Tag Archives: Wire wrapped jewelry

New Wire-Wrapped Pendants

Winter has been very productive at Snob Appeal Jewelry. Many beautiful stones that have been patiently waiting for their turn to become wire-wrapped pendants called out to me, and have finally turned up on the workbench.

I’m like a dog that sees a squirrel; I pick out a stone that grabs me, then I might decide not to chase it, and grab something else. All my stones beg, plea, and whine; they tease me, and all of them want to be elevated to the pendant level. The ones that whine the loudest are the “Chosen”. The pendants in this blog were all whiners; can you hear them. Let me know which ones are whining loudest for you.

There will be no rhyme or reason for the pictures in this blog, except they are all new. Many Michigan gemstones are mixed in with assorted worldwide stones. Most have not been listed for sale on the website. Contact us it you have an inquiry. Many will go to our show inventory or are scheduled for shipment to a retail outlet.

I have also been playing around with new ways to wrap gemstones, but still keeping with my policy of never distracting from a fine gemstone by using a lot of fancy doodah and froohaw, what I call it when people run wires all over the place. I do classical wire wrapping that enhances the stones. I spend too much time cutting rare and unusual stones to cover them up with a bunch of wire. Most customers appreciate my clean, neat, style.

So, without further rants, here is some of my recent favorites (AKA the sucessful whiners).

Sometimes it pays to look through old buckets. I recall digging this Chrysocolla with Copper from the Old mine dump at the Bumbletown Mine, maybe 15 years ago. Digging is not as good as it once was, but there are still a few pockets of nice Chrysocolla in the Keweenaw, The brown matrix gives this away as Bumbletown material.

Shattukite set. These from Bisbee, Arizona.

If a Lake Superior Agate Island appears in a Laker, it’s refer to as a “Floater”. Here’s a fine Floater I cut and wrapped.

A happy Trilobite couple..I really enjoy the challenge of wrapping these odd shapes. Elrathia Kingii from Utah. Most trilobites you see are missing their cheeks; these beauties are perfect specimens.

Drusy are natural Quartz Pockets that are treated in different ways. The customers like ’em so I make ’em!

Rainbow Obsidian Starfish has been sitting for a few years. It needed to be done.

A carved Ametrine, about nickel size turned out pretty nice.

Thomsonite; one of my favorites.

A composite Turquoise with Copper inclusions.

A very special piece of Gembone. Red is one of the most popular colors. Each cell is an individual agate. Dinosaur Bone; I love it!

Greenstone pendant with greenstone beads

An atypical Greenstone with Greenstone beads on top. I just wanted to be whimsical.

Some people call Owyhee Picture Jasper the king of Picture Jasper. A really good piece (like this one), is so realistic. Found a slab in my shop; Where did this come from? Doesn’t matter if I smiled. From the Owthee Mountains on the Idaho/Oregon border.

Thomsonite form Superior’s North Shore. Big perfect pieces like this are very scarce.

Perfect Morenci Turquoise.

Wear Stone Jewelry Sets!

Our very first regular customer always wanted me to make wire-wrapped earrings to go with her pendants. She was a good friend, so of course I had to do stone jewelry sets for her, but I hate making earrings. You might not know it, but a small stone is MUCH harder to wire wrap than a larger stone, so the very nature of earrings is troublesome right from the beginning, and I avoid it unless someone pesters me into making stone jewelry sets for them. But I am a married man, and do have someone to tell me what to make, and sometimes I even listen.

You may have noticed the many recently added products at www.snobappealjewelry.com, and Bonnie has pestered me into offering you matched wire-wrapped pendant and earring sets, and she added a new category in our Pendant section entitled Stone Jewelry Sets so you can see them all in one spot instead of scattered under different stone names.

To make a matching stone jewelry set you have to start with a big enough stone that has good pattern to it, so lots of stone are unsuitable. Part of the fun in the lapidary shop is trying to see what you can get out of a piece of rock.

We’ve had many customers ask about Pendant and Earring sets, we decided to give you an easier way to locate them. So check out our new button. Which set do you like best?

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!

Datolite Jewelry from Keweenaw Datolite

Caledonia Gem Red

We offer a wide selection of gemstone jewelry from Great Lakes stones, but a favorite gem of ours may be one you have never heard of. We are pleased to offer a great selection of Datolite Pendants, because it is so unique, colorful, coppery, and generally surprising. Datolite is not one of those “pretty sounding” jewelry names like Larimar or Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, but it is indeed very beautiful and exceedingly rare, particularly in bright, pastel colors that some of the mines were famous for. Datolite is a Michigan gemstone that should be better known.

Franklin

Mesnard

Quincy

Clark Mine

The old Copper Mines of Michigan’s historic Copper Country have produced colorful Datolite of which there is no comparison. We are fortunate to have hunted Datolite, and bought old collections over the last 30 years, always looking for great colors. Finding coveted, colorful Datolite today is rare because of several factors.

Caledonia

Closeup showing massive copper content. This Datolite virtually shines in the sun from the copper content.

HUNTING DATOLITE TODAY

Over the past 5 years many of the old copper spoil piles have sadly been crushed and used as road fill, both under paved roads and to stabilize forest roads for logging operations. Most of the few old mine dump piles left are privately owed and unfortunately, but understandably, in this lawsuit-happy world, the owners are hesitant to permit rock picking on their piles. Unstable rock piles can be quite hazardous and we hear of injuries every year caused by many factors. Frivolous lawsuits can totally dissuade what used to be rockhound-friendly mine owners from allowing anyone on their piles.

Copper, Calcite, and Datolite from the Central Mine.

Deleware

Gorgeous Mesnard

I have always felt that if I am collecting rocks it’s my owe damn fault if I injure myself. i always have my mind trained to automatically think “If i do this, then this might happen”, especially while climbing around on, or moving rocks. Money hungry specimen miners have even tunneled into rock spoil piles in the winter for valuable, colorful Datolite in years past.

MINERAL INFORMATION

Like most of the minerals and metals in the Keweenaw Copper Country, Datolite was formed in the amygdaloidal basalt through hydrothermal precipitation. It is associated with prehnite, epidote, native copper, calcite and a variety of zeolites. You could also say it is associated with chlorastrolite as it may be included in the greenstone, as can zeolites.

The Mohs hardness of Datolite is stated to be 5.5, but from my cutting experience, the hardness can vary even within a nodule or Datolite piece. Other minerals mixed in with Datolite can also be of different hardnesses, which makes cutting and polishing a copper-included Datolite quite challenging. A Datolite from the Keweenaw Peninsula can either form in seams or as nodules with a texture of cauliflower, with no hint of what is within. The most Datolites are white and have been found in all the Datolite collecting areas. Savvy Datolite hunters look for Nodules that have a light colored, cauliflower-looking skin and often porcelain-looking shards of white on the piles. Often what is found may indeed be some old dinnerware, but other times it is Datolite. Datolite is a Calciumborosilicate and it’s not unusual that it may resemble glass or porcelain. Some high temperature, high strength glass, such as Pyrex, is a BoroSillicate. One of the most glass-like, solid Datolite, from my experience, was found at the Isle Royale Mine #7 near the now Walmart location in Houghton. The Datolite from the Isle Royale Mine #7 has been made into very stable beads in the past, harder and higher in Silica than most other area mines. It is normally a translucent very pale white-green, but very nice blue Datolite has been found at the Isle Royale.

Quincy

Isle Royale Mine pendant and beads.

Isle Royale Mine Blue

DATOLITE COLORS

Experienced Datolite hunters are able to make educated guesses as to what mine a Datolite came from, based on color and crust. Keweenaw Datolite has long been treasured for jewelry and offers a broad spectrum of the rainbow. The Canary yellow from Keweenaw Point, the blue/greens from Centennial, and apple reds from various mines, and bright orange/yellows from the Quincy/Franklin/Mesnard mines are some of the most coveted. A great source of pictures to identify Datolite colors from different mines is Jeff Anderson’s Dwarves Treasures page. His favorite mineral is Datolite and he has sample Datolites from many locations.

My metaphysical friends tell me that Datolite can sharpen all mental abilities. I’m afraid that even though I have worked with Datolite for many years I still forget things. I tell people I’m in my “Wonder Years”; just today I wondered what day it was, where my TV tuner was, where my car was parked, and where Bonnie (wife) went to.

Even though I’ve owed this spectacular 38 Gram piece of luscious canary yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite for some time, you’ve never seen it. I have not decided what I’m going to do with it yet. High Grade Yellow Point Datolite is the most rare of Keweenaw Datolites, therefore the most valuable Datolite there is. I did not enhance this Datolite; This is exactly what it looks like.

The prices of Datolite Jewelry can vary widely based on scarcity, color, size, and quality. Remember that because of the vanishing mine dump piles, Datolite hunting is now very limited. Many prime locations of the past are long gone, buried, flooded, or ground up. These factors combine to make Datolite jewelry pieces great heirloom treasures which can be passed down through your family with their story. Many times someone will be seeking a Datolite from a certain mine because a relative had worked there many years ago. Quincy or Delaware Datolites are popular because people want to remember their tour of those mines.

Datolite pendants are very popular at Copper World, our retail outlet in Calumet. You may be able to purchase a rough Datolite there also.

Really good Datolite (jewelry) is a great investment, and like Western Turquoise, many the sources are no longer available. Any jewelry from Michigan’s Copper District is a good investment with a historic backstory, but for color and variety you can’t beat Datolite Jewelry.

Jewelry Gifts are for Year Round Giving

Hand crafted gemstones masterfully wire-wrapped by Don Reed are the heart of what you find on our website. Our one-of-a-kind stone pendants make thoughtful gifts. Hand crafted jewelry gifts are always well received. You don’t have to wait for a big holiday to give a pretty gemstone gift. A pretty stone pendant is appreciated anytime, and gifts given “just because I thought you’d like it” are fondly received.

Shopping during the Christmas season is brisk, because presents are expected, but try giving a nice gift in January or March “just because I love you”. Gifts for “no reason” are especially appreciated.

The holiday season is over, but we are still making jewelry. The holidays tend to energize me enough to make some of my best new things afterward. We know you need gifts for all kinds of upcoming events and occasions.

A small Greenstone from Isle Royale old stock. The colors and patterns in Island stones are amazing.

Watch for our Tucson Gem Show Reports

We have started thinking about the big shows in Tucson and Quartzsite and will be searching out those hidden treasures you expect from us. This month I’ll show you some recent hand crafted jewelry you have not seen. As I write this just after Christmas I have enjoyed making some of you happy, happy, and you are adorned with your newly-created jewelry. Other folks have birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or other special occasions coming up. You can purchase our jewelry on line, custom order using our gemstones or yours, see us at the Art Shows we participate in, or purchase our jewelry at Copper World in Calumet, Michigan, or Richardson’s Jewelers in Escanaba or Marquette.

Web Tip:

On any page of our website you can search for the perfect hand crafted Jewelry gift. Try typing in “special occasion” in the white box, and see what’s available today.

February’s blogs will be from the shows in Tucson (and perhaps Quartzsite). Keep checking this blog.

An amazing Copper Agate from the Kearsarge Lode in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This one has unusual banding.

Copper, Datolite, Epidote from the Kearsarge Lode.

A Koroit Boulder Opal dressed in lavender.

I decided this bright red Gem Bone is what many people look for in Dinosaur Bone. The bottom piece swings, and moves with the body.

Malachite pseudomorphs of azurite, Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Mun. de Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico. One of the prettiest gemstones you’ll ever see. These look like they’re sewn with green silk. The stones must be stabilized before being made into jewelry.

A Swarovski Crystal angel crystal set.

Marra Mamba Tiger Iron was Bonnie’s Christmas Gift Pendant. loc. Western Australia

Royston District Turquoise, Nevada

Wedding Jewelry (or other custom work)

The bride made her flowers from Comic Books. I made jewelry to match everything.

Matching jewelry for weddings, or other needs, is always rewarding. Making wedding jewelry for a family wedding is especially satisfying since you get to see it all on display and in the photos.

Drusy Quartz Pendant with matching Swarovski Crystals

My assignment (actually I volunteered for it) was to make wedding jewelry for our son Andrew’s wedding.

I received a basic color pallet from the bride and created a pendant from Blue Drusy enhanced with facetted Topaz. I never actually saw the wedding dress colors before the wedding, but when prior to the wedding I gave the jewelry to Tricia, I was assured that it was a great match. Bonnie created a pair of earrings to match the ensemble.

Lapidolite

Our daughter Holly attended from Tucson and she had the task of finding something to wear from our jewelry inventory. She picked out a lovely Lepidolite that coordinated with her deep purple dress perfectly.

This left me with Bonnie (mother of the groom). I knew to wait until she decided on a dress, then matched it with a beautiful Victoria Stone Set. With Victoria Stone you almost have to use pieces from the same stone to make a perfectly matched earring set.

Because of my vast knowledge of gemstones colors, I immediately know what might match almost any dress. There are some rules. First the palette (dress) cannot be so “busy” or the jewelry gets lost in a gaudy pattern. Jewelry always stands out better on a plain, colored background. Bonnie has many one colored tops, that we call “jewelry shirts”, and she’ll say ‘What should I wear today”? She’ll either chose a shirt, and match jewelry, or pick jewelry and find a shirt to go with it. This is why you should have a large inventory of Snob Appeal Jewelry, as well as a good selection of colored tops.

Back to the wedding jewelry and Victoria Stone. I chose Yellow-Green Victoria Stone; one of the more obscure colors that were made. If you want to know more about Victoria Stone, you can refer to my blog on the subject (https://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/2015/03/victoria-stone-the-new-research-and-victoria-stone-color-chart/).

We still have a good inventory of original Victoria Stone from the 60s and 70s for sale on this site. So get retro and buy a couple pieces. This is a true Gemstone from the Wonder Years (They quit making it around 1980).

From Left to Right: Bonnie, Don, Tricia Reed, Andrew Reed, Holly (Reed) Zetts, Scarlett Zets, Matt Zetts. The girls all dressed with matching Jewelry.

The wedding was BEAUTIFUL: the jewelry made a perfect contribution.

Bonnie and I love making custom jewelry, and on numerous occasions have matching sets to go with any garb. Bonnie makes more matching earrings than I make matching pendants. Our earrings (even custom ones), are very reasonable. Contact us for any custom projects.

Multi-Stone Lake Superior Agate Pendants

In my quest to have jewelry that no one else has, I’ve created a line of multi-stone Pendants. My first ones were scarfed right up by discriminating buyers that wanted something no one else has.

These pendants are all comprised of two or three individual parts tied together by hinges or eyes so they can all move individually. This is such a complicated procedure, it may take up to ten hours to make a pendant (I suppose if it were easy, everyone would do it). I use a multitude of precious metal wires: 14/20 rolled gold gold, Pink Gold, and Argentium Sterling, often in multi-colors.

In this blog, I’ve taken a few Triple Threat Lakers and broke them down to show you why I like the varieties of Lakers. Although the Dinosaur Bone pendant pictured is nice, all three pieces are cut from the same stone, whereas in the Lakers I wanted to mix varieties.

This transparent Gembone gave me the idea for my Triple Threat Laker Pendants.

Movement is important to me in these multi-Stone Triples.

In the past I have created some multi-stone pendants, but the Lake Superior Agate ones I recently finished, are in a class of their own. I mixed metals as well as different types of Lake Superior Agates for each one. Even though many feet of precious metal wire is used, it is used in my usual classical style; neat, precise, and elegant, yet not used in a way that takes way from the inherent beauty of the Lakers

This made the perfect Mother’s Day Gift for a great mother (and wife).

Great “Shadow” effect in this one; very deep.

A beauty; Mauve, banded, perfect!

Red and White Paint Agate.

Unusual Tube Agate

Gorgeous Candy Striped pastel Fortification

Paint Agate with Water Level (Gravitationally Banded)

The Lake Superior Agate is the Minnesota State Gem. Incorporating some of the different varieties of agate colors and patterns, (paint, tube, candy striper, fortification) you see here why this is such a prized stone throughout the Great Lakes region.

As you can see, the construction process began with finding wonderful agates and winnowing them down to three special pieces that go well together. Skillful cabochon cutting and careful jewelry design are the next steps. The spacing and careful blending of shapes requires patient and masterful wire wrapping. Creative work requires time to think through and create each pendant. The work is so meticulous, I need many breaks, thinking through the next steps, how the pieces will connect. Lake Superior Agates are my favorites and this jewelry has become my new way to showcase them. I have also enjoyed wearing them and talking with people about these multi-stone agate pendants.

A lot going on with this Floater

A Floater with floating banding. A special featutreat the banding shows the the bands actually are red Quartz Phantoms

A classic “Painted” Laker

The Amazing Colors of Abalone

I have recently started wire wrapping a group of Abalone doublets acquired in Tucson. These shells are so very amazing, with their variety of iridescent colors. Waves of the irridescent coloration just flow across these shells.

Abalone looks like a clam, but it really is a type of snail. An abalone makes its shell in layers. The abalone grows a layer of a specific kind of protein, and then a calcium carbonate mineral called ‘Aragonite’ crystallizes on the protein layer, until it is much thicker than the protein layer, and then there’s another protein layer, and then another layer of the mineral, aragonite, The protein is like a glue that holds the aragonite mineral crystal layers together. Aragonite and Calcite are naturally occuring calcium carbonate minerals that usually form in a sea environment.

Calcite is the primary makeup of Petoskey Stones and other fossils found in the Great Lakes where we live.

The cabochons I purchased in Tucson were all the same size and shape. The challenge is doing a different wrap for each cabochon. Here’s some samples of my latest pendants. I have one posted on line, but they would all be in the same neighborhood as far as price.

You will enjoy wearing one of these shiny eye-catching beauties .

Morrisonite Jasper Jewelry

Treasures from the Tucson Gem Shows

Oregon’s Morrisonite Jasper has been called the “King of Jaspers” because of it’s range of colors and patterns. The deposit is located near the Owyhee River; the small town of Watson is nearby..

Many times the Gem Shop will have lovely Morrisonite. The Gem Shop sells both rough and cabochons to lapidary artists. I found one amazing piece that caught my eye at his location. I looked at it 3 times before I decided that I really wanted to make jewelry of it. Yes on occasion I do buy cabochons if they are worthy! Eugene (Gene) Mueller, of the Gem Shop, occasionally mines this material.

What struck me was the simply amazing patterns in this special piece. It seemed other worldly and sort of fit my personality. The difficult part, with this piece, was figuring out what should be the top and bottom. what it boiled down to was the mountain (volcano) in near the center top, that appeared to be spewing lava that runds down the landscape. Forget the cost; I just had to have this piece. Visit our Jasper Jewelry page to see what is currently available.

Rear

Still need a gift for Christmas?

I filled my tree with a few treasures from the website. Jewelry is such an easy gift. No worry about sizes. It is rarely returned. Our pendants are a long-lasting gift, and have no calories. Plus it fits perfectly in the toe of a Christmas stocking.