Tag Archives: Copper Country Stones

Patricianite (or not!)

Apple Green Prehnite appears as vein material in some mine spoil piles from Calumet north. Normally it has fine Native Copper inclusions. This is some of the “Chunky” variety of Prehnite mixes. Notice that this material forms in veins, as does Patricianite, in most cases.

Before I can address how to identify Patricianite, I have to address the main ingredient–Prehnite. Prehnite occurs generally in vein material in many of the mine waste piles in the central Keweenaw Peninsula area from Calumet north to Copper Harbor. Prehnite is formed in veins and cavities in Keweenaw basalts, and is associated with other Keweenaw Minerals, including Calcite, Datolite, Chlorastrolite (Greenstone), Quartz, and Zeolites. It is also closely associated with Native Copper.

Typical Prehnite Mixes and Patricianite Beach Pebbles. These pebbles often have Copper inclusions and beautiful radiating eyes, similar to Thomsonite, hence the local name of U.P.Thomsonite is commonly mentioned.

Patricianite and Prehnite, from the Keweenaw Peninsula, come in both smooth or chunky, just like peanut butter. Smooth beach pebbles of White, Pink, and Green are not uncommon finds in the Keweenaw, The pastel colors often appear stirred together. Chunky Prehnite or Patricianite are found in the mine spoil piles, roads, or secret holes near Thomsonite Hill. The forest roads sometimes produce nice Prehnite mixes. Here’s a secret; some of the Prehnites appear white, and is often passed over on these forest roads. The colors and patterns are hidden under this thin rind and are not visable until this rind is removed.

Patricianite is a special variety of Prehnite, named by Rosendahl, in 1966, after his daughter Patricia Ann. Green Prehnite with inclusions is not considered Patricianite. In order to have Patricianite, you must three ingredients: 1. Pink Prehnite; 2. Chlorite; and 3. Visable Copper Inclusions. If any of these three elements are not visable, you do not have patricianite. (pink prehnite is light apple green prehnite containing microscopic specks of copper that have changed the green Prehnite to pink shades). The more Copper in the mix, the darker pink; I have found a few Prehnite pieces that are actually Maroon from so much Copper. If you hold these pieces in the sunlight the massive ammount of micro-copper is very evident.

I usually like to write a new blog and have it published close to the first of the month. I wanted to write about Patricianite, but I could not find a good piece anywhere. If you have so many rocks, you can’t find A rock, perhaps you have too many rocks; NOT! While searching for a nice piece of Patricianite, lo and behold, I discovered some amazing Datolite. Now I’ve become distracted by the Datolite I forgot I had. While looking through the old Datolite, I found a small slab of PATRICIANITE. At a glance, Patricianite can look like Datolite, that’s why it was there. So amazing things lost years ago (can something be lost, it you don’t know it’s lost?), were found today. Now, even though Greenstone is being worked in the shop, the Datolite is calling.

The pebbles of Prehnite found on the beaches, are generally a combination of beautiful apple green, pink, white, and other colors which appear stored together (smooth), while the mine spoil piles produce chunky seam Prehnite. Usually the seams aren’t much more then an inch wide, and if you are lucky, you can find gem green Prehnite visibly peppered with copper. Prehnite in these seams seems to form from both sides of the seams, and either meets in the middle of the seam, or there may be a gap right down the middle of the seam. Bubbly, boitrioidal, Prehnite is also found on the spoil piles. This Prehnite is translucent and has a vitreous luster. If you find one of these, you have a great specimen.

There was so much Copper in this Prehnite that the stone was Maroon. Patricianite?; Some call this Patricianite, but not the classic mix.

Prehnite with copper and Chlorite. No Pink, so this isnot Patricianite.

A beautiful pink and white Prehnite cab, but no evidence of Chlorite. Copper IS in there, but I can see no Chlorite.

A close-up of the previous cab, reveals visible Copper, but I see no Chlorite. I believe this is Patricianite, but I would not argue the point. That Chlorite has to be in there, doesn’t it? Under magnification that triangle in there looks loke a Pseudomorph of Aragonite, doesn’t it?

Copper and Patricianite mix, but green so Not Patricianite.

This is Patricianite; all the right ingredients and more.

Prehnite in the Keweenaw is sometimes referred to as UP Thomsonite. People used to think Prehnite was a form of Thomsonite until testing by Michigan Tech proved that it was not. Prehnite can have eyes, and radiating crystals similar to Thomsonite, but Prehnite is not a Zeolite, as is Thomsonite. TRIVIA: Prehnite is the first modern mineral named after a person. You can read about this on one of my previous blogs. https://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/can-you-make-jewelry-from-keweenaw-prehnite/

Prehnite is a favorite stone to make Keweenaw Stone Jewelry from, the shiny copper bits and pink and green color variations make it interesting and popular. High quality, gemmy Patricianite and Prehnite are highly prized for jewelry and collecting. Visit our Prehnite Jewelry page.

See other jewelry from Keweenaw rocks and minerals: Greenstone, Datolite, Firebrick, Mohawkite, Thomsonite, Lake Superior Agates.

Just as an aside; In order to do the research for this article I happily dug into my collection of old Rock & Mineral books. Every time I do this, I pick up little known and forgotten facts. I was reading “Rocks and Mineral of Michigan” published by the State of Michigan Department of Conservation (now the Department of Natural Resources; DNR) in 1939. It was so old it referred to MSU as Michigan State College, and MTU as Michigan College of Mining and Technology. I’ve got to re-read this book and perhaps find a new rock hunting area lost in the past.

Brockway Mountain Agate Treasures

View from the Copper Harbor Lookout on Brockway Mountain Drive. Mid 1930’s

History is not really my favorite subject, I am more of a rock guy. I will tell you about hunting for Brockway Mountain agates, but first I will show you some historic pictures of the area.

I married into a family of historians. Bonnie’s parents collected many things, including postcards from 1930 through 1960. While she was looking through their old cards she discovered several that depict the Keweenaw when it looked a bit different. Some pictures from 1935 of Brockway Mountain were especially interesting, considering what it looks like 80 years later. I enjoyed looking back and comparing it with the area as it is today.

View from the Copper Harbor Lookout today. Really it is surprisingly similar to the earlier pictures. How many other areas as beautiful as this are not cluttered with huge mansions and gated communities or condos?

From the 1950’s, This sign welcomed people to the Keweenaw. The “Copper Country Vacationist League’ was the forrunner to the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Mid 1930’s. The trees are bigger today. You can see the top of Brockway Mountain in the distance.

From the mid-1930s, shortly after Brockway Mountain Drive was completed, you could see Lake Fanny Hooe on the right and Copper Harbor on the left. The trees frame this view today.

Thanks to the persistence of many folks, the mountain was saved from private development and access was retained for the public. What a loss that would have been!

Making jewelry on the mountain top while waiting for the sunset.

I made this Firebrick Beauty on the mountain

The sunsets from the top of Brockway Mountain have to be some of the most spectacular sunsets on earth.

I shared my secret hole with a couple of my best rockhounding buddies. Chris Cooper and I.

You finding anything in that hole Gary (Gary Katt)?

Looking for agate seams

During the constuction of Brockway Mountain Drive, many large egg-shaped agates were found. The inside of these were pretty much colorless Quartz. Very few had any banding except near the crust. I had one in my collection, did not know what it was, cut it and found the Quartz. In recent years I did some digging in the hard rock, opened a hole that has been very productive. You can see this in the videos.

Close up of an agate seam in matrix

A nice nodule collected

Don’t these Keweenaw agates look nice when they are washed?

State law limits collecting to 25 pounds per year now. When this was collected no limit was in place.

THE FOLLOWING MOVIES ARE REAL; AS THEY HAPPENED; WITH NO CAMERA TRICKS OR EDITING. ENJOY!! I just thought they’d be more exciting with disclaimers.

Today, further down the Mountain, some nice Seam Agate can be found. This agate is referred to as Keweenaw Agate, Ledge Agate, or Brockway Mountain Agate. This Lake Superior Agate is often opaque and peachy colored, but some have nice banding. Many diggers, including me, have secret glory holes on Brockway. I have told a few rockhounds I trust to keep a secret and hope they find good Brockway Mountain Agates.

A prime example of Keweenaw Agate, also called Ledge Agate.

Opaque Ledge Agate from Brockway Mountain.

As you can see from my pictures and videos I love the Keweenaw and the gemstones that come from that area. If you like these stones, I invite you to purchase our pendants either as gifts or for yourself. They are great reminders of Brockway Mountain, Copper Harbor, Eagle Harbor, and other copper mining areas. Visit our selections of Lake Superior Agate jewelry, Michigan and Isle Royale Greenstone jewelry, Firebrick, Mohawkite, Prehnite, Datolite, Thomsonite today.

Making Custom Great Lakes Stone Jewelry

Among our Great Lakes stone jewelry pieces, every year one or two pendants stand out as very special. One extraordinary stone pendant this year was a triple segmented pendant of three semiprecious gemstones from the Great Lakes area. A gorgeous Minnesota Thomsonite, a Keweenaw silver nugget, and a copper-filled Keweenaw Datolite show off the great influence of metals in stone through this fancy piece. The photo does not do it justice. In person, it shines in many directions and swings freely, and the pinks in the top and bottom complement each other.

This special piece was custom made for a most discriminating customer. Annually she searches through my inventory to find my best new pendants. Also she picks out stones that fit her bold and eclectic tastes, offering design challenges in the late summer and allowing me to create something very special over the winter months. She is an advocate of Michigan artists as well as loving Michigan stones and the great jewelry that can come from Great Lakes stones.

Great Lakes Stone Jewelry

You can see that the size of this pendant is big and bold; this one is around five inches in length. The silver nugget was most likely picked from a mine ore crusher many years ago somewhere in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The Thomsonite was an inch tall and even wider, and dug in Grand Marais Minnesota years ago before the famous Thomsonite site was filled and and a park was created. The Datolite with loads of copper inclusions, was located on the Delaware Mine waste piles, making the entire pendant from places no longer existing. Most of these stones I’ve had for many, many years.

In order to make these large, multi-stone pendants, I think freedom or movement in the pendant is vitally important for comfortable wearing. When sitting, the pendant conforms to the different body positions.

Next year’s Extraordinary Pendant is being designed and, to be honest, I do not yet have the perfect stones. I’ve been feverishly searching my stash. I am not satisfied yet.

Recently I have created several custom pieces for other customers, and I can create one for you. I’ll work with your stones or mine. Christmas is approaching fast. Please think of us for your gifting needs.

Here are a couple custom pieces I’ve recently done from customer stones.

From one jasper a customer found on a romantic getaway. I love these nostalgic pieces.

A beautifully, customer cut CZ. It was a big faceted stone. The wire wrap challenge was matching the carefully calibrated stone with the wraps. The flowing design in the top directed the eye down into the stone. Michael’s wife will wear this on a romantic cruise in the near future.

You can see earlier examples of our Custom Work.

See a recent bridal set at Custom Rock Cutting,Lapidary and Wire Jewelry, Created Just for You!

Copper Banded Agates

Bonnie has a good hole dug, and is looking for little green nodules that may be Copper Agates.

I’m not too far away in my own hole.

After 20 years of searching the mine spoil piles in the Keweenaw, with great success, I have to admit one of my biggest blunders. I used to dig large holes in the what was left of the C&H pile, near Calumet, with my buddy Bill, looking for Datolites. At that time, if I came across a piece of copper while Datolite digging, I would keep it, but I would also find other Chlorite covered nodules, that we would call copper balls and just heave them out of the hole.

You would never believe whats may be inside these nodules.

Here’s the suprise.

Today these Chlorite covered nodules are coveted by collectors around the world. You guessed it–Many of these nodules we threw away were Copper Banded (Infused) Agates. Nobody knew at that time that these things would end up being valuable gemstones. Later I learned that my friend, the late John Perona and his brother knew about these agates for many years. Today, we also know that these special agates are found nowhere else in the world except in the Kearsarge Lode. The Powebic Lode to the South where the Quincy, Mesnard, and Franklin Mines resided, have not produced Copper Agates. You do not see Copper Agates in the rocks of the Fissure and Stratiform Deposits to the North either; so the Kearsarge Lode of the Calumet Conglomerate is very unique indeed.

Careful cutting is involved with these Copper Agates.

It’s been so many years that I forgot where my hole was, and the area has been tilled up a few times, so all those agates I threw out; who knows where they are. I actually looked for my old hole last time I was in the area. I clearly forgot where it was.

A diligent and alert Rockhound can still find Copper Agates in the Kearsarge Lode if they are willing to put in some work excavating and carefully observing the pieces of spoil rock that might contain nodules that read “hot” with a pinpoint metal detector. I enjoy sitting down and digging, especially in late August, after Black Fly season. It’s even better if it’s raining. These little balls of glory stand out a whole lot better in the rain. the usual scenario is you see a rock of rubble with nodules in it and try to extract them with tools.

How these agates formed is debatable, but the theory that makes the most sense is suggested by the Lynch brothers in their fine book Agates of Lake Superior. You’ll have to read the book to see what they say about Copper Infused Agates. I prefer that term over Copper Replacement Agates, but most of the time I just refer to them as “Copper Agates“.

My last trip involved some very successful Greenstone digging, but no Copper Agate hunting. I only had limited rock hunting time this trip, so I had to chose between Greenstones or Copper Agates.

Copper Agates are rarely really large, but some real sizable. Fully banded beauties, are sometimes found as large as a half dollar. I’m happy to find a dime sized one, but like Greenstones, a big hunker is very welcome, and always elicits a “WHOOP!”.

Here are most of those Cabochons from above turned intoÂ jewelry. All these are for sale at: www.snobappealjewelry.com

I do have miner friends in the area that usually have some Copper Agates for sale, so I always buy a few. I purchase these agates with the question; Can I make these better? If I believe that I can, I will take them home for a re-work before making jewelry. Most often Copper Agates are cut in half and sold as a pair, but often I take a pair and grind the rind off the outside where better banding may appear (or may not). Often, the odd shapes of these nodules do not allow working the outside rind, due to all the gaps and dips in the stones, so these I either work with what the slice has produced or just sell or trade these for specimens. Most Copper Agates are bought as specimens and not so much for jewelry.

The Kearsage Lode also produces small pastel, banded agates that have little of no copper in them, but are very fine; we refer to these as “mine agates”. When found these are also Chlorite covered, just as are the Copper Banded Agates. I take everything and sort them by removing the crust in my home shop.

I work Copper Agates using my soft wheels only with loads of water to keep them cool and, for proper lubrication, an additive is added to the water when cutting. Special grinding techniques are used also. I generally treat these Copper Infused Agates with a coating to make them tarnish resistant, rather than polishing them. The coating I use is one of my trade secrets.

I sell Copper Agate pendants on line, at art shows and within a mile of where I find them, at Copper World, in Calumet. The jewelry I make from these rare agates is spectacular, simply because the Copper Agates are spectacular. It seems as though Copper Banded Agates are becoming very popular as of late. I have a good selection now, and you should remember, the closer to Christmas, the more your choice narrows.

I hope you have sensed my frustration at having tossed out hundreds of Copper Agates. I’ve got to work on my memory, because if I get it back, I’ll be INFUSED with Copper Infused Agates.

Prehnite and Other Pebbles from the Keweenaw

I discovered quite a few samples of Prehnite mixes that I found in the Keweenaw. All of these came from my cabochon collection, so I decided, this month, to follow up my blog on Patricianite in October, by showing you a small sample of what can be found on the beaches and in the hills of the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Out of all the rocks and minerals in the Keweenaw, these little Prehnites are one of the most common treasures. On the beaches they wash in as pastel pebbles standing out against a rocky background of reds and browns. In the forest roads, quite often, Prehite’s have a white crust ( a little secret Rockhounding tip) with no clue as to what is hidden under the crust. I just pick them, take them home, and grind off a bit of crust. Maybe there’s treasure under the crust, maybe not.

I do not own expensive scientific instruments like a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), so I do not have the capability of analyzing every Prehnite mix I find, but I can tell you there is no limit to Nature’s recipes in regard to these beautiful pastel Treasures.

You may know that in the past, because of their resemblance to the Zeolite Thomsonite, this variegated, sometimes eyed Prehnites, were thought to be Thomsonite. Research done at Michigan Tech revealed that these “U.P. Thomsonites” were substantially Prehnite Mixtures. The old time rockhounds still refer to these as U.P. Thomsonite.

Sometimes you feel like an eye, sometimes you don’t. I suspect the suspect on the left may include Datolite.

Lovely pastel greens and pinks (color caused by micro-copper inclusions) dominate U.P. Thomsonite.

The patterns are so varied it's amazing.

The patterns are so varied–collecting is fun and addicting!.

Notice the brachiation (various spellings) in the right hand stone.

Jewelry grade

Datolite: One of the Keweenaw’s Colorful Mineral Treasures

I tried to do justice to a customer’s Yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite. earring and bracelet set.

You already know that Datolite is my favorite Calcium-Borosililicate. I just love the way that flows off the tougue, and it sort of makes you look smart when you say it. Datolite commonly occurs in the the Keweenaw in the Copper deposit host rocks in veins and vesicles. We also find Datolite in mine waste piles, often in the form of round, Califlower-looking crystals that have popped out of the host rocks left from mining Copper. If you find Datolite in the Keweenaw, you can be assured there is copper nearby..

Quincy Yellow

Franklin or Mesnard (?)

White Datolite can be from anywhere. This one containing classic Datolite Crystals.

The most common color of Datolite is white, and can be found in all the copper deposits in the Keweenaw. Pink is the second most common color. A close microscopic study of pink Datolite will reveal the pink hue is the result of micro copper within the stone. the darker the pink, the more copper in the Datolite.

Copper is the star in these three I’ve been saving for a personal piece of jewelry. From right clockwise: Keweenaw point Yellow Datolite, Copper Replacement Agate (Kearsarge Lode), Dark Chlorastrolite with Copper.

Centennial Blue (#2 Shaft)

Copper “Lightning” in Centennial Blue

Colors in Datolite run the entire color palette. Impossibly rare is the Canary Yellow from the Keweenaw Point. Unlike most Datolite in the Keweenaw this yellow Datolite gets its’ color from manganese and not Copper. This Point deposit is primarily under water, but has been covered with green algae for quite a few years now, making it almost impossible to find in the host basalt.

Most mines, where Datolite occurs, sport particular colors in their respective Datolites. I, and many other serious Datolite hunters can make educated guesses as to where a particular Datolite might have come from. I find my friend Jeff Anderson’s website the go-to site for Datolite ID. Check it out at http://www.sailorenergy.net/Minerals/MLDatolites/MineralMainDatolitesMI.html

Another rare Datolite is the Centenial, a white Datolite stained blue-green from oxidized copper. Several hundred pounds were removed, from a muddy pocket deep in the mine, in 1962 by miners. This was all that were found, and after the mine was closed, it flooded. If you have one of these “Tidy-Bowl” colored beauties, you are fortunate indeed. All Centennial’s were either full of copper flecks, or had less copper, making them lighter blue. Some blues came from other areas, like the Phoenix Mine (Phoenix), and the Isle Royal Mine (Keweenaw County). Even though blues are found in other locales, the best blues have always been from the Centennial.

Mesnard in the classic colors Mesnard is famous for.

Quincy Caramel!

Caledonia Mine. The red is Microcline (var Adularia)

Beautiful and striking Datolite colorations came out of the Mesnard, Franklin, and the Quincy. These three mines were eventually tied together by adits. The Orange/pink/red combinations are amazing from the Franklin and the Mesnard, as is the caramel Yellow’s from the Quincy.

Datolites of all colors were prolific at the Delaware and Connecticut Mines over the years. Many of the mine waste piles, including the Delaware, have been crushed in the last few years for road fill. Finding any Copper Country mineral is not as easy as in years past, mostly because of the incessant crushing of the old mine waste piles.

Bonnie found a wonderful bag of Datolites, I obtained several years ago, in my shop. I thought you would enjoy what I’ve been doing with them.

My Datolite jewelry is very popular at Copper World in Calumet, on our website, or see us every year in August at art shows in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor where you can choose your jewelry (Including Datolites) in person. All the types of Datolite’s mentioned in this blog are still available from us, but are becoming depleted as people realize if they don’t get one know, they may never get the ones they want.

Great Lakes Gemstones Make Amazing Gifts

One of the best things of the holiday season is passing along beautiful jewelry gifts to new owners. Great Lakes gemstones are the cornerstone of our selection. Our best sellers are our many amazing Isle Royle Greenstones. Our acquisition of a collection of old Greenstones found on Isle Royale over 60 years ago has enhanced our status as the webs’ go-to site for Michigan’s State Gem. Our wire-wrapped Isle Royale Greenstone pendants come with various mixes of tarnish-resistant argentium wire and 14/20 yellow gold or pink gold wire. The pink gold is especially prized for combining with the Isle Royale Greenstones that have Thomsonite inclusions. We also sell cabochons so that people can have rings or other items created just for them.

Centennial Datolite

Mohawkite

Thomsonite

Snob Appeal Jewelry is also the go-to site for any Great Lake Gemstone. We really enjoy the appreciation notes we get after Christmas from many happy new owners. Many of these stones are not widely known outside of the Great Lakes area, so when we get orders from Texas or California or other far-flung places (even Australia) we always wonder what drew them to select Datolite or Mohawkite or Thomsonite. We know these are beautiful stones, but often there is another connection, such as a family member who worked in a particular mine, or even if it was just a visit to the enchanting area.

Our selection of Lake Superior Agate pendants is Superior! We have water level agates, sagenite agates, tubes, and eyes, candy stripers, gray stones, pink, brown, “Laker” reds, even some yellows. Some have copper, some have quartz centers or even amethyst. Don loves these stones and classically wire wraps them to enhance their natural beauty and variety. Pick one to give to your favorite rock hound!

Lake Superior Agate

I thought I might show you some new jewelry especially made for Christmas.

Remarkable Datolite and other Upper Peninsula Gemstone Treasures

Yelow Datolite from the Quincy Mine

On our most recent trip to the Keweenaw I successfully found some wonderful gemstone rough material to work into new jewelry pieces. When I say I “found” great gemstone rough: I mean I found several friends who were willing, for cash, to part with some wonderful local minerals! Rare colored Datolite is drawing a premium price, even in the rough.

Iron Lace Agate is now extinct.

The annual Ishpeming Show is always interesting, and most of the time if you look in the crevices of this show, good, and sometimes great treasures, can be found. Being an experienced, senior rockhound sometimes has its advantages at times. Being around the block with some of the old, now extinct, gemstone materials has advantages over younger rockhounds. I often recognize old material from back 30 years or more that is seldom seen. This happened at the Ishpeming show.

I saw some Iron Lace Agates from the Republic mine that were briefly available… I’m betting that not many know what these agates really were, and the history of them. A seam of Iron Lace Agate (named by the Ishpeming Rock Club) was very briefly mined back in the 70’s from the North wall of the New Republic Mine near Marquette. I purchased a few and will make jewelry for the Agate Expo next year.

Ultra rare Keweenae Point canary yellow Datolite

Deleware Datolite with Copper inclusions

The other wonderful things I sought out with success was some caramel yellow Mesnard Datolite, a piece of impossibly rare, canary yellow, Keweenaw Point Datolite, some wonderful, Copper included, Delaware Datolite, some classic Yellow Quincy Datolite, a slightly different yellow than the Yellow Point datolite. It’s always a good day when I find some rare Centenniel Blue Datolite. Blue Centennial Datolite is now very hard to find. I also found several spectacular Lakers to work with.

Blue Centennial Datolite. These pieces seem to flow to pink toward the bottom

Mesnard Mustard.

The Isle Royale Copper Mine had some of the hardest Datolite of a light green color, and also some Blue Datolite, much of it a softer, requiring some stabilization in order to work with it for jewelry.

Copper included Agates are a wonderful find. I love these things

I just started working with all my new rocks, so you will see jewelry soon.

Lake Superior Agates, Datolite, and Greenstones on my Workbench.

I just can’t stop cutting Lake Superior Agates; Making
jewelry from them, or digging through my buckets, looking for that perfect jewelry stone.

Big brown eyes islandlakersajlogo

Recently I’ve cut some unusual pieces. One was a very rare Lake Superior Moss Agate. It resembled a Montana Moss Agate, but had banded eyes. I had to play with my photo studio lighting so you can see this detail. Another couple featured red Islands floating in seas of clear Quartz. roundislandlaker2

Lake Superior Agate Pendants are my passion. Enjoy these few additional pieces of eye candy.

Mesnard Datolite with Isle Royale Greenstone.

A few cabochons of Datolite from the Mesnard Mine in Hancock have been sitting on my workbench for a few weeks. I look at gemstones for a while sometimes, and eventually they speak to me and tell me what they want me to do with them! This was the case with the Mesnard Datolite. Sometimes I put off wrapping these because my idea was a bit complicated and I need to be in the right frame of mind to work on them. I’m sure you will love the results, especially with the pair of Greenstone Beads I added to this free-swinging creation. The Mesnard is known for its’ bright pastel colors, but as with most of the old mines, material is scarce and getting harder to find each year.

This is a busy time at Snob Appeal Jewelry. We have taken some time off to make jewelry. In August, we have shows in Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, and doing demos at Copper World in Calumet (AKA the best gift store anywhere around Lake Superior). See you there.

laker1

Radial Sagenite Laker.

Made you smile!

A rare Lake Superior Moss Agate (both sides)

Thomsonite from Lake Superior

Beautiful eyes usually dominate high quality Thomsonite.

Thomsonite is rare and beautiful. The most striking Thomsonite colors and patterns come from Lake Superior’s north shore in the Grand Marais area. This eyed Zeolite has to be the most attractive stone in the Zeolite family. High quality Thomsonite, with dramatic greens and pinks, is highly prized by rockhounds.

I love finding Thomsonite and polishing them to expose the gorgeous eyes.

In this post I decided to show you before and after photos showing the Thomsonite cabochons and the pendants I made from them.

All the beachfront in the Grand Marais is private property and the owners are very protective. Some basalts in the area have Thomsonite inclusions. Extracting these gemstones involves cutting them out. The gemstone is very brittle and fragile, so hammers and chisels cannot be used.

The best deposit near Thomsonite Beach was buried years ago to create a public park. The best chance to obtain high quality Thomsonite is from old collections or local hunters that know where to find this elusive gemstone.

Thomsonite is sometimes found on Isle Royale and in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. In the Keweenaw we also find a mineral that often mimics Thomsonite. This is the colorful Prehnite. Prehnite is referred to locally as “U.P. Thomsonite” and often sports eyes and chatoyant, feathery patterns, like Thomsonite, except it is not a Zeolite. Many inexperienced rockhounds mistake Prenite for Thomsonite. Thomsonite is much less common than Prehnite.

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Recently I obtained several beautiful pieces from a dealer that had purchased an old collection of Thomsonite from an estate. These gemstones are some of the best pieces of Thomsonite I’ve ever seen. Two or three of these are spoken for and the rest will be posted on this website. I really enjoyed working with all these and hope you enjoy the pendants made from these gemstones!

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