Tag Archives: Agate

Lake Superior Agate Pendants and other Unusual Stones-On the Workbench

I’ve been cutting lots of recently acquired Lake Superior Agates since we arrived back from our winter in Arizona.

I suspect a couple fans will want this one.

A marvelous pastel Lake Superior Agate Pendant

I have to admit a recent Laker Pendant was put together right after cutting and polishing the stone. Sometimes a certain stone just make me eager to make something of it. The Laker I am speaking about has unusual banding and color; a tight reddish/brown fortification pattern in the top, and an entirely different pattern of wide white and peach banding on the bottom. The agate outdoes itself with this beautiful pink/peach. Pink Gold and Gold Gold wires enhance this nice stone.I named it Color-Wicking Lake Superior Agate Pendant.

Unusual Lakers like stirred Mocha

The second great Laker is an unusual dark carnelian with a pattern that looks like it was stirred in. The brown base agate bleeds though the white pattern creating a very rare yellow. The opposite side of the agate is eye-like.

Luna Agate found over 50 years ago.

Copper Crystal Cluster in float copper. A really amazing cabochon ready to be jewelry.

Picture Petrified Wood.

As a bonus I show you a couple of cabochons of Picture Petrified wood from near Holbrook, Arizona. Also a few other cabochons that will soon be jewelry.

I have been very busy cutting stones and sorting through my treasures from the Tucson shows. I’ll share my favorites as I get more!

Variscite from Utah is a beautiful pastel.

Another blog is in the works for the near future on the 20 0r so new mini Greenstone Pendants I have recently made. Thanks to all our blog readers.

Hallelujah Rockhounding

This sign leads to some awesome rock picking.

Some of the best rock pickin around.

My last blog mentioned Black Hat Trading in Deming, New Mexico. It is owned and operated by the Searcy Family, Jan, James and Jess. When we were in Quartzsite Bonnie talked with him and was intrigued because he said that he takes people out on field trips in the area, so she carefully kept the business card in case we came through the area again.

So, indeed we find ourselves in Deming, and we lucked out to come just when the Deming Rockhound Roundup was held. While we talked at the Black Hat Trading booth, he invited us to go over to his store and told me where to look for some agate I was after. I was lured by the promise of old Luna Agate. The Luna Agate turned out to be blue agate, not quite what I was after, but that didn’t matter, because I found lots of other stuff, including Fun!

Old buckets buried in the sand burrs. I hear that Angelic Note that is played when the heavens open up.

HALLELUJAH!!!!!

North of Deming, on Silver City Highway, you might overlook this if you didn’t know to look for it. As soon as you pull in the driveway the curiosity begins. The front of the shop is surrounded by crates that hold assorted local agates and rocks from the Big Diggins, Fluorite Hill, Baker Ranch, and other agate-rich hunting grounds. Of course there are lots of petrified wood, and assorted rhyolites including the local banded rhyolite bedrock. I was encouraged to “Go out back and check the buckets.” Certain buckets were off-limits, but when I went and took a look, the Hallelujah Chorus played in my head. I would rather hunt a bunch of old dirty buckets than take a chance at unfamiliar hunting grounds. (Besides, I have a bad leg…) Now let me tell you, I know these buckets had been sitting there for 2-3 years, because when I tried to move one, the bucket would disintegrate from UV deterioration. The buckets were filled with leaves and had sunk into the ground 2-3 inches. Hundreds of 5 gallon buckets, everywhere you looked, made this a roll of the dice as to which one to dig through. Rocks purchased from old collections were brought back and left in rows in the sand burr-infested grounds, waiting for future work. I kept an eye open for snakes, rodents, and unwelcome spiders before I stuck my hand in the buckets. Many of these were so dirty I couldn’t tell what they were until I sprayed them with water.

One bucket to set on is a good idea.

My cursory search produced some great cutting and jewelry making material, both from local sources and around the world. Since this was old material I expected to find some quality local rocks that were picked up many years ago before I was not disappointed when I found some nice banded agate from the Big Diggings, some bryzoa material, colorful petrified wood and chrysocolla. I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, and the good quality. I had one bucket to sit on, one to sort into as I moved down through the buckets in front of me and another for the rocks I wanted to purchase. I had lots of fun, but I limited myself to one bucket to go home with me. When you have already been to Quartzsite, Tucson, Deming’s Rockhound Roundup, the RV is pretty loaded.

I was not in the market, but if you wanted to buy a big rock for your rock garden, wow, this would be a fun place to shop. Bonnie asked what time of year to come back to see their flowers in bloom, as this was clearly not the peak season for this, but May-June would be great. Meantime while I was digging through dirty buckets Bonnie was studying and shopping inside where they had an extensive bead room, and lots of kumihimo supplies and other bead findings. And they do classes on several beading topics, so it sounds like an inviting place to spend a while!

If you are in that area, go to Black Hat Trading. This is the kind of rock shop that a TV network might visit if they were doing a reality show on “Rockin’ Rock Shops”, with a family of rockhounds, an old timer, a shop full of equipment, outside piles to explore and a store full of treasures. Can it get any better?

Rockhound Roundup-Deming NM

Sparse crowds seen upon opening.

Slab Tubs are always worth a look.

Outside tables were loaded with rocks.

I love Amazonite.

Black Hat Trading's display.

A display featuring a large, rare, Keswick Agate from Iowa.

I love this picture. "How do you make spheres Mr.?").

Rare Earth Treasures. Jeff Anderson has great Agates.

Dwarves Earth Treasures. Jeff Anderson has great Agates.

The Deming Gem & Mineral Society’s 49th Annual Rockhound Roundup opened this morning. Guided field trips began at 8am with hunts at Big Diggings, Baker Ranch, and Fluorite Ridge. The Gem and Mineral Show is at the SW New Mexico Fairgrounds with vendors both inside two permanent fair buildings and outside on the grounds. Vendors sold rough rock, slabs, cabs, beads, jewelry, machinery and other assorted rock-related items. We leisurely browsed the entire show and found a few slabs and rough rocks from which I will make handcrafted jewelry.

Crowd was low, but should pick up for the weekend. There were some great displays sponsored by club members. We had a pleasant time chatting with vendors and learning from veteran rock hounds. One gentleman from whom I purchased slabs said he had been cutting rock since 1946. I don’t think too many people can say that! We saw our friend and fellow club member Jeff Anderson, his business Dwarves Earth Treasures focuses on agates, and seemed to be the busiest booth in the outside area, with a large assortment of agates.

Bonnie bought some pieces of a new stone, Jessite Agate which was recently featured in Lapidary Journal. I talked with a fellow who said he has been cutting stone since 1947. How many people can claim that? i got a few slabs from him. As you might expect several vendors featured turquoise and chrysocolla from this area, and some folks had some very nice jewelry made with them which we admired. I loved a chunk of red dinosaur bone, but passed on it since I have a good supply. A local dealer that we have seen in Quartzsite and Tucson (Black Hat Trading) had one of the biggest displays, and he encouraged us to visit his business before we leave town.

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The Rockhound Roundup in a few hours and we really enjoyed the warm New Mexico weather. While we were there a friend sent us a picture of his truck and the snowbanks on either side dwarfing it. Perhaps we will never go home to Michigan! Next weekend is another rock show in Albequerque, and since we are headed that way, can we stand another rock show? Duh…

Tucson Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Shows 2014-Why It Pays To Be an Old Rockhound.

At the entrance to the Holidome tents. No photos allowed inside.

A high grade Turquoise boulder at a Holiday Inn Room.

Where should we go today? This is our coversation over coffee each morning. Today the Holidome show opened. This is a typical hotel show in some ways, but the addition of two big tents add the trade show feel as well. Last year the aisles were so narrow we had trouble with getting by other buyers and especially the “bead ladies” with their large wheeled suitcases in tow. (sometimes the Bead Ladies are really Bead Men, but the oversize luggage is the key identifier.) This year there is an additional connected tent, allowing wider aisles. One lady today insisted the shuttle drop her off on the sidewalk because her suitcase was 150# and the small wheels were useless on the peastone surface.

We first sought to replenish our jewelry chain supply and were able to find some high quality chains of assorted styles and sizes. This is a long and complicated procedure, getting some of this length and that, then moving to another thickness or pattern, then changing metals–silver, rose gold, yellow gold. After you select them, then comes the weighing and the wrapping and the paying. Chains are not so fun to deal with, Bonnie tells me. I really try to stay away.

We scooted through a lot of aisles, skipping past so much finished jewelry and slowing down to look over really nice cabochons or unusual displays.

Good Boulder Opal reasonable.

Walking the aisles we only bought a couple boulder opals. After a few days of busy purchasing it was good to lighten up. The favorite sculpture of the day (again, sorry no pics!) was three parrots carved from Blue Peruvian Opal and perched on top of a large quartz specimen. Memorable.

Randon rocks from the tailgate.

We found some vendors tailgating and we stopped to look. I found an interesting tub of rocks. While I was searching through a tub for treasures, Bonnie mosied (as she says) chatting up people. She likes to scout around and see if I have missed anything good. After I made the deal on my bag of rock, Bonnie said I should look at what one elderly gentleman had.

Old Luna from 50 years ago.

My jaw dropped when I saw he had old stock Luna Agate. I recognized this stuff from years ago. This material was acquired from an estate of an old rockhound (old meaning 103 when he died–maybe rockhunting is a healthy hobby!) who collected in Mexico over 60 years ago. The vendor said people had been walking right by, without even looking at his rare and extinct material. He knew what he had, and I knew what he had, so I did not object to the price. I would have bought it all had my pockets been deep enough. I give Bonnie credit for finding this little pile of treasure. We sure had fun pawing through his pile and trying to figure out which agate pieces would be the best.

A great slab at the Fossil Show

dactyloceras plate

We went to the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at the Ramada Inn. Not much was happening there. Some vendors had left or were packing even though this show is open until the 15th. The most interesting, high on the awesome scale were fish plates. Leaning against the second floor balcony from the ground up they were a large eye-catching display waiting for a great location, not in your average house. Bob Finney of Fossil Lake Fish Company gave me a card with the story. Another impressive but smaller plate was next to it with a fern and fossil fish swimming in the fossiliferous sediments. I’ve never seen a larger fossil plate. If you have a fat wallet ($150,000) and an oversize wall you could use this striking fossil centerpiece.

A real Giant of a fish plate with a giant price.

fishfern

These specimens came from southwestern Wyoming and formed 50 millions years ago. The Fossil Lake was around 930 miles, so many geologic features and fossils are being unearthed there. Lots of fossils from around the world are shown at this show.

I see a lot of younger attendees at these shows, rapidly scurrying here and there, as well as the more seasoned veterans, a bit slower, but a bit wiser as to choices they make and knowledge they bring to their choices. It is sort of like the tortoise and the hare race, the early bird might get the worm, but sometimes slow and steady wins the race. That was the case with me today. This is not the first time this has happened. My advice to younger rock hounds is to slow down, look around, and chat with the older folks who have been doing this awhile!

Look what I found in a box at Gary Wilson's booth. Yes a Keweenaw Point Datolite no one else identified.

Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows 2014-Hot buys and Hot Miners

A nice group of Raptors. Triebold Paleontology always Impresses.

Another Triebold Specimen: This one a Thescelosaurus Neglectus (65 million years ago)

We were really excited today to get on with our buying and exploring at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows. There are some 41 official shows and several bandit shows scattered all over Tucson. They open and close at various times. You need a show guide (a large catalog) that lists the locations of shows, dealers, and dates for shows. Some shows require dealer ID, while others are Wholesale/Retail.

Buckets of Turquoise at J.O.G.S.

Turquoise Bead picking.

The J.O.G.S. Show opened at the Tucson Expo Center and we were near the front of the line. We were not really looking for anything in particular, so we Freestyled, looking for things we did not know we needed. Bonnie looked at, and purchased some beads. We look for quality and bargains, but were conservative in our purchases. The crowds were not large, but people were spending some money. I would call the J.O.G.S. show “busy”.

I saw buckets of Turquoise in the usual spot, some nice cabochons and much gem material. Perhaps pictures were frowned upon, but I ask several dealers, and they said I could take a picture. One dealer that we deal with every year again had great stuff. I purchased a Moss Agate cabochon and a wonderful slab of Maw Sit Sit.

Maw Sit Sit from Burma (Now Myanmar)

Maw Sit Sit is a cousin of Jade, but not really Jade. It is considered a rock and not a mineral. You can look it up on line. A very interesting stone indeed. Good stuff is also quite valuable. I looked over on the counter and saw three pieces of Elbite Tourmaline. Are you kidding three pieces of fairly good Tourmaline for a give-away price? This must be a mistake. It was not. The largest piece was 2 1/2″ X 1 1/4″. The buy of the day.

Blakes Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

Blake Brothers' Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

I saw a very intimidating guard at the Blake Brother’s booth.

A scary skull available for purchase. Bumblebee is not jasper. It is a sulfur rich volcanic Tuft from Indonesia. It can be made into some very colorful Bumblebee jewelry.

We proceeded on to the 22nd Street Show. Last year we were promised an additional tent and a paved lot, but that did not happen. Half the show was fossils and dinosaurs, and the other half random gems, jewelry, cabs, and carvings. If your kids are into dinosaurs, do take them here!

Amanda Adkins has to be the "hottest" Miner around.

The entire cast of the Weather Channel Show “The Prospectors” was there. I asked Amanda Adkins for a picture. She graciously agreed. She is very tough on the show, but very nice in person. It doesn’t hurt the eyes to see her either. I enjoy the show and everyone was taking turns in the booth and selling their wares from Colorado.

A great Dendritic Agate I could not resist.

Tourmaline for four bucks. Nice buy Don.

Tourmaline bargain. Nice buy Don.

Smilodon Skull and Petrified Wood.

Check in tomorrow for more adventures from the Tucson rock shows.

Quartzsite-Let’s See What We Got

Olivenite-Caution should be taken with this stuff as it is a Copper Arsenate.

Cheetah Jasper with Apatite inclusions.

Returning to Tucson after 2 1/2 days exploring the Desert Gardens Show and several other locales around Quartzsite, we re-lived our adventures by taking a close look at our spoils.

A few of the very fine Imperial Jasper slabs I selected.

Cobra Stone-India. Some is wet so you can see the color better.

Cobra Stone-India (AKA Coquina Jasper). Some is wet so you can see the color better.

There were several slabs I picked out from at least that many dealers. One was an interesting stone from India called “Cobra Stone”. By looking at it you can see why it got its’ name. In actuality the reddish matrix is filled with a multitude of clams. When the stone is oriented and cut the little clams look like cobras.

I also mentioned the scarce crystal Rhodocrosite from Argentina I stumbled across. There is some left, but I picked the top pieces I saw. You can still find this beautiful pink material around, but is is uncommon. Generally a story comes with a rock purchase. With this Rhodocrosite we were told that Chinese bought the Rhodocrosite Mine from an unwilling to sell miner. The wrote him a check for so much money, he just walked away. The

Crystal Rhodocrosite ( color not enhanced)

Chinese converted this mine into an open pit operation in search of precious metals and rare earth minerals, doing so much damage, and violating so many mining rules, that they got evicted. In the meantime their dynamite destroyed a wonderful gemstone mine.

Coprolite-Yes I did indeed buy this crap.

I found some great Apatite-included Cheetah jasper at T-Rocks. This is actually spoil rock from the Brazilian Apatite Mines. It used to be just left in the discard pile until someone realized what great cutting material it is. The rock varies widely in color and pattern, but nice Cheetah Pattern is what most look for. The beautiful Apatite is a bonus.

Condor. The colors were classic Condor. Some of this is damp, but the Az sun just dried the slabs off immediately.

I bought a couple pieces of Condor Agate. I usually am not excited by most of this stuff, but occasionally I find such beautiful coloration that it just screams “CONDOR”. I found these two pieces, out of the whole box, begged me to pick them out.

Pickings were very good, but there were no crowds. Maybe shoppers are waiting for the week end.

All these rocks we bought with the plan of turning them into the top-quality wire wrapped stone jewelry that we sell. You might not be able to see it yet, but come back over future months to see the results! Like us on Facebook to keep up with new items and all our blogs from Tucson.

A nice slab of Purple Opal (AKA Bertrandite, AKA Tiffany Stone)

Some of the deluxe Aventurine from near Pikes Peak.

Some of the deluxe Amazonite from near Pikes Peak.

A fist sized piece of superb Chrysocolla picked from the 60# I found at the Desert Gardens Show.

Favorite Rhodochrosite and Jasper Jewelry

At our outdoor art shows shoppers generally look close up at several pieces before they make their selection. On the web it is a bit difficult to flip from page to page and remember sizes and features, so using our ability to look at several at a time, this blog will be about some of Bonnie’s favorites. I write mostly about jewelry from our Michigan stones, the Lake Superior Agates, Greenstone (chlorastrolite), Datolite, and Prehnite, so today I will focus on some other great stones.

Beautiful pink Rhodocrosite

Rhodochrosite is one of those stones that Bonnie gravitates to every time she sees it. In fact that is true about Turquoise, Variscite, and Sonoran Sunrise. These Rhodochrosite Jewelry choices have very pink color with banding, the favorites are Red Ridge and Banded Heart Rhodochrosite Pendants. They are both beautiful pinkish-red, though the colors in their photos look more orangish. If you love rhodo, you’ll love these.

Queensland Agate boasts the most beautiful pastels in the agate world.

Amazing variety in Queensland Agate,

Queensland Agate jewelry is lovely because of the candy colors that are available. A strand of beads Bonnie bought looks like a bunch of jelly beans. The Yellow Banded, Pink Banded and Orange Blossom Queensland Agate Pendants show the great variety of pastel colors that you can enjoy. Bonnie loves them all!

A pair of Biggs Jasper (bottom), and Paintbrush Jasper (top)

Picture Jasper is a less colorful stone, but makes distinctive jewelry because of the one-of-a-kind pictures that you might get if you are lucky when you cut the stone. Mountain Valley Picture Jasper Pendant and Tree Lines Hills Picture Jasper Pendant are two great examples, both of them are Biggs picture jasper. Conjuring Image is a picture, but comes from Paint Brush Jasper. It looks like a pond edged by trees to me. Since there are so many jaspers, these are grouped together under Jasper.

Ocean Jasper in now extinct, but it is the amazing in both patterns and colors.

So, Ocean Jasper could be on that page, but because there are so many of them, they got their own category. And because it has been more readily available than some other stones, they are some of the more economical jewelry pieces. A favorite (remember my wife is a flower gardener) is Ocean Jasper Flowers Pendant, The size is large enough to command attention, the colors are very neutral, with the obicular pattern is enhanced by flower petals! Eternal Pink Ocean Jasper Pendant and Ocean Jasper Arrowhead Pendant are a couple of the other good ones, and show the diversity of colors available in this stone.

owl

To finish today’s list of favorite stone jewelry, Bonnie picked “The Owl”, a cabochon of rhyolite that inspired me to play with the wire a bit. A good choice for someone who loves owls, or who lives life playfully!

Canadian Rocks and Jewelry

Michipicoten Agate with Amethyst. A rare Lake Superior Agate, I call this Samethyst because of the salmon color and amethyst center.

I met my new good friend John when he called me based on seeing my Snob Appeal Jewelry website. John said he had acquired an old collection of Canadian rocks and minerals. I was immediately interested when he described some of his treasures, including a quantity of Michipicoten Island Agates that were removed over 70 years ago.

Michipicoten Agate with Moss.

John's wife loved this pretty pink picture in this Michipicoten. What an unusual Lake Superior Agate pendant!

Michipicoten Island is now a Provincial Park, but 70 years ago it was not. Provincial Parks in Canada are the equivalent to National Parks in the U.S., and are protected. Collecting rocks today can get you in big legal trouble. The Michipicoten Agates are not rare on the island, but cannot be taken.

Michipicoten Agates formed in very fluid basalt and are an oval shape, rather than round, and formed in pockets. Like other Lake Superior Agates, they are varied in colors and types, coming in all sizes, types, and colors. Some that are not this oval shape look more like carrots, and are locally referred to as “Carrot Agates”. Some will make great jewelry, and some are better as specimens.

I am still trying to figure out what exactly this Green Mystery Rock is called.

Although I don’t live far from Canada, I am not very familiar with Canada’s rock and minerals. Additionally some of the material I’m running across was collected over 50 years ago. These older pieces often are from played out locations. Sometimes a familiar rock looks quite different from the specimens that can be seen today.

The Mystery rock sure makes spectacular jewelry.

One of these special Canadian rocks is beautiful green with Amphibole type (needle-like) crystallization. I sliced the rock into slabs and put it up on a Lapidary Facebook Group I belong to. Many guesses were made, but this rock seems to be a combination of minerals. I suspect it is a Chlorite with Quartz. I am taking the mystery green rock to the Seaman Mineral Museum to see if I can get a better identification.

Another interesting rock was a Rhodonite that had flowing pastel blues throughout it. You can certainly find Rhodonite today, but I usually see it with black inclusions, not pastel blue!

Pastel colors abound in this Rhodonite.

I expect this is Prehnite with Copper Inclusions is similar to the Patricianite we find in the Keweenaw.

John also had a copper-included rock similar to the Patricianite found in the Keweenaw, but not as pretty as the Keweenaw material. I had not seen the copper-included rocks in Canada, so this was interesting to me.

I found flower type formations in Calcite, as well as other, what I suspect, is Prehnite flowers in another rock. These are pretty and intriguing. I can’t keep my saws and grinders going fast enough!

I suspect these are Prehnite Flowers.

These flowers are in Calcite. I have not figured out what these red, Canadian, included material is.

John and I hit is off, so I expect I will go rock hunting with him next spring. I’m looking forward to finding new and unusual rocks in the Canadian wilds.

Greenstone, Lake Superior Agates, and Custom Jewelry

I have been working on custom orders that mostly came from shows we did in the Upper Peninsula. These projects are always fun, as customers bring in Agates, Greenstones, and other U.P. rocks with ideas for jewelry.

The sister's Greenstones

After sitting in a drawer for 25 years, a pair of small Greenstones were rescued by Katherine and Judy. The Greenstones were already cut and polished, but needed a little extra work and TLC to bring them up to the standards they deserved. These lively sisters (and long-time customers) brought these stones to me and requested a wrap with “all gold and a fancy top”. A nice size for a Greenstone pendant, they converted into gorgeous jewelry . I love doing jewelry that has sentimental value, and these were not the only pieces of this nature I made this trip.

A custom piece for Nancy. Lake Superior Agate

Our buddy Nancy and her family have been long time lovers of our jewelry. She annually brings Lakers, and other interesting local gemstones, in for me to evaluate and make into pendants or polish. Nancy’s husband found what looked like a rather ordinary Lake Superior Agate (although large for a local stone), but when I cut the stone, it turned out to be a fantastic surprise. The reason the Lake Superior Agate is my favorite gemstone is the wide variations in pattern, colors, and types. The stone Nancy gave me was a mostly white, crack free, laker. I (and Nancy) were delighted with this stone. What makes this one special is the sentimental value that her husband actually found it. A great project. Thanks Nancy.

Shirley's Greenstone Geode. This one 1 3/4" across. I cannot believe someone would glue this in a spoon.

Our long-time friend Shirley has one of the most eclectic collections of my jewelry. She believes in supporting local artists, and loves U.P. rocks and minerals. I have fun sometimes in my shop when I see a certain stone, cut it, and immediately get a feeling that Shirley would like this stone. I make a pendant and when I get to a show where I know Shirley will appear immediately when the show opens, so I hide this special pendant (in plain sight) in my local pendant case. Shirley’s sharp eye and discrimination tastes, invariably spots this special pendant. The next time I see it, it’s around her neck.

This year she found a Greenstone Geode at another booth. The vendor had made a pendant with the stone glued into a spoon. I know, why would anyone do this? Shirley wanted me to free the Greenstone from the spoon and make a pendant from it. I had fun making a big, bold pendant. She likes Big, Bold, Pendants; she was very pleased with the finished results. This is a real one-of-a-kind..

Greenstone in matrix I found at a vendor booth.

The Greenstone pendant I made from that rock.This pendant is almost 3" tall. That's a biggun folks.

I found another Greenstone, entrapped in matrix, at the same vendor’ booths, and made a cash exchange with him. I put together a unisex pendant, and expect to wear it myself until someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse.

Before we went to the Keweenaw, I took a side trip to Canada to look at a rock collection. I bartered jewelry (plus some cash) for some of this large collection. One of the rocks was gorgeous;

A close-up view of a beautiful, odd, mystery rock. If you know what this is, let me know.

green and white in color, and even though it has been posted on the Lapidary Facebook site, no one has positively ID’s it. I made a pendant for John, the collection’s owner, and will make more jewelry in the future. My Facebook friends are hovering to get some of this stuff, but I think I will retain the 7 or 8 slabs I have until it is positively ID’d. It has the chatoyancy of Victoria Stone, and the color and starlike quality of chlorastrolite, but much bigger. Some of the material in this collection was obtained 75 years ago, so no telling what this is. It has been a fun research though.

Bonnie's Garden.

Amethyst in a salmon colored Laker. I called this one "Samethyst"

Our 36th Wedding Anniversary was last month. In honor of that and Bonnie’s love of gardening, I created a U.P. Thomsonite Pendant that I called “Bonnie’s Garden”. It is now in her private collection.

I have to show you a couple Laker’s I recently completed for our inventory. One is a red and white “Candy Striper” which is always a popular color combo, and one a rare Salmon colored Laker with Amethyst. Every amethyst Lake Superior Agate necklace I do sells as soon as I put it out!

It is not too early to start thinking of Christmas, especially if you have custom work for me. Now is the time to get your special stone to me; so I have time to do it justice.

Now is also the time to check out this website for special Christmas gifts.

There is so much happening right now with our business. We have grown every year, and expect 2014 will be no different. We try to treat our customers as friends, and if you order from us, like our website and/or like us on Facebook, you too can be kept up to date on all our adventures and jewelry. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

A "Candy Stripe" Laker with tubes.

Snoopy and the Red Agate

I haven’t written an “On the Workbench” blog in some time, but I thought I would let you see what I’ve done with some of the stuff I brought back from the shows in Arizona. Check the back blogs to review.

Bumblebee Jasper is not really a Jasper. Finding bright orange Bumblebee is uncommon.

One of the things that seemed all over Tucson this year was Bumblebee Jasper. This orange and black (but usually yellow and black) rock comes from Volcanic vents on the island of Bali in Indonesia. It is a mis-nomer to refer to Bumblebee as Jasper. It is neither Jasper, nor is it an Agate. The rock is in reality an Anhydrite/Sulfur/Hematite with welded volcanic tuft (ash). This stuff varies widely in hardness and contains many hole and flaws, so it is tricky to make a decent gemstone. It is also hard to find bright orange. The pendant I made looks like an evil mask. The stone was so flashy it did not need a fancy wrap.

Keswick Agate

I cut a Keswick Agate from Keswick, Iowa, leaving quite a bit of ordinary Quartz on the side. This was intentional. I envisioned using some of my wire over the Quartz to really enhance the eye-like pattern of the Agate. A plain wrap, like I did on the Bumblebee, would not work with the Keswick. Keswick Agate is difficult to obtain and good Keswick is hard to find.

Picture Petrified Wood from near Holbrook, Arizona

Picture Petrified Wood comes from near Holbrook, Arizona. One of our oldest and dearest friends sells Petoskey Stones in Tucson. She wanted a pendant and swapped me some of her Dendritic Picture Wood for making this pendant for her.

Faceted Aquamarine and Amethyst; simply wrapped;simply beautiful.

I wrapped a really fine faceted Aquamarine as well as another of Amethyst. I wrapped these so they can flip over while being worn.

Thomsonite of this quality is always popular.

The Keweenaw Peninsula and Grand Marais, Minnesota both supply the beautiful Ziolite, Thomsonite. Dark eyed Thomsonite from the north shore is the most coveted. I was just mindlessly looking around the AGTA (American Gem Trade Association) show and happened to glance down a side isle and spot a couple trays in the bottom of a display case. My eye immediately focused in on a Thompsonite. I could not believe such a gemstone would exist in a show full of common Diamonds, Rubies, and Sapphires. This one even has copper inclusions.

I asked the lady at the booth if I could look at the two trays. In a humorous manner she said, “Oh, you want to look in my junk box?” I for sure wanted to get at that “junkbox”, and found several other treasures as well as this Thomsonite.

When the dealer dropped and broke one of my Malachite slices, I immediately thought of earrings to go with the bullseye pendant.

I could not help but purchase a perfect slice of Bullseye Malachite. I dislike cutting this stuff, but put my mask and gloves on, and went to it. What a great Pendant I made from the cab. The earrings came from the second slice off the same rock, but the owner of the business dropped it on the floor at checkout, and the slab broke in half. He gave me the two pieces, so I used them. I hate wasting good material.

Snoopy?

Speaking of Malachite, I saw Snoopy in a piece. Cool stuff.

Watermelon Tourmaline

Not much bigger than a dime, two other fantastic little pendants of Watermelon Tourmaline and Montana Agate called me. I have seldom seen a small agate with such a fantastic natural picture. Watermelon Tourmaline is the most coveted breed of this gemstone. Good Tourmaline, like this one, are always popular, no matter the price.

A small Montana Agate with a "big sky" picture.

Yellow Cat

Cardinal Candy: Another rare red Yellow Cat.

Yellow Cat Petrified wood is from remote regions of Utah, and was used by Tiffany back in the day. Yellow Cat is the brightest red of any petrified wood. It is really an amazing and scarce agate. I was very excited to see some at one of the Tucson Shows. The dealer told me people walked by his supply all day; not recognizing it for what it was. I am happy my mind is full of knowledge on many rare rocks.

You hardly ever see Blue Lace Agate Drusy.

Bonnie is especially fond of Blue Lace Agate. Imagine her thrill when I found some Blue Lace Drusy. Drusy means it contains pockets full of millions of tiny Quartz Crystals. This one I made into a designer cut beauty.

The workbench and the shop are still busy. I am so pleased with all the jewelry grade rocks I obtained out west, and am still exceedingly busy and thrilled about making a new crop of jewelry. I also enjoy sharing with you guys.