Tag Archives: Wire wrapped jewelry

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.

Nuumite/Nuummite-Jewelry from one of the Worlds OLDEST Stones

Today I wire-wrapped the oldest rock I have ever made jewelry from (I think). Nuumite is found a remote local near Nuuk, Greenland. It was discovered in 1982 and is of a metamorphic origin. Web sources claim that the site is accessible only by boat.

I bought this cabochon at the Tucson Shows years ago because of the sellers claim that it was “one of the oldest stones on Earth”. This is a claim you hear commonly in various locations. I hear it all the time in the Keweenaw Peninsula. So how old are the “oldest rocks on earth”? Sources claim Nuumite is in excess of 3 BILLION years old. The Swedish guy that sold me the Nuumite claimed it was 3.6 BILLION years old.

When oriented correctly the Nuumite shows and "Inner Gold".

When oriented correctly the Nuumite shows an"Inner Gold".

No glow is evident when the stone is turned.

Nuumite resembles Labradorite because it sports an oriented Labradorescence that some call Schiller Effect. I believe the stone to be a Hornblende and when oriented correctly it flashes a golden color on one axis. This is described as “inner gold”. When turned the stone is simply black and shows no “flash” until it is oriented correctly similar to Labradorite. I would say that the effect is more of iridescence, and not exactly like Labradorite. Nuumite is not as flashy as Labradorite.

Nuumite will probably not compete as a great gemstone, but it certainly has an interesting story and it does have a neat golden-brown glimmer. Also, many metaphysical properties are contributed to this rock. This piece of jewelry should appeal to the Geology Expert as well.

It is unfortunate you cannot see the “inner Gold” to its’ true effect.

In this pendant I used both gold and silver which complements both the black and golden tones in the rock. This is an unusual stone, an unusual cut, and an unusual wire-wrap. Everything about Nuumite is special.

Amethyst Glitz

“Can you make me a pendant that will match this”? Of course I can, but why would Bonnie want another piece of jewelry when she has hundreds of pendants to choose from?

It all started on Black Friday (that was actually Thanksgiving Thursday this year). She had a coupon for a local Department Store. I’ll man up and admit that I saw a dressy coat that I thought would look nice on my bride. It had a great design and Amethyst colors. We both like Amethyst. Paired with a glimmering silver blouse, this jacket looked really great.

Unbeknown to me, the jewelry maker”s wife had NOTHING to wear with these garments, and this is where I come in. After I realized the wife has NO suitable jewelry, and asked me in a nice way to help out, I actually thought about making something like I’ve never done before. Here’s the dumb part: I announced on The Facebook I was going to make this pendant so my jewelry-less wife would have something to actually wear to our Rock club Christmas Party IN THREE DAYS!

Bonnie thought a white gemstone with some Amethyst beads that she rooted out of her beadroom stash, would look nice. We thought at first white druzy would work, but she settled on the wonderfully rare shiny white Victoria Stone. Argentium Sterling was the metal of choice. You can read the intriguing story about Victoria Stone in my blog at http://www.snobappealjewelry.com .

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to make and more time figuring out HOW I was going to do it. After a good nap, I arose with my mind clear and a picture in my mind of what the pendant would look like. I usually do not use colored Aluminum wire, but Bonnie does with her beads. Alas, she did not have any purple (I thought she had every beading item available), so we made a not-so-quick-trip to craft stores (notice I said stores with an S) to locate this wire so I could continue.

After a few hours of watching various “Redneck” shows and wire wrapping, the pendant emerged from the workbench. A good hint is if you are using your mind creating jewelry, you can still watch mindless TV, but not anything deep like “Polar Bears Discuss How to Properly Prepare Seal Sushi”. 1. Wait for seal head to pop up in the hole. 2. Snatch seal from the hole and eat, no seasoning necessary.

OK, so I got off my point; deal with it. Maybe the reason that this piece of jewelry looks unlike anything I’ve done before is because of watching Redneck Duck Calls, or some such show while making it.

Since I was clearly focused on my task, Bonnie took this opportunity to vacuum, do laundry, make cookies, and in general stay clear of my area, and not interrupt my concentration. I do tend to get grumpy when interrupted at key points, and sometimes she can tell what’s key, and what isn’t.

I awoke this morning with ideas that came to me in dreams on how to finish this project. I got right on it even before coffee! The jewelry is actually finished ladies and gentlemen. I could go into a lot of details on how I pulled this one off, but it’s Christmas and the stores are open, and I have to set up for our Open House tomorrow. Remember, shop small or shop on this website (trust me, we’re small). Now enjoy, what Bonnie calls, “The glitziest pendant you’ve ever made”.

Here is my bride Bonnie, happily wearing the pendant that "matched" her new duds.

Close-up of Bonnie's Pendant. Those Swarovski Crystals really add glitz to this Party Pendant. White Victoria Stone & Amethyst Beads.

Datolite-A Borosilicate to be proud of

I always keep several hundred cabochons in my inventory, ready to be made into fabulous Snob Appeal Jewelry. After I cut my cabs I carefully place them in boxes, trays, or perhaps just lay them gently on the dining room table (this my wife is not fond of). She is misguided in thinking that the dining room table is only for dining on.

The workbench was a mess today; not to worry; I'll just put stuff on the dining room table.

Fortunately she is married to a husband who thinks outside the box and can utilize the dining room table for several things at once. The table is an ideal place for putting new and old jewelry that may be in the loop for cleaning, posting up, washing, remaking, or just to lay somewhere where it “won’t get lost”. The issue sometimes is that the jewelry can get covered by several layers of newspapers or mail; then I either forget it’s there or lose it. That being said Bonnie enjoys saying things like: “Are you missing this?’, or “If you’d put it where it belongs, you’d be able to find it.” Comments like these disrupt the serenity of my retired life.

Today I went in search of my favorite borosilicate, Datolite. What is your favorite borosilicate? I re-discovered a beautiful pastel, copper-included Datolite from the Mesnard Copper Mine in the Keweenaw Peninsula of upper Michigan. The Mesnard mine was near the Quincy Mine but it seemed that the finest Datolite colors of yellow-orange, pink, and red came from the Mesnard. The Mesnard waste piles are now owned by a gravel company and are no longer available for hunting, making Mesnard Datolite ever more rare and more coveted every year.

I love this Mesnard Datolite.

The designer shape and the coloration of this cabochon warranted a tri-tone wrap. I used gold, Argentium silver and pink gold for the wraps. The pink gold beautifully draws out the copper inclusions in the cabochon. I love the dancing sunset colors of the stone. A picture cannot do justice to the true colorations of this remarkable gemstone.

A bonus Mesnard Datolite.

The most common white Datolites are still out there, but colored Datolite is dwindling. The only place to find these fine old pieces of Mesnard are from old collections, and even these are becoming very limited. Fortunately someone who has inherited an old collection, or has an old collection and needs some ready cash sometimes approaches me. I really appreciate how hard these gems are to locate both then and now, and I am always trying to keep a good variety of Datolite jewelry available.

If you enjoy rare gemstone jewelry or have ever sought a piece of Datolite Jewelry, you should act now before there is no more of these beautiful rare hues available. Many a Mesnard has vanished in the piles on my dining room table, increasing the shortage of my favorite Borosilicate.

Whimsical Agate.

Lucy gave me an agate cabochon a few weeks ago and wanted a whimsical pendant.

Lucy's Agate on my workbench. Do you see the face?

This cabochon had a big smile and little eyes. Lucy saw glasses on the face, as did I.

I thought about this face for a couple weeks and today an idea popped out. I saw the glasses and envisioned little curls.

Does this make you smile?

Here is the finished pendant. I hope it makes you smile as it does me. Lucy will really like this piece of jewelry in her collection and enjoy making other people smile.

Petoskey Stone Twins

Same stone; Different pendants.

Today I wrapped Petoskey Stone jewelry from a pair of cabochons of the same perfect stone.

The stone on the right was wrapped in Argentium Sterling and Pink Gold. The Pink Gold wire is a new product, so it is fun to try it out with different stones. This Petoskey stone really looks good in that combination, and result in a new jewelry look. This one is available for purchase today.

The next slab produced the stone on the left. I wrapped this one in 14/20 Gold Fill and Argentium. This one looks great also. This one will be for sale in Copper World in Calumet at the end of the week. You’ll have to call them!

I expect to make more Petoskey Stone Jewelry in the near future from some of the rare pick Petoskey’s I have, so watch for it.

Enjoy this pair; more to come.

Working on U.P. Projects

Today let’s talk about some of the projects I brought back from the Upper Peninsula.

Sue's "super" Thomsonite

Sue has been a faithful customer over the years and she has brought me some amazing local stones for custom pieces in the past.

This time she brought one of the largest and most amazing Pink Thomsonites I’ve seen in a while. The cabochon was found in the Keweenaw 40 years ago, according to an I.D. tag that was on it. Thomsonites of this size and quality are very scary to work with because of the value and this one because of the size. Thomsonite sometimes just blows apart when you work with it on the grinder. Any harmonics created by the machine grinding wheels can send shockwaves into this material that sometimes just blows the stone apart.

I am always up to a challenge, but I also would hate to ruin a $500 stone. Thomsonite varies in hardness quite a bit, as well as crystal structure.

I had to re-work this stone to balance the shape and the dome. Believe me it was scary. This stone was very hard and solid (fortunately), and I was able to reform and re-cut it .

I was very happy with the way the wrap came out. As is my normal theory on wrapping I did not cover the beauty of the stone, yet I wanted the wrapping to be as elegant as the stone. I liked the way it came out; as did Sue.

Unusual blue coloration enhances this great little agate.

Nancy's ring.

Our friend Nancy brought several stones for me to assess. She enjoys the U.P. and rock hunting. Her daughter, Elizabeth, is also a rockhound. Several of Nancy’s stones had possibilities, and cutting when I got home produced an unusual small agate from the end of an otherwise plain stone. The stone had a strange bluish area. I have never seen this coloration in a Lake Superior Agate. It is hard to explain and lucky for you I took a picture. I made a ring for Nancy that reminds her of the U.P.

Elizabeth's wonderful pendant.

Elizabeth found a very cool ledge agate the next day and after cutting it and finding out how nice it was, I made a great little silver pendant for her. All these projects I really enjoyed. I love making my customers happy. Thanks to all of them.

You are not going to believe what is inside this stone.

The third project was my wife Bonnie’s anniversary pendant. You have seen the amazing copper-infused Datolite Pendant, but I don’t think you saw the ordinary looking rock it came from. You never know what might be inside the crust of a rock. I think that is why I love making jewelry. I’m the first person to actually see the inside of the rocks I cut for my jewelry.

The 35th Anniversary Pendant...SHE LIKED IT!

I would be happy to do some custom work for you. I can take your stones and create something wonderful just for you! What’s your dream jewelry? Let me make it for you.

Victoria Stone and Imperial Topaz-The Retirement Pendant

Sometimes making handcrafted jewelry requires a lot of thinking before any action is taken. I’ve been thinking about how technically to create this pendant for several weeks, and for various reasons all the pieces of the puzzle did not come together until now. What I see in my mind’s eye sometimes does not easily translate into a finished piece of jewelry. On rare occasions the process of how to make a pendant has to simmer inside of my head for a while.

I could not figure an easy way to create this piece of jewelry. I am showing you one of most complicated wire-wrap jobs I’ve ever accomplished. Alert: I would recommend you not attempt this at home!

This has been in holding since June 15th. I’ve got the stones, now what should I do?

I started with an impossibly rare bottom end piece from a Victoria Stone Boule. I previously mentioned in another blog about the unusual, chatoyant, flower pattern that appears on only the bottom of the Victoria Stone boule. (http://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/?p=159) Among Victoria Stones, this is the most unusual of patterns. I have been saving this particular Cabochon for several years, until I figured out something to do with it that was worthy of its’ beauty.

I had one of my “jewelry dreams” one night and thought that Imperial Topaz might work with this green Victoria Stone Cabochon.

Imperial Topaz is considered by most to be the Cadillac of Topaz, and quite expensive (so is the Victoria Stone). An opportunity to buy a large faceted Imperial Topaz presented itself last year, so I jumped at it. I liked this natural 28.9 ct Imperial Topaz from Pakistan because it has a large platelet inside. The platelet produces a rainbow within the stone. Unfortunately under the photo lights I use, you cannot see the phenomenon. You’d have to see this in person to really appreciate it.

What do you think of this one? BLING! BLING!

Putting the Topaz and the Victoria Stone together was a match made in heaven, but not quite enough bling for old Don. I added two faceted Pink Topaz and a pair of lovely green Peridots. NOW there was something unbelievably nice!

Several hours of work over several days produced this amazing piece of jewelry.

I refer this piece of jewelry The Retirement Pendant because it is the pendant I have been planning ever since retiring from my day job a couple weeks ago! Bonnie wants me to give it a more fitting name when I post it on this site for sale in the next couple days. It’ll take me this long to figure out the perfect name, but if you have any suggestions I will consider them.

Enjoy this special piece.

Read more about Victoria Stone manufacture and colors at https://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/victoria-stone-the-new-research-and-victoria-stone-color-chart/

Lake Superior Agate Jewelry-I never get tired of Lakers

I worked on and off today creating a couple of Lake Superior Agate Pendants. I NEVER get tired of Lake Superior Agates.
The first pendant was just about the prettiest agate I’ve seen, and it made a remarkable piece of jewelry to take to the Celebration of Agates in Hopkins Minnesota.

This pendant is big, bold, and beautiful!

Beautiful pastels adore this great Lake Superior Agate.

I promised you I would let you see what I made today, so here they are.

Lake Superior Agate Jewelry

lsa-on-bench

Attendees at the Celebration of Agates Show in Hopkins Minnesota will be happy to see my Lake Superior Agate Jewelry.

Since 1969 the Lake Superior Agate has been the Minnesota State Stone. Glaciers deposited Lake Superior Agates throughout Minnesota, as well as south as far as Kansas.
Many of you know that Laker’s are my favorite gemstone. I am amazed at the variety of colors, types, and patterns. No two are ever alike.

The multi-pattern was amazing on this Laker.

Moons and stripes. I liked this one.

The trick is finding those extremely rare flawless, or nearly flawless Lake Superior Agates to use in my jewelry. Remember Laker’s moved vast distances from bedrock in the Keweenaw area. Most of them were ripped from bedrock. Lake Superior Agates are also tumbled on the Lake Superior shoreline. It is really amazing that any Laker’s can be found that are not cracked.

Three Lake Superior Agates were selected from my stash of slices, cut into cabochons, and hurried to my workbench. These were all distinctively different, as you can see.

An unusual ledge agate.

Each agate talked to me, and I was able to make some exceedingly fine pendants, don’t you think? Let me know which one you like best. I sell many Lake Superior Agate Pendants to Minnesotans. I expect when they see these agates, and well over 100 more Lake Superior Agate Pendants, this jewelry will make them ecstatic!