Category Archives: Michigan Stones

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.

Superior Amethyst

Amethyst Garden

I’ve been holding close this little story from the Tucson Shows until I had the time to make jewelry from one special cabochon I found in the recesses of the show. I spend every day searching the crevices of the shows for the unusual, rare, and remarkable, and I saw something at DiWolf’s booth that I had to have. Diana and Wolfgang Wolf really had some great Cabochons.

Amethyst; Yes, I know Amethyst at the Tucson Shows is as common as chicken at KFC. No matter where you are, just look around and there it is. In this case my eyes were focused on one of the most beautiful Amethyst Cabochons I’ve seen this year. It was like a garden of crystals growing proudly in one stone. Something about the color and composition made me salivate.

Wolfgang was a very knowledgeable and obviously a skilled Lapidary artist. This particular cabochon was masterfully cut from one special rock he said he found in Superior. When he told me he found it in Superior, I was not surprised. I’ve seen some great Lake Superior Amethyst from Thunder Bay. Even the Keweenaw has Amethyst that sometimes rolls up on the shoreline, and my diver friends say there are some wonderful pockets off shore. He said he wished he had found more, and actually searched for more, but failed to find any,

I bought the cabochon, and already pictured it as a finished pendant for one special Amethyst lover. Here’s the kicker. It sat in my RV patiently awaiting its’ turn to be jewelry, this wonderful piece of Superior Amethyst. I often have dreams of a particular stone, and this was the case with this stone. I got up at 3am one morning (hey, you do this when you are retired), put the coffee on, and began working on this pendant.

Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped this lovely cabochon from its envelope, examined it closely, and noticed a sticker on the back of the gemstone, that said: ” Amethyst, Gila County, Superior, ARIZONA“! I had to laugh out loud. He was talking about Superior Amethyst from Arizona, and I was taking about Lake Superior Amethyst. I am not distressed in the least about this location change, but it’s comical sometimes, based on where you are from, and where you hunt rocks, how you perceive something as the truth, and not even be on the same close!

I told Bonnie when she awoke at the smell of fresh coffee. She got a good chuckle about this also. There is no laughing about the beauty of this piece of jewelry. It came out better than I dreamed it might.

I know also that most of my friends would have assumed the same thing I did. I got a laugh, made a nice piece of jewelry, and had fun telling you this story; a story about things not quite evolving as they are initially expected.

I’m sure you will agree that it matters not whether this Amethyst is from the Big Lake or some other locale called Superior. It is still a very stunning finished pendant, Garden of Amethyst Crystals.

What’s in that Safe Deposit Box?

My wife asks: “Do you know what’s in our Safe Deposit Box?” Having not looked in there for at least two years, I only knew of a few things that COULD be there. Important papers and other things, but obviously I forgot a few things.

Because of the time involved since the last time I opened the box, the keys somehow did not work. I thought maybe some WD40 might work, but the bank lady said that she had to call their locksmith. A couple days later I met at the bank when the locksmith came. The locksmith fit the keys in, and just turned them open. (Don’t YOU feel dumb, bank lady?)

Box finds: Top is a Greenstone with massive Native Copper, Center is a Copper Replacement Agate, and bottom is a Keweenaw Point rare yellow Datolite with Native Copper.

I had placed a plastic vial containing my very best Copper Country Gemstones. I totally forgot I had these, and totally forgot they were in the Safe Deposit Box. (Don’t YOU feel dumb rock guy?) It was like Christmas. If you are friend of Snob Appeal Jewelry on Facebook, you have seen these, but I did not tell you this story behind them. I don’t have Alzheimer’s but I admit to having “Some-Timer’s“; Sometimes I remember, and sometimes i don’t. Now that Dr. Don has diagnosed this common affliction, you surely realize you too are effected. Don’t say you are not; but at least you now know what it is called.

I also know there are two signs of aging. the first being you forget things…I can’t remember the second….

When I saw these gemstones, I had Total Recall. I had personally found a remarkable Greenstone/Copper and a Copper Replacement Agate. I purchased a Yellow Keweenaw Point Datolite containg copper years ago. I personally cut and polished all three. I had, and still have intentions, of making something for myself.

I’m speeding along here because I want to get to the end before I forget where I’m going.

I hope you like my Lock box finds.

Here’s a little poster I created using the above stones:

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.

Ribbons of Pink Petoskey Stone

Top shows exterior Pattern. The bottom shows the color change in the next slab.

Top photo shows exterior Pattern. The bottom shows the color change in the next slab.

Snob Appeal Jewelry has written the book on Pink Petoskey Stones (AKA Pink Pets). (See Rocks and Minerals magazine, May/June 2013) Pink Pets are one of our specialties (see Pink Petoskey Stone Jewelry in our catalog).

The last trip to one of my very secret hunting areas produced a bucket of very nice Petoskey Stones, including several coveted Pink Petoskey stones. Many Pink Pets are not quite jewelry grade, but some special ones are suitable for Snob Appeal Jewelry.

Bonnie and I have harvested tons and tons of Petoskey Stones over many years, generally avoiding the often substandard beach stones, popular with tourists. Tourists generally do not know a good Petoskey from a bad one, they are just so excited to find one! I am not critiquing anyone for picking up these Northern Michigan souvenirs, but quality is what we look for, and beach stones can be muddy, have poor patterns and poor coloration. The scarce pink stones are seldom found by the tourists. The reason being they just don’t look for pink. We know most Petoskey Stones are various shades of white, gray, and brown, and that is what the eyes are trained to look for.

Close-up of typical crushed pattern in Petoskey Stones.

Sometimes, among Pink Pets, a really rare one shows up. This happened to me on one of the years’s first hunts. I found a Pink Petoskey Stone with ribbons of pink. Not only did it have pink ribbons, it also had a “crushed” pattern. The “crushed” pattern is indicative of great weight of the overburden literally crushing the normal Petoskey Stone Hexagonal pattern. Sometimes the fossil pattern is flattened and deformed into something almost unrecognizable compared to the original. I have only found a handful of crushed Pink Pets over the years, and have never found one with a clear pattern and ribbons of pink in the stone.

I love the “what is this?” moments I sometimes have hunting stones, and this was one of those moments. I have trained my eye to pick out pink stones, but this was something new.

Wonderful Petoskey Stone Ribbon cabs.

When I hunt, I put very special stones in my pocket. These I refer to as “pocket rocks”. I’ve found most rockhounds do the same as I. I removed my pocket rock when I got home and put it on the saw. You never know how deep any pink coloration runs into a stone, and in this case the answer was not too far. The second and subsequent cuts continued the ribbon pattern, but it changed to bluish except for the pink edges. This darker ribbon will also make wonderful jewelry. The other side of the stone was also a pink ribbon.

Did I like this one? Nope....I LOVED this one.

Iron causes the pink coloration in Petoskey Stones. The coloration in this stone was almost a maroon red, also very unusual. Still, after all the tons of Petoskey Stones I have harvested over many years, I get a big thrill about finding something unusual and surprising. This was sure one of those cases.

Petoskey Stone Hunting-Can It Get Any Better?

Bonnie hunting on the gravel pile they removed from where I hunted down below.

Under normal circumstances I would look out my window and see snow falling on the already snow-covered ground, and wind chills below zero. So what is the deal this year? December 27th; no snow on the ground and a foggy soupy look outside. It is 45 degrees. Let’s see; 45 degrees and fog means wet ground. Wet ground means the Petoskey Stones will turn from invisible to visible. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

Bonnie and I packed up the Broll, buckets, and Treasure Scoops threw them in the truck and off we went to one of the private gravel pits we hunt. We are not allowed to hunt when the pit is being worked, but they don’t work the pit in the winter. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

Dream hunting for the Petoskey hunters.

Even a blind squirrel could see this nut! I can get a pink one and another one in one scoop!

We know just before winter a pile of gravel was stockpiled for spring, and we know the pit will be wet where the gravel was removed down to near the water line. Petoskey Stone Hunting should be great. I have my waterproof insulated Gortex boots and Carhardt rain gear, just in case it rains. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN! It started raining!

Bonnie forgot her rain gear, but had a fairly waterproof winter coat over two sweatshirts. Yes this IS normal for this woman. I really don’t see much of her as we hunt different areas of the gravel pit. I know that we have many blog followers that have never hunted Petoskey Stones, so I decided to document this trip. Waterproof camera in hand so you can follow along.

I hunted down in a pit where a large amount of gravel was removed to create a giant pile of gravel. Bonnie, the more agile of us enjoys scurrying around on piles, while I enjoy wading, disregarding the cold water seeping through my boots. My goal today is to pick enough to fill a 4 gallon bucket. Bonnie’s goal is to search areas she knows I won’t go. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

betterday5

A perfect white Petoskey Stone.

I started hitting the mother lode immediately. Man those Petoskey’s stand out in the water. All sizes, shapes, and hues were being exhumed. I saw something very unusual. A perfect Petoskey Stone, pure white in color. It was so white, I could almost see a glowing aura surrounding it. I’ve got to get a picture. I think it would be cool to make a piece of jewelry and be able to track the pendant back to its origin. A special Petoskey for the bucket. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

Here's a pink one.

I’m finding two, three, five, and more Petoskeys’ within a foot of each other. I can scoop up two or three at a time. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

Can I find a big Pink Petoskey Stone? Yes I can; several in fact. Not all big, but very nice. I’m finding Favosites, Horn Coral, Crinoid Stems, and all forms of Devonian Soup. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

A nice big Petoskey.

Can I find a fist-sized Petoskey? Yes, almost immediately after the question forms. I love big, solid, Petoskey Stones. I’m hearing, off in the distance, the soothing sound of stones as they sort of thump and drum as they are thrown into a plastic pail. I know the Petoskey Queen is harvesting a good crop also, up above me. Can it get any better? YES IT CAN!

Why do you need extra weight in the Broll you might ask? Can I take this Garden Rock? Answer: If you want to haul it. What a gem of a woman...

I’m tiring fast. Bonnie is skirting the edges of the puddled area, while I continue to wade. Soon my Broll bucket is filled and Bonnie has half a bucket also. She already took a bunch to the truck, so we are golden. I am wasted, beat up, and my leg is killing me, but it’s amazing what you can overcome when greed sets in. Bonnie took the Broll up the road to meet me at the gate. I took all the other rocks, buckets and scoops and headed out, picking as I went back to the truck. Can it get any better? NOPE! what a day.

Shadow Agates, Greenstone, and Thomsonite Jewelry

As winter blasts keep us close to the fireplace, I have been busy creating new pendants with favorite gemstones and wire. Enjoy these two new Great Lakes Jewelry Treasures and two new Shadow Agates.

A beautiful and rare North Shore Thomsonite.

Unique to the Lake Superior region, I acquired a quantity of old stock North Shore Thomsonites over the summer and have started cutting and wrapping them into jewelry. These dark-eyed beauties are very rare and highly coveted. Since these Great Lakes gemstones came out of a site near Thomsonite Beach near Grand Marais, Minnesota that is now buried under a park, no others are found at that location.

Greenstone Lily Pads in Natrolite

The second Great Lakes Jewelry Treasure I recently made was a remarkable stone with Greenstone Lily Pads floating in a pink sea of Natrolite instead of floating in a sea of green Chlorastrolite. I made a pendant from the opposite side of this stone and it sold immediately. Never have I seen another Greenstone like this.

Shadow Wave Laguna Agate

I also made a pair of agates with shadow effect. In certain agates with opaque bands, the bands cast shadows on the adjacent bands as the agate is rotated back and forth. This crates what is referred to as “Shadow effect”. The bands casting shadows also have to be spaced correctly in order to “shadow”. the easiest was to explain shadow effect is if you lined up dominos and shined a light on the top of them. When you move the light back and forth over the dominos you see the shadow that are cast on the adjoining domino change. It’s the same with the lines in the Shadow Agate. This purpley-pink and white Laguna has a great Shadow effect. Laguna Agates from Mexico are famous for “Shadow”, but most banded agates, including my favorite, the Lake Superior Agate, can sport Shadow at times.

Blue Lace with shadow

In this old stock Blue Lace Agate I found wonderful shadow. Two Mercury Mist Topaz added at the top give elegance and sparkle to the glorious pale blue/white agate. What a great piece for a special holiday occasion or wedding!

All these are available at www.snobappealjewelry,com, Click on “View all our products”. With over 375 pendants, chains, and earrings on our site, we hope you will start your Christmas shopping with us now!

Petoskey Stone Treasure

snob-appeal-jewelry

Many times in our hunts for Petoskey Stones, we stumble across other fossils from the Devonian often mixed together in a sort of “soup”; Fossils that lived in the same neighborhood calcified in the same stone.

This fossil was special; a small piece of a Thamnopora right in the middle of a Petoskey Stone. The stone was smallish, but it went into my pocket and not into the bucket with the rest of the fossils. I did not want to see this cutie smashed when I threw another stone into my bucket.

I knew I was being called to make something wonderful.

I cut and polished the Petoskey and wrapped it in pink gold and silver. I love this piece! It will be up on the website tomorrow, so act quickly.

Thomsonite-The Amazing Pink Gemstone of Lake Superior.

Selecting Thomsonite and having coffee..can't get much better.

A few weeks ago I got a call from Grand Marais, Minnesota from a man I immediately liked. He said he was going to open a storefront and having seen my Greenstone Blog with the little Greenstones lined up on dop sticks, he thought I may be interested in selling some. He mentioned he had some very nice Thomsonite. I think we were on the same page, when I suggested we may be able to work out a barter; Greenstone for Thomsonite.

We met half way between his house and mine, in the Keweenaw. I looked through some very fine Thomsonite, while he looked through my Greenstone stash. I think we ended up with an equitable trade thus far. The trade is not complete as I need to get up to the North Shore and get more Thomsonte from him since he promised that there was lots more still at home. Who can carry all there rocks with them?

A selection or Thomsonite that are going to be cabbed and made into jewelry.

I recently cabbed the larger pieces, with great results. I even made a couple pendants from these gorgeous gemstones. These wild-eyed beauties of amazing pink are very popular. You know that Snob Appeal Jewelry specializes in Great Lakes rocks and minerals. Lake Superior Agates and Greenstones are our best sellers, followed by Thomsonite, Datolite, and Petoskey Stone jewelry, especially the rare Pink Petoskey.

Thomsonite is a copper-associated zeolite, and many of these gemstones sport little crystals of copper. Thomsonite is also found in the Keweenaw, but normally not with the dark eyes seen in North Shore stones. Both gemstones are highly coveted, scarce in good quality, and difficult to find and extract.

After cutting and wrapping the Thomsonite shown in the previous picture, I put them back near their same location in that picture.

If you look at the piece in the bottom left of the picture, you will notice a large “Feather” Thomsonite. This form shows no eyes and is comprised of tiny silky needles showing a chatoyancy, or sheen, that cannot be captured in a picture. If you ever get a chance to see one of these feathers, don’t pass it up. It is really amazing gem material.

The finished gemstones in the second picture were all cut in one day. I’ve been making cabochons for a lot of years, but I cannot remember a single day that my cutting has produced a more beautiful collection of gemstones. I had a smile on my face during the whole process.

Pink eyes are indicative of Thomsonite. Pink gold with gold or silver enhance this gemstone.

As I make Thomsonite Pendants from these stones, I discover even more beauty. It amazes me how no matter what color precious wire I use, the jewelry still looks fantastic. Two tone wire wraps of gold, silver, and pink gold show off these fantastic gemstones. I like to give them a little bling with an elegant top, but as always, I am careful not to distract from the amazing Thomsonite stone.

I am trying to get a few more pendants made, but I just had to take a break and show you the ones I made thus far. I think you will love them as much as I do.

Every Thomsonite lover looks for a dark eyed beauty. I expect this one to sell fast.

Every Thomsonite lover looks for a dark eyed beauty for their stone jewelry collection.

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.

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Radial Sagenite Laker.

Made you smile!

A rare Lake Superior Moss Agate (both sides)