Since we have a show in the near future in the Marquette area, I thought it only fitting that I blog about a wonderful stone local to that area, Kona Dolomite.

Kona Dolomite is found in abundance in the Lindberg Quarry just south of Marquette. The colors range from flesh color to pink or red and sometimes have unusual “picture patterns”. Like marble, Kona Dolomite is a metamorphic stone, and would be marble if not for the magnesium content. Kona makes a fine ornamental stone, and it is curious to me why we do not see table tops made of this beautiful material. One type of Kona Dolomite is referred to as “Verde Antique” and is a dead ringer for the finest marble. Kona contains Algal remains (stromatolites), in fact the oldest fossils found in Michigan.
I use Kona Dolomite to make beautiful pendants. Kona takes a great polish, but it is too soft for use in rings.
I have cut the State of Michigan and other shapes from Kona using my ring saw.

Kona can show wonderful patterns similar to picture jasper.

Sometimes the Kona deposit opens for rock collecting, especially during the annual rock show in Ishpeming, sponsored by the local rock and mineral club, around the first weekend in August each year. I think there may be a small fee, but you can haul out almost as much as you can carry.
Other types of Dolomite exist in Michigan with Randville Dolomite from Dickinson County,  and Bad River Dolomite from the western part of the U.P. being the larger deposits.

Victoria Stone is one of my favorite lapidary materials. It is actually a manmade jade created from natural materials by Dr. S. Iimori in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. I have noticed that Iimori’s name is spelled several ways on assorted websites (ex. Imori), but the spelling I have comes from an article originally published in Lapidary Journal, so I assume it to be the correct spelling.  Articles from Lapidary Journal that I located show piles of natural materials (quartz, magnesite, feldspar, calcite, fluorspar, and others) stacked near Iimori’s laboratory in Tokyo.

These materials were pulverized to dust and melted into molten masses. The secret beauty of Victoria Stone comes from the “crystallizers and crystal habit regulators” which Iimori added to the molten mix. The molten material resulting from the brewing was poured into molds and cooled under pressures, up to 2000 pounds, for several months.

When the Victoria Stone “boule” was released from its mold they had a crust on them.

I have seen these boules, which are a cylindrical shape with one flattened end and weight perhaps 3-4 pounds. My friends have told me that when working this material you had to remove the crust carefully and let the boule rest for a few weeks. They say that the boules would actually make cracking noises when the crust was removed. Expansion inside the boule caused these noises. The older the boule, the less cracking could be heard. They would cut a couple slabs off each end of the boule; leave is set for a couple weeks, and then cut two more slices off each end, etc.

Victoria Stone boules were sold at the Tucson Gem Shows in the 70’s. Also cabochons were available to purchase at the shows. I wish I had invested all my money in this stuff back then, as it is unbelievably expensive today, and virtually impossible to find. I have purchased entire rock collections just to get a small quantity of Victoria Stone. We are one of the few sites on the Internet to offer Victoria Stone Jewelry.

Victoria Stone is not considered a simulant, although it chemically resembles Nephrite Jade. Iimori actually manufactured an artificial jade that he called “meta Jade”. I still have some of this material and it is hard to tell the difference between it and natural Imperial Jade. The main difference between natural jade and Victoria Stone is when Victoria Stone re-crystallized from its molten state; it formed beautiful feather-like chatoyant crystal features. I see similar crystallization in Pectolite (Larimar), Thomsonite, Isle Royale Greenstone, and Prehnite.

I call Victoria Stone a created natural stone because it was actually manufactured from natural rocks and minerals. The stone was originally produced in four shades or green, two of yellow, four of blue (My favorite baby blue), purple, black, white, red, grey, and brown. I have some wine colored Victoria Stone also and I recall there was an orange color also, if my brain is working right. I always have thought that orange and yellow were ugly colors. I have posted two photos of dark green Victoria Stone so you can see how the crystallization varies from stone to stone.

The first version of the Victoria Stone story is that Dr. Iimori died in the late 70’s or early 80’s and never told anyone how he produced Victoria Stone. Kenzo Kato, Iimori’s son, ran Iimori Laboratory Ltd., but was never informed of the secret to making Victoria Stone. I could never imagine not writing down somewhere how you did something as wonderful as making Victoria Stone, but this is what is said to have happened.

The alternate version of the aforementioned story that I have recently received from a trusted expert I know is that Dr. Iimori did in fact pass the formula to his son, Kenzo Kato. KATO did make a batch or a few batches of Victoria Stone which was sold on the market.  There was a problem with the Victoria Stones stability from Kato’s batches.  The batches were not stable enough for lapidary work.  Apparently the problem was in the cooling, pressure, or some other factor which was not passed on to Kato.  Shortly thereafter Kato went out of the Victoria Stone business.  This second version makes far more sense than the first story which is generally thought to be the definitive truth.  I believe that the story that Kato did know the formula is more creditable then the story that is generally thought to be the truth.

My logical brain tells me that the aforementioned “crystallizers and crystal habit regulators” must have vanished in the manufacturing process or someone would have discovered the secret formula by now. Maybe someone knows something about this and will post back to me.

I cut Victoria Stone on my Genie as I would jade, except it polishes easier. Also Victoria Stone is quite resistant to edge chipping, but I still do not use a new 90 grit wheel on it. You also have to watch for natural holes in this material, and work around these small imperfections. You do not have to burnish Victoria Stone like you do jade to get a good polish. Victoria Stone produces a superior polish without heat. I would not recommend heating Victoria Stone up too much while polishing it lest you accidentally crack it. I have not personally cracked a stone, but have been told that this is a possibility.

Check out all our Victoria Stone Jewelry now. I expect that this beautiful stone jewelry will continue to increase in value as time goes on.

On occasion I find unusual patterns in the stones I cut.  I expect to see beautiful landscapes in the Biggs and Deshutes Jaspers, but it is a rare treat to find a picture in other stones.  One of the advantages of cutting my own cabochons is that I can pick out these unusual pictures.  I have found great pictures in  Petrified Wood  and sometimes in agates (like the Parrot).   In this Butterfly Jasper I saw an evil spider.  

I guess it sort of looks like the alien craft from the original War of the Worlds movie also.
With a nice wire wrap and a great image, this piece was also purchased by Debbie, another fun addition to the “Debbie Collection” of Snob Appeal Jewelry wire-wrapped pendants.