Author Archives: SnobAppeal

Centennial Blue-A Memorial Gemstone

When I cross the mighty Mac, my mind drifts to Centennial Treasures; Especially when the sky matches perfectly. No, I did not re-touch the colors at all. It was amazing!

I find it wondrous that we can actually make friends “on Line”. People we may never meet in person, but somehow they become friends through some site you follow, or some Facebook Group you belong to. I can’t believe how many people I meet on Facebook become good friends. A few I have met in person, a few I will never meet, but that is OK too.

Diana Smith is one of my Facebook friends and follows my comments in various groups and on my FB business page. If you have friended Snob Appeal Jewelry on FB, you know I post up my new jewelry there first. I sometimes do a blog on pieces later, but the new stuff goes on Facebook first when I am freshly excited about it.

Bonnie's Birthday Pendant-I named this "Copper Strike"

I recently, and in the past, posted up pendants made from the very rare blue Datolite from the Centennial Mine. Centennial Datolite is so very scarce and beautiful. Diana saw a piece of jewelry I made, and mentioned her Great Uncle had lost his life in an accident at the Centennial. She wanted a Centennial Datolite Pendant as a family heirloom and as a tribute to her Uncle.

I was happy to make her something that was very special and very sentimental to her family from Centennial Datolite.

Diana's Memorial Pendant

She agreed to co-author this blog. I really appreciate her sharing her family history like this. This is one of my favorite all time blogs. Here’s what she says of her uncle:

Michele (Michael) Picchiottine

Family stories can draw us into a world of the past that strikes a chord within us and forms a bond with someone we never knew. As I researched our family history I formed that bond with the 21 year old brother of my great grandfather, Michele (Michael) Picchiottino. The Italian world was in political and economic chaos and poverty was rampant. The copper industry in Minnesota and Michigan’s U.P. offered plenty of opportunity for immigrants. Some of our family members moved to Michigan and several of them were employed in the mines. The hours were long, the conditions horrific, and many miners died. On June 13, 1891, Michele was working at Centennial Mine #3 as a laborer when he fell from a tram car on the 25th level and was run over. He joined the list of dead miners that year.

Twenty one years old, barely a man by today’s standards. A life never to be lived. His story of all those I have found in our history probably speaks to me the most. I spent my entire teaching career preparing young people to think about the choices they were making that would direct them into a successful adult life. But Michael never had that chance. As he stood on the threshold of adulthood, his life was cut short.

I told this story to Don Reed and asked him if he could make something we could pass down as a family memorial for this young man. Don suggested the minerals he had worked with ….a small piece of blue/green datolite, copper, and silver, Simple, strong and yet beautiful. The datolite is pretty much gone today , only a memory like Michael. Only a few pieces can be found here and there. We decided on plain, as Micheal’s lifestyle would have been, but solid. The pendant grew under Don’s touch and I could hardly wait to see it. I was so excited. Don did not keep me waiting long. Four days after he began, it arrived. I opened the envelope and fell in love. It was everything I had hoped for. I showed it to the girls. My daughter loves it. My granddaughter also loves it. We will all be very happy when we wear it. No, it won’t bring Micheal back, but it will keep him near our hearts.

THANK YOU, Don for knowing what I wanted, and how to make it look great. Your skills, your creativity, your patience and your speed were much appreciated. You may be sure I Will be shopping with you again. DIANA SMITH

Houghton County Mining Inspector Report

Back to Accident Name Index

Page No.	7
Full Report	Accident 21. Michael Pichiotine got onto a loaded skip at the 25th level No. 3 shaft Centennial mine to ride to the surface and when up about twenty-five feet fell off when the skip passing over him killed him instantly. An inquest was held before Justice CRUSE at which the jury exonerated the Mining Company and its officers from all blame.
Accident No.	21-1891
Source	s1
ID	r21

Source Information

Source Name	Inspector	Library Call No.	ID
Report of the Mine Inspector of Houghton County Michigan for the Year Ending September 30 1891	Josiah Hall Mine Inspector	Michigan TN 272 .H68z 1890/91	s1
Report of the Mine Inspector of Houghton County Michigan for the Year Ending September 30 1892	Josiah Hall Mine Inspector	Michigan TN 272.H68z 1892	s2
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1893	Josiah Hall Mine Inspector	Michigan TN 272.H68z 1893	s3
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1894	Josiah Hall Mine Inspector	Michigan TN 272.H68z 1894	s4
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1895	Josiah Hall Mine Inspector	Michigan TN 272.H68z 1895	s5
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1890	not named	Michigan TN 272 .H68z 1889	s6
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1897	not named	Michigan TN272 .H68z 1897	s7
Mine Inspectors Report for Houghton County, Mich. For the Year Ending September 30th 1900	not named	Michigan TN272 .H68z 1900	s8

Data contributed by: Patricia Wazny-Hamp Copyright © 2015

I find it very interesting that it was common practice back in the day to exonerate the mining companies. It was commonly accepted by the courts that miners knew the dangers of mining and by accepting employment in the mines, they also accepted the dangers. You hardly ever had any case where a fatality was the mining companies fault.

The panels that decided these cases were comprised of individuals employed in management of one mine or another, so the odds were stacked against any miner or their heirs ever getting anything as recompense. Miners lived in company housing and exclusively used company stores to buy what they needed. After paying rent and store bills, there wasn’t much left. Liability on the mines and mine owners was pretty much non existent. The miner’s wives were hesitant to sue the mines in fear of losing housing and/or any small pension that they might be receiving because of the kindness and concern of the benevolent mine management. The lack of protections was one of the many conditions that led to turmoil between labor and management and resulting strikes and protests.

The Centennial Mine in it's heyday.

The mines did not even care enough to get the spelling correct on the miner’s names. Especially difficult were Italian, Finnish, and Polish names. As you can see on the mine inspectors death investigation report, Mr. Picchiottino was misspelled. The entire report of a miner’s death investigation in a few sentences. No way this would happen today. You can read more about the life and times of the copper miners in three books by Larry D. Lankton, especially Cradle to Grave: Life, Work and Death at the Lake Superior Copper Mines. Another interesting book about the era is Death’s Door: The Truth Behind the Italian Hall Disaster and the Strike of 1913 by Steve Lehto.

Centennial Mineshaft today

An old ladder and a broken down building at Centennial

Mineshaft #6 is still visible from M-41 on the west side, north of Calumet in Centennial. The Centennial Mine opened in 1869 and closed in 1968, became flooded, was dewatered in the mid-1970’s by Homestake, but the operation was abandoned within a few years. Shafts 6 and 3 worked the Calumet and Hecla Conglomerate and yielded 1.9 billion kg of refined copper. This was the largest lode in the district and comprised one-third of the total Native Copper mined in the Keweenaw Copper District.

I love the Keweenaw Datolite, but especially the Blue from the Centennial. This blue tinge is probably caused by Kinoite. You would be hard pressed to find a random piece of Centennial around anymore. I only have a small supply left. Copper World (aka the best Gift Shop around Lake Superior), usually has a piece or two of Centennial Jewelry I’ve made. If Blue Centennial Datolite were an animal it would be on the endangered species list!

I appreciate Diana adding personal interest and her family history to this blog.

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.

Cobalt/Cobaltite–a Rare Earth Find

Cobaltite in the rough.

I might pretend to my wife that I know where everything in my barn is, but much of the time my shop is a great rock hunting area. While looking around the other day I located a fairly heavy (for its size) rock with a black outer seam. This indicates to me that it is some type of ore. I cut this rock in half and noticed several seams of bright, shiny, silvery metal.

This could be one of several things, I thought perhaps silver, hematite, mohawkite or cobalt. I eliminated mohawkite right away also hematite simply because the metal was much harder. This left silver and cobalt. I was pretty sure that this material came from Canada, because it was in a bucket with a couple other Canadian rocks. I took this specimen to a rock hunting buddy, Kevin, for him to give his opinion. He tested with a pocket knife and eliminated the silver choice since the rock crumbled off under knife pressure. We knew that this was cobalt. The cobalt seams are in an agatized material that even had banded areas, sudomorphs of Cobalt actually; very unusual indeed. Cobalt is considered a rare earth element with many uses, including medical and even mixed with Samariun in the manufacture of rare earth magnets. Just for trivia, the human body contains 1 mg of cobalt. Some of you are old enough to remember the Cobalt Glass from the 1950’s and before. Some of these old Cobalt bottles are now very collectable.

This cobalt glass from the 50's and before will bring back memories for some.

Here's the inside

After some research, I discovered that this material is called Cobaltite. Cobalt is derived from a German word, kobald, meaning goblin. So I guess it is Goblin Ore! I knew from my artist days that Cobalt was used even in ancient Egyptian times for paint coloring. Even today cobalt blue is a hue for oil paint. Early Chinese used Cobalt for the blue in their pottery glazes. Cobalt was referred to as “goblin” in medieval times because medieval miners found that the element cobalt had some troublesome effects when it released toxic vapors during the smelting process. It has since been determined that safety during smelting in those times left a lot to be desired!

Cobaltite is an cobalt iron arsenic sulfide, sometimes containing silver, copper, lead, and nickel. By looking at pictures online I could tell my piece of Cobaltite originated in the Cobalt/Gowganda region near Timiskaming District in Ontario, Canada. This is an area north northwest of Sudbury. Some Cobalt from this area is very rich in silver, which appears to be the case with my rock. Still caution will be taken because of the arsenic content associated with Cobaltite. Cobalt has unusual crystal formations that it sometimes displays. One is cubic formation and the other is Icosahedral. If you want to check on this shapes there are resources in various rock & mineral books.

To get back to the hardness of the element Cobalt, it is fairly hard, at 5.5.

Saws get dirty with hazardous oil when cutting Mohawkite and Cobaltite.

I use the same precautions when cabbing and slabbing this material as I do when cutting Mohawkite, another metal containing arsenic. Wear a respiratory, gloves, long sleeves, use lots of water, discard the cutting oil to eliminate the possibility of cross-contamination. Be safe when you deal with arsenides and many of the copper-related minerals.

Right now, I am finishing up slabbing some Mohawkite. Both Cobaltite and Mohawkite create a black gunky oil in my saws. After finishing this messy operation I must completely clean my saws with solvent and carefully dispose of the oil by encapsulating it in concrete. I try to get my saws as clean as possible so I do not get cross contamination with new oil and old residue containing arsenic.

I’ll continue this blog later when I make jewelry from the Cobaltite. First I have to cabochon the slabs, seal them, and wrap them. I’m actually eager to see how they turn out. I’ll show you in another blog.

Victoria Stone-The New Research and Victoria Stone Color Chart

It was first reported in Lapidary Journal in April 1969 that Victoria Stone was similar to Nephrite Jade, and so this myth began. In a later addition of Lapidary Journal we see a picture of Mrs. Iimori standing among piles of raw materials used in the manufacture of Victoria Stone. Victoria Stone was a name derived for marketing purposes. This chatoyant gemstone was at first named Iimori Stone. Victoria Stone has a hardness of around 6, and takes a great polish. The only issues I’ve found in it as it can be pitted at times and sometimes demonstrates cracks that have to be worked around. I’ve seen much Victoria Stone that has too many cracks, making it pretty much worthless for lapidary usage.

Sky Indigo Victoria Stone enhanced with London Blue Topaz

Victoria Stone has always been one of my favorite lapidary materials. There is some argument as to weather this is an actual “lapidary” material because recent discoveries identified i as a leaded glass material. Lapidary, by definition, is working with rocks and minerals, and gemstones to form usable products. Recent research has determined that Victoria Stone is actually leaded glass. Victoria Stone was created by Dr. S. Iimori in the late 1960’s.

Meta Jade proceeded Victoria Stone.

A later Lapidary Journal article claimed that Victoria Stone was made from natural minerals “such as Quartz, Fluorspar, Magnesite, and Feldspar, etc.” The claim was these raw materials were melted together into a molten mass with secret crystallizers, then the molten magma was poured into boules and cooled under great pressure. Literature from the U.S. distributor, The Caprock, in Rock Island, Illinois, contributed to the original story that VS was a man made Amphibole. The claim by Iimori that he ended up with synthetic Jade is now proven incorrect.

Blue/Green with a Peridot enhancer.

Dr. S Iimori never patented his process, only he, and his son apparently knew the secrets to the whole process. By supposition, you might assume that Iimori did not patent his formula because it was the same as Leaded Glass. The only secret, still unsolved, is what exactly was mixed into the molten mix to make it recrystallize like it does.

There is much mis-information on the web about Victoria Stone, and as with all Internet information it seems to have grown into folklore. Most people that sell this material will claim that this material is actually a man made amphibole, made from natural materials. Well glass is made from sand, and that is a natural material. Make your own judgements on that.

When the Victoria Stone “boule” was released from its mold they had a crust on them. This crust is indicative of a glass mixture. I still own a white boule with the crust still on it. I can tell you this crust is glass-like. All those working on re-inventing Victoria Stone are working on glass formulas. All the stories of this material being artificial Jade are being disproved, but you will still hear the myth that Victoria Stone is a “Natural Man Made Stone”. Also, you will hear the stories of Dr. Iimori taking the secret of making this material to his grave. The truth is his son knew the process, but when he tried to produce Victoria Stone himself one process failed or was forgotten, and Kato’s VS did not bind properly, making it unusable for lapidary work.

I have always thought Victoria Stone cuts and fractures almost like glass. What puzzles me is it seems to have an oily, slippery texture unlike any glass I’ve cut. The oily feel of the cut is, I believe, caused by the lead content in the glass. Other leaded glass I’ve cut does not seem as slippery feeling, if that makes sense. I think you have to cut a substantial amount of VS to appreciate how wonderful it cuts and polishes.

The questions I have on how Victoria Stone was made are many. Why, if it is glass, did these boules have to be cooled under pressure over a long period of time? I assume it was so the crystals could form properly. Why was Iimore’s son not able to re-produce Victoria Stone without it falling apart? I predict one of the many re-inventors working on making VS will eventually discover the elusive secret. I personally know that there are individuals in Australia and the U.S, and probably in Asia also, are working on producing Victoria Stone again. You will see glass that resembles Victoria Stone in the not too distant future. Remember you saw it here first.

A closeup of the bottom of a rare Gray Victoria Stone Boule

The bottom of a rare White Victoria Stone Boule shows the star pattern that all boules displayed.

I own a pair of rare boules, which are a cylindrical shape with one flattened end and weigh perhaps 3-4 pounds. My friends, having worked with Victoria Stone since the 60’s, 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. I’ll be curious is one of my 50 year old boules makes sounds when I cut them.

I decided to update this post , that I first posted on May 8, 2009, to add this information and pictures of my boules. I believe there are very few full boules left after forty years, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to see them before I cut them up. I acquired these boules in an estate sale a couple years back. The gray boule is especially rare. You never see Gray VS on the market. Since it was a very dull color that most Lapidarists found boring, not much was made or purchased. I am hoping that the boules are not cracked inside too badly. I may even Youtube (is that a verb?) the cutting procedure for you later this year.

My two Victoria Stone Boules The white one still has its’ crust, The right gray one has been pealed.

Finding a full Victoria Stone boule is impossibly rare after all these years. There are just that many around anymore. All the boules Iimori produced were approximately five inches tall, four inch base, tapering to a rounded top of approximately three inches. Even finding and acquiring these boules has a great story. I may do another blog on that alone.

Another unusual crystallization habit to Victoria Stone Boules is that you see “star crystallization” only at the bottom and near the surface of these boules. So IF you see stars on a piece of Victoria Stone, you know it is that very rare and most coveted bottom slice. I describe this piece as the “Filet Mignon” of the boule. The rest of the boule is “Feathery” and does not star as the bottom. I do not know how the boules were poured, so perhaps what I call the bottom (The fattest section), was actually the top when it was poured.

Victoria Stone boules were sold at the Tucson Gem Shows in the 70’s, as well as slabs and cabs. 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.

Sky Blue beauty

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. When Victoria Stone cooled, it re-crystallized from its molten state; forming beautiful feather-like chatoyant crystals. I see similar crystallization in Pectolite (Larimar), Thomsonite, Isle Royale Greenstone, and Prehnite.

Victoria Stone was originally produced in fifteen colors: green, sky blue, reddish purple, yellow green, blue green, sky indigo, chocolate, yellow, deep indigo, white, black, grey, quiet blue, quiet yellow, and quiet green. (See Color Chart)

Recently, someone posted up some pieces (chunks) of Victoria Stone they found in Tucson or Quartzite. Never buy Victoria stone in broken chunks. You have to remember that this is a glass-like material and if a boule was dropped or broken up with a hammer, all these pieces will be cracked and virtually unusable. Always purchase VS in slabs or cabs if you find any.

My original post on this can be seen at May 2009.

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.

Original Colored Brochure

It was difficult to get a clear image on my copy, but the stone colors are as close as I could get them.

The original Victoria Stone Color Brochure-Front

Some “Stones” are Not Quite Real

Mosaic Turquoise-not real Turquoise, but nice looking.

Lapidary (Lapidarist) is an artisan that shapes rocks, minerals, and gemstones into cabochons, faceted gemstones, carvings, inlays, and numerous other amazing things. By this definition, making jewelry from non-stone materials is not Lapidary Work. There are varying opinions on this topic. The lengthiest discussions I’ve seen in the Facebook Groups I belong to is whether working with materials other than natural rocks is actually lapidary. Let’s look at some of the Lapidary materials at the center of this hot controversy.

Fordite cabs

One of the most popular non-stones is Fordite. Fordite is a general term used for any paint residue (overspray) that has built up in layers on walls, carriages, and pipes. REAL Fordite is lead based paint, sprayed by real human beings, in the automotive plants prior to the mid 70’s. In the interest of being brand-conscious, it might be called GM-ite, or to be neutral it might be called Motor City Agate. In the mid-70’s the Government outlawed Lead in paint and mandated Powder Coating. Powder Coating eliminated the overspray, therefore eliminating buildup of paint. Recently, imitations of real Fordite have been showing up on the market. It is relatively easy to distinguish new stuff from old. New stuff is bright, or in hot metallic colors never used in the old days. The layers are much thicker and the new fake Fordite does not contain Lead as the old stuff did. Lead content would be impossible to determine by a glance. I would eat some of the paint, and if you eventually die, it’s probably got lead in it. WAIT, I’m just kidding, but wanted to see if you were paying attention.

Mosaic Turquoise is cheap chalk Turquoise imbedded in resin with other material, most dyed. It is attractive material, and people like it, but again not completely genuine natural stone. Most Turquoise, especially beads, are stabilized with resin now days. In the old days turquoise was not used that was chalky or soft. Today, Stabilized Turquoise is the norm and is not considered “fake”. Some of our customers prefer unstabilized Turquoise, and we have this material, although it is more expensive that stabilized material. The fact is that much Turquoise, especially from China, is also dyed. By cutting my own Turquoise, I am able to determine what is stabilized and what is not. To be honest, the stabilized Turquoise if much harder and polishes better, in keeping with it’s status as a true Gemstone.

Various Drusy treatments.

An example of vapor deposition on a drusy.

Drusy (Druzy) Quartz is often dyed, vapor treated, or both. A treatment called Vapor deposition is used on much of this material. Natural Drusy Quartz pockets are formed into cabochons, then treated with Titanium (or other) vapors. This creates an amazing array of colors and patterns on the Drusy pockets. Many of our customers love these “blingy” pieces. I consider these real stones that have been enhanced.

Leland Blue Stone is actually slag glass.

A local favorite, non-rock Glass Slag referred to as Leland Blue Stone, is not a stone at all, but residue from an old smelter that was located in Leland, Michigan. the slag was dumped in Lake Michigan and used for fill back in the day. Heavy promotion has made Leland Blue jewelry sought after in the Grand Traverse area of NW lower Michigan.

Goldstone of various colors is also glass.

Another popular glass used in jewelry is Goldstone. Simply put it is glass with microscopic pieces of copper in it. There is interesting history behind Goldstone that a Wiki search can shed light on for you. Other colors of Goldstone are produced ( blue, purple, and green) using different colored glass and different minerals for the flash. Another name for Goldstone is Aventurine Glass. This is a great descriptive term for Goldstone. Goldstone has an optical effect called Aventurescence, similar to natural Aventurine stone.

Bumblebee is not fake.

There are some rocks, like Bumblebee Jasper (not a jasper at all), that you would swear was fake, but is actually real. Bumble bee is actually a tuft material found in volcanic vents in Indonesia. Recently, it is rumored that the readily available material has been mined out. It has always been difficult to find high quality Bumblebee. The only place I ever found to get real good stuff is by carefully searching the Tucson Gem Shows. We still have some pieces at a reasonable cost, but expect Bumblebee to increase in value in the very near future.

I have found that many jewelry makers are not able to tell you about their stones. They do not collect and/or cut their own stones. In most cases I can tell my customers exactly what the stones are in my jewelry, where they came from, and I am always completely honest in talking about any treatments or enhancements the stones have been subjected to.

The rocks and gems we make our jewelry from can come from sources around the world, but it’s another matter when jewelry, like that seen in big box stores is manufactured by overseas companies. This makes the jewelry imported. If the jewelry is “designed” in the USA and manufactured overseas, or in Mexico, it is still imported. Our treated gemstones are sometimes imported and sometimes manufactured in America. We can answer most any questions as to the source of any gemstones we sell.

Our business is based on integrity and honesty, unlike many. I see much deceitfulness or ignorance on E-bay in particular, and some dealers in general. With us, you can be assured what is advertised is what you get. Sometimes you can purchase jewelry cheaper than ours. We cannot compete with imported inexpensive jewelry, nor do we try. If you want cheap imported jewelry, go to a big box store. If you want a common, overpriced Diamond, you know where they are found. But if you want an American made, rare, one-of-a-kind piece of quality jewelry, Snob Appeal Jewelry is your choice.

Looking back at 2014 Jewelry (and one 2015 Baby)

snob-appeal-jewelrytuxedo My New Years Pendant this year was inspired by both a dream I had and something that matches our company colors of Red, Black, and White. I pictured this exact ending in my dream. Tuxedo Agate is a dyed Brazilian Agate. The dyeing procedure is the same as is used in the manufacture of Black Onyx. I’m betting you did not know that most Black Onyx was dyed. I combined a piece of Onyx with a great piece of Tuxedo Agate and enhanced the pendant with Rhodolite Garnets. The wire is Argentium Sterling. A few hours of careful work produced a pendant I’m quite proud of. I expect this pendant, as well as the rest of the new pendants in this blog will be for sale in the near future.

As the end of 2014 comes to an end, we want to thank all our faithful customers for a record setting year. The Holiday rush is over and thankfully all orders have been delivered. Many Snob Appeal Jewelry patrons will be happy when Christmas morning comes.

Greenstones are our best sellers. these special ones are from old stock from Isle Royale.

I think back to the wonderful family I met at a Hotel in Munising this summer. We were returning from a trip to the Keweenaw and I had some extra copper, and other rocks I collected. The kids were delighted when I gave them some for their collections. Dad got a business card, and months later I got a call from their mother before Christmas. She wanted Greenstones to add to her children’s collections. I provided some nice stones at a modest price and filled a flat rate box with many more rocks that should make these young rockhounds very happy on Christmas morning. Sometimes rocks in the socks can be a good thing (but no coal!). Things like this just give me a good dose of feeling “Festive”.

Datolite in matrix from the Isle Royale #6 in Houghton County.

Snob Appeal Jewelry is known for our Isle Royale Greenstone (chlorastrolite), Lake Superior Agates, Pink Petoskey Stones, and all Michigan gemstones including Thomsonite, Mohawkite, and Prehnite. Fordite and Firebrick are two man-made substances with unique connections to Michigan history, that were industry left-overs and now are usable for interesting jewelry.

Mosaic Turquoise is a composite material that is very striking in its' coloration.

Although Greenstones are becoming more and more scarce, we continue to seek out old collections and collect in secret locations in the Keweenaw in order to keep our stock supplied. Over the past year a few small stashes have wrenched themselves free, and found their way into our collection. Look for a limited supply of new gemstones from up north to appear in new jewelry pieces.

We also invite you to explore our natural stone pendants of Crazy Lace Agate, Malachite, Ocean Jasper, and my favorite shimmery Pietersite. Another jewelry stone with lots of glamour is the very gorgeous and special man-created Victoria Stone. These are some of my favorite stones to work with.

We are not attending any of the western shows this winter. Over the years this has allowed us to create jewelry from so many beautiful gemstones from across the world. Some of our most colorful favorites are Rhodochrosite, Charoite, and Queensland Agates. We love going to Tucson and Quartzite, but I need time this winter to cut rocks and make jewelry in preparation for the Agate Expo in 2016.

Variscite from Fairfield, Utah with facetted Rose Quartz

Recent purchases of major rock collections have also added to our stock, and these also have to be dealt with. Look forward for some jaw-dropping jewelry in 2015.

Bonnie has been hinting how she'd like a pendant made from some Sonoran Sunset. She finally got this one for Christmas.

I’m pleased to announce that a complete re-vamp of our website is underway to make our website more compatible with mobile devices. There will be new interfaces and amazing technological advances, making Snobappealjewelry.com one of the premiere places for jewelry shopping on the web. We hope you will shop with us again in the New Year!

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!

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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.

Petoskey Stone Christmas

Christmas Day 2014

The new Treasure Scoop is a bit bigger and beefier than the old one.

Rockhounds get really excited when a new rock hunting tool appears under the Christmas Tree. This happily happened to me today when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a new Treasure Scoop. I already own several scoops. The older ones were known as Gem Scoops, but they are the same. The older scoops are 36″ in length, but my new tool is a beefy 42″. I think size really does matter here. These longer scoops are something new.

The new scoops are well made tools from The Fundamental Rockhound. www.myrockhound.com. I have no connection to this company, but I recommend these scoops, and believe every rockhound should own at least one. As you get older and wiser, you try to find easier ways to get those rock treasures. These Treasure Scoops lessen your bending, increase your reach into the water or rock pile, and are a nice walking stick.

Before using any tool, some, but not all, rockhounds will read the directions on any new tool. Let’s examine these directions, especially the warnings:

DO NOT use this tool for any of the following:

Hammer, pick, shovel, or pry bar. I admit to violating these rules occasionally, but I can see why this CYA warning is listed.

DO NOT use in a lightning storm–No lightning in the winter, so we’re good on this.

This tool is NOT to be used by children-Our kids are grown, so we are good to go on this also.

Please use this tool responsibly-OK

Is there anything about NOT using this tool in the snow?-Nope; good to go.

“Hey Bonnie, lets go Petoskey Stone Hunting”. How great is it to have married a woman nearly as crazy as me. Let’s see; snow on the ground, 32 degrees, wind chill 15 degrees. I guess all we need are good coats, hats and gloves. We’re off!

Semi-insane Petoskey Stone Hunting.

Nice Petoskey!

A Petoskey Stone hunt on Christmas. How cool is that? The story continues at one of the gravel pits we hunt. There is indeed snow, but some exposed stones. Lets get some! Difficult to find, but we are rockhounds, and we will prevail. I have my new scoop and as I search I hear that old Kenny Rogers-Dolly Parton song:

“Petoskey’s in the snow

That is where they are are

No snow in between

How can we be wrong

Scoop away with me

To another world

And we rely on each other, ah ha

From one rockhound to another, ah ha”

The Christmas Collection 2014

“Adventure” rockhounding, gotta love it.

Angels all over the House

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I’ve been in an angel making flurry the past week. I’ve made many pendants and earrings to match in my bout of festivity. Bonnie has to re-order a bunch of beads, and I have had fun creating festive Christmas jewelry. here are a few of these angels for your enjoyment.

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Wirecrafting New Stone Pendants

Montana Moss Agate chock full of Dendrites. This one is called "Snow Swirl".

Montana Moss Agate Pendant I called Foggy Marsh.

Montana Moss Agate Pendant I called "Foggy Bog".

I have been very busy this last month. Internet business has been brisk, and I have been posting up many new pendants. If you haven’t checked recently, you should have a look. Christmas is coming up fast. Every year someone (guys in general) will call three days before Christmas wanting something immediately. We prefer not to rush the USPS! I can send things out overnight service, but cannot guarantee the USPS, especially during the holiday rush. Overnight here often means 2 days.

I made a couple of new Montana Moss Agate Pendants within the past week. I love Moss Agate, and as you may know there are many different varieties. The “Moss” in these agates is not actually some sort of petrified moss, but is inclusions of Manganese, Iron, or other minerals that formed moss or fern-like structures within the Quartz agate. These inclusions are called Dendrites.

Careful, and often thin, cutting can really enhance these organic looking inclusions. I’ve ruined more than a few of these moss agates learning proper cutting. It’s worth learning when you see a virtual garden of “Moss” in what looks like a fantastic picture of what you might see in a real-life landscape, or underwater vista.

I called this Fire Agate "Fire Nebula"

Sometimes I come across a very beautiful Fire Agate with deep botroidal pattern and a rainbow of colors. These are again very tricky to cut, as the “fire” forms in a micro-thin layer on the bubbly looking inclusions in brown quartz. If you cut too deep, there goes the fire; if you cut too shallow the brown quartz will disguise the true colors under it. There is really a fine line between taking off too much or too little. There are Lapidarists who specialize in Fire Agate only.

Poppy Jasper

Poppy Jasper is increasingly rare orbicular jasper. It is a brecciated jasper, meaning it probably came from sun-dried and oxidized iron-rich clay. The cracks were filled in by other substances, in the case with these; Agate. I cut two pendants from a fine piece that Bonnie found when cleaning (or rather rooting) around in our barn.

I added a pair of garnets to the top of this one.

Isle Royale Greenstone is our best seller, so I thought a couple new creations would be in order.

Greenstone lillypads afloat in Natrolite.

You may think you’ve seen this Natrolite and Greenstone before. You almost have! I posted the opposite half in my November blog.

Just a really fine Greenstone. I called this one "Day to Dinner"

The other new Keweenaw beauty is simply a very nicely patterned Greenstone Pendant.

Bonnie says I must make Christmas Jewelry, so I guess I have to get to it. I’ll show you later.

Some of these pendants in this blog are for sale and linked to the shopping cart. Just click on the picture and have a look. If nothing happens, the pendant is spoken for, but get ahold of me and I’ll make a similar one for you.