I flatten the backs and glue then to nailheads, screws, rivets, or whatever I have.
These Greenstones are awaiting the final three soft wheels, before final polish.
BIG BATCHES
I don’t cut Michigan Greenstones unless I am doing a big batch. Right now I’m working on 200, so I can produce a hundred new earring pairs. In order to find 200 good Greenstones involves going through at least 600 stones.
Add these earrings to my goal of 100 pendants, to be made over the winter, and you can see why I’m swamped.
There are Greenstones everywhere in various stages; on the table, in the shop, and in the kitchen. Fortunately Bonnie is patient and doesn’t carp much. We have not seen the top of the dining room table in a month, but it’s a necessary evil to getting these Greenstones fit for jewelry, or to sell to others for jewelry making.
Prepping Procedure
The procedure for prepping Greenstones involves tumbling the stones to take the Chlorite rind off. Tumbling destroys the weak stones, and brings out the pattern on the good ones. When they come out of the tumbler, I sort out the Greenstones with promise, and pitch the bad ones. The minimal grade Greenstones go into Grab Bags that we sell at our shows. The tumbling usually weeds out 2/3 of the stones.
Next I take the remaining stones and flatten the backs (the worst sides) to prepare for dopping. Most of these are small stones about half the size of a pea.
I glue the Greenstones to rivets or nail heads. Epoxy is faster for me, but you could use dop wax. The dopped stones are left overnight to dry. The stones are then taken to my shop and worked up on my Genie or Titan. This process can take some time to bring out the best in each stone. The stones go through all the soft wheels (Never use the hard wheels on GS). The hard wheels most often produce harmonic vibrations that can cause the stones to blow apart.
A before and after shot. You never know how fine a Greenstone is, until it’s finished. The bottom stone needs a little more work to remove some remaining flaws.
I Discard Many Substandard Stones
During this machine procedure I invariably discover some hollow stones. Other stones are not great or substandard. Again more are discarded.
Here’s a before and after shot of the same Greenstone. The second stone needs a little more work to get out remaining flaws.
At this point I must point out that Isle Royale Greenstones are one of the trickiest gemstones to cut. You must know exactly when to stop grinding at every stage. Some have very thin pattern layers, while others are good throughout the stone. You have to almost see, in your mind, if what you do will enhance the stone you are working on, or ruin it. You can only gain these answers through experience cutting loads of greenstones. I have cut many thousands in my day, so I have a “feel” for these beauties. There is never any answer that is always correct. Sadly, I admit to ruining many thousands of dollars worth of stones.
Taking my time is worth the effort
Taking the time to get it right, is the way I roll. These are calibrated ring stones for a jeweler customer.
Sometimes I am cutting a very fine Greenstone, that may be worth $500 or more, and that stone breaks through into a hollow area. I have sometimes cut right thru the pattern layer, thinking the pattern would get better. Stones have flown out of my hands and get broken or lost in the workshop Nexus. Recently Bonnie found one I remember losing long ago. She claims that is an advantage to cleaning up. I have learned from every mistake, and after making the same mistake several times, I often believe I have learned my lesson. Cutting Greenstones is not cheap. “OOPS, there went another hundred bucks”..
Bonnie’s New Pendant…NOT!
I had this sitting on the table. I told Bonnie it was laid out for a new pendant for her. NOT!
The stones get soaked in a solvent to get them off the dops after they are polished. This takes several hours, then I go through a quality control with the entire batch, and weed again (Do you see a pattern here?). Greenstones are an amazing amount of trouble and work, and being that they are generally small, makes it harder, not easier. No one should ever complaint about the price of a Greenstone. A really good one is so rare.
I am going to start making Greenstone beads in the near future; I’ll admit this is a bit over the top, but I just have to try it.
A pair of perfect Greenstone Cabochons.
Custom Greenstone Cutting
If you have a Greenstone that you want me to work on for you, there is a procedure. First I need clean pictures with something (like a dime) in the picture (preferably several pictures). Many people that have what they think is a Greenstone, have something else. Next, if we agree there is a good possibility of success, you send the stone for evaluation. This allows me to see if your stone is viable for cutting and polishing. Thirdly, I honestly tell you what I think.
If you OK with everything, I cut and polish ,with no guarantee of success. My odds of producing a good gem are around 90%. If you provide a good stone, you’ll get a good result. I can never assure anyone that there are no internal flaws, cracks, or voids in the stone. I wish I had Xray vision, but I do not. I address any customer stone as if it were my own.
Once we reach the cutting and polishing stage, my odds are around 90%. If the stone is flawed, you would not have wanted it anyway. Thus far, I have been close to perfect on customer’s custom cutting.
I know this blog has not been my norm, but I think being buried in Greenstones has somewhat effected my head. I’ve wanted to explain what it takes to get you a good piece of Greenstone Jewelry, so now you know some of it. Visit our Greenstone Cabochon pages for cut stones you can use in your own jewelry, or see our Greenstone Pendant pages and Greenstone Earring page for currently available jewelry. Oh; we have Tie Tacks also! Does anyone still wear them? (Or they can be ordered as pins.) Enjoy Michigan’s State Gem, a rare and special stone found nowhere else on earth.
Richard and Andrew Marek had great father and son bonding time on the piles.
We usually travel to Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, in August, where we participate in Art Shows, and do wire wrapping demonstrations at Copper World in Calumet. Because our art shows were cancelled and demos were not possible due to the Virus, we focused on rock hunting in the Upper Peninsula.
The Ranger is the National Park Service boat that serviced Isle Royale National Park. From our campsite, we watched it go out every two days.
We camped and rock hunted to our hearts’ content. While camped, I was able to work on the rocks we found with my mobile shop setup and made jewelry on my work bench.
A classic Candy Striper always make me smile. This one, I purchased from Ryan Pikk at the Quincy Swap Meet. I took the rough Laker back to the RV, and made it into instant jewelry.This Amethyst Laker called me to make it into jewelry while in the Keweenaw.Keweenaw Prehnite is absolutely gorgeous.The Isle Royale Queen IV is not running from Copper Harbor this year. The only way you can get there is by seaplane.TheThere are still a few inches to squeeze in more rocks.The pile here used to be above the trees. I am carefully searching for an elusive Greenstone, with only moderate success.Bonnie searches a beach at dusk. Is she looking for a fluorescent rock?
Was rock hunting successful? Yes, considering the good areas becoming more scarce. Most of you know that many of the old rock piles have been crushed and hauled away, leaving large flat area and small piles. Where rock piles used to be as high as the trees, they’ve now ground level. You have to work harder to find what used to be relatively easy.
A drill core is a treat to find. Just thinking a trio of miners, 100 years ago , could have drilled this hole.
Bonnie’s goal was to find the worlds’ largest Greenstone, which was not happening, while mine was to survive the rock piles while still recovering from and ankle fusion. I accomplished my goal, and was stronger at the end of our trip. It’s amazing to me that you do not feel much pain when you are actually rock hunting, but it catches up after the hunt is finished for the day.
We hunted close to a dozen locations, with limited success in every locale. We stocked up on rocks and minerals we could use in our grab bags, that we sell 3 for $10 at art shows and elsewhere. Some things everyone loves in their grab bags are, small Greenstones in matrix, shiney Calcite, Prehnite, and small copper pieces.
A Garden Rock of Great Size
Other things Bonnie looks for are new garden rocks. You should have seen us hauling a 70# chunk of mine rock with calcite and Cuprite seams. That one was hard to miss in the pouring rain.
This is the colorful garden rock we hauled off the Central Pile.I see Prehnite, Calcite, and specks of Copper.
It was quite a trek to the car, and we tried, with limited success to fit this rock into a 5 gallon bucket on our Broll (Bucket Roller). Bonnie steadied the rock, while I pulled the cart to the car. We only dumped it a couple times; each time stopping, and hoisting it back into the stretched bucket. It’s amazing what greed will make a person do.
Hunting with Friends
Our new rockhound buddy Rayanne around the best of the day.
In the great out doors it seemed safe to rock hunt with others. We took some friends from our rock club around to some places for them to hunt. I can testify they too were greedy, filling up the back end of their pickup. We all had great fun, and tested our mettle in the rain.
We found some fine gem grade Prehnite, a few fine Copper Crystals, a limited supply of possible Greenstones, and a couple small Datolites.
The Swap meet at the Quincy Mine produced several Copper Agates, a couple fine Candy Striped Lakers, and much visiting with old friends at an Unsociable Distance.
There were a few of these around.Lots of these Chlorite-coated balls about. Gotta cut this one and see. It looks promisingThe one that looked promising above, turned out to be the best we found.Here’s the back.Another one, that maybe has life in itThis is often the case with Greenstones. You see some pattern, but it runs out.There are more possibilities.
Of course we also made a visit to the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum on the campus of Michigan Tech, to see all the specimens from the area that we drool over. The great colored Datolites (and huge too) are big favorites.
Centennial Datolite is one of the rarest.Bonnie practices unsocial Distancing.
All the campgrounds were totally filled, and continue to be, so if you go rock hung in the UP or Keweenaw, get reservations.
Fantastic sunsets. This one from the top of Brockway Mountain.
This year was a more restful visit than usual, but we still missed the Art Shows.
