Chrysocolla is right up there among my most favorite minerals for cutting cabs from. Most all Chrysocolla makes for some stunning jewelry. Then there are some that are truly a bit more unique than others. We have been sharing a whole lot of different Chrysocolla varieties on my forum. I especially like a Chrysocolla with Hematite, Tenorite, Silver, Copper, and even Gold.. I love a beautiful metallic finish that these offer. Then when we start talking about a druzy Chrysocolla…….. ... Read Full Story

I have blogged before about “Advantages for Gemstone Jewelry Designer who Develop Relationship with Lapidary Shop”. Much of the same really does apply when considering a reputable gemstone jewelry designer/silversmith. Your extremely lucky to find not only a reputable and qualified designer, but a designer who’s unique ability to work with precious metals place them [...] Read Full Story

Just received this really pretty Ocean Wave Jasper. Have cut a lot of orb Ocean Jasper, but only ever had a couple of Ocean Wave Jasper. One thing about buying the expensive Orb type Ocean Jasper is that it is hard to find at an affordable price without pitting or vugs. The Ocean Wave Jasper seems to come nice and solid.. Great cabbing material. One thing I did when shopping for this was knowing I wanted to be able and get as many of the different colored bands that are offered on the slab al... Read Full Story

This was the first time I had purchased a ring blank to set a stone in. When I saw it in the magazine it appeared to have a bezel type setting with four prongs. I thought was simply going to be able and push the floral looking bezel and prongs up against the gemstone. After it arrived, I quickly realized after trying to push the floral like bezel and prongs that nothing was going to budge! After some discussion and another attempt at pushing it was obvious that at least the floral like bezel ... Read Full Story

I just received this pictorial guide to over 150 types of agates and jasper. “There are many excellent books currently on the market describing banded agates, but there are few with an emphasis on the other structural varieties. There are virtually no current books with images and descriptions of the wide array of fine jaspers presently available. This book tries to fill that void with 240 pages and over 1000 photos and diagrams describing the structural features of both Agates and Jas... Read Full Story

Wanted to share a really neat tutorial on how to set a square gemstone cabochon by one of our forum members, Bob of Bobs Premium Cabs shared with us. Bezel setting a stone with sharp corners is somewhat more difficult than an oval because if it isn’t done properly the excess metal puckers at the corners. Bezel setting is often called a “rub” over setting. This is because some people use a burnisher to “rub” the bezel “over” the stone. It is quite dif... Read Full Story

Been having fun again with more multi gemstone groups that are excellent for jewelry designing.. Especially if your a silversmith and like interesting and unique pieces.. What makes the group gemstone cabochon sets a little more interesting, is the way they are cut from the original mineral slab. Somewhat similar to making a quality pair of earrings. Except instead of using back to back slabs for matching grains on each earring, these sets are cut from the same area off an area from the slab.... Read Full Story

Been a while since I have added a new entry.. All the action is on the forum ! Was finally fortunate enough to have a member from our local club come over and walk me through some basic silver soldering. She was a big help. Little things like working the torch properly, using the flux correctly, etc… Any way, felt the urge to share the results of this Rainforest Jasper pendant. Still have a long ways to go before I can actually offer some up for sale, but getting there! Read Full Story

Members on my forum join in with bi monthly semiprecious gemstone cabochon contests. This time instead of picking a particular mineral this time we are doing any mineral type in freeform. Any way, as a result I ended up choosing Titainium Rutile in Quartz for my entry. Wanted to share my limited experience working with rutile minerals. The very first example for me was black Tourmaline in quartz. Then as a result of choosing a rutile Quartz for this cabochon contest this Gold Titainium Rut... Read Full Story

Needed something to blog about so thought would add an entry about today’s soldering project. I wanted to try another like 1Rockhounds Biggs Jasper piece with the bezel tape on the outside of the backing. Except I tried another attempt at using flattened wire for the backing again instead of cut out sheet backing. The order of the images are out of order, but the step are correct.. Hope not too confusing.. Step One Image B shows how I fit the shaped wire to the inside of the stones peri... Read Full Story