I Can Cut, Shape, and Polish your Rock

One of our primary services, at Snob Appeal Jewelry, is custom lapidary services.

ocean jasper slabs at Snob Appeal Jewelry — Polished slabs of Ocean Jasper

Stones are fascinating and invite us to pick them up and enjoy their uniqueness. Sometimes we want to do a bit more with them, requiring custom lapidary work. We realize most people do not have the skills of equipment to bring their dreams to fruition. Here are some of the lapidary techniques we use to assist our customers in enjoying their rocks.

Rock Cutting

With several sizes of saws I can cut rocks up to 12″ tall, or slice your rock into pieces, chunks or slabs. I can face polish these rocks in most cases. (Face polishing means polishing just one side, leaving the other outer crust natural.) People sometimes request slabs of certain sizes to fit a backsplash or tabletop. Some rocks would not be suitable for a tabletop, but for a backsplash or wall trim piece, they may be perfect. I cannot guarantee your rock’s stability. Any solid rock may have cracks in it that you don’t see.

Rock Slabbing

Slabbing: rocks and minerals are generally slabbed in order to cut cabochons or custom shapes. We do this.

I wire wrapped this CZ for the person who cut it. It turned out very striking.

I never did figure out what this was, but the customer found it and wanted a pendant. I re-worked it by cross etching, so the fossil would stand out.

Enhanced fossil at Snob Appeal Jewelry — Doesn’t this look better?

Cabochon Cutting

Yes; I can cut your African rock into the shape of Africa.

Shaping and polishing cabochons: We can cut almost any shape from a slab or rock. We make cabochons both calibrated (round, oval, square, triangle, and such), and freeform designer shapes as well. “I found this rock in Africa, can you cut out the shape of Africa, out of it?” YES! I can. “Can you make Christmas Tree ornaments from my Petoskey Stones?” YES! I can.

Colorful Datolite Cabochons. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Datolite Cabochons ready for jewelry,

CustomBeading

We can make a custom beaded necklace and matching earrings. Tell us your vision, and we’ll work with you to create a special piece of jewelry. Bonnie is professionally trained in beading, including hand knotting. She doesn’t just go buy beads at a craft store and throw them on a string. This is not “art” to us.

Petoskey Stone and Leland Blue Bracelet. Snob Appeal Jewelry — One of Bonnie’s creations. Petoskey Stone, Datolite, and Leland Blue.

I polished this for a lady whose husband had terminal cancer. I had no idea there would be an angel in it. It was really a good omen for them. He saw it before he passed on.

A customer sent these stones from a nostalgic family outing. I drilled and stacked them into a 2″ tall pendant. Happy Camper!

Small Unpolished Michigan Greenstone. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Perhaps you have found a Greenstone that needs polishing.

Isle Royale Greenstone cabochon. Snob Appeal Jewelry — A Greenstone like the one above, might look this good. Have you found one you think is nice. Let me cut it.

Custom Lapidary Work

Making Jewelry from a Special Rock. People often call or send me an E-mail, for example, that they have a certain nostalgic rock, found many years ago with Grandpa, found on a memorable trip, or found in the basement of garage of their Rockhound grandparents. These are perfect candidates for custom lapidary work. I’ve made a pendant for a lady whose husband had terminal cancer, and she wanted me to cut and wrap a rock that he had given her years ago. I was able to get this done before he passed away, so he could see it.

I can get backed up on these custom orders, but I will advise you of my estimated backload, and when you should expect any custom work. No matter how homely that nostalgic stone is, I treat it as it is the most treasued Diamond; as if it were mine. You are always kept “in the loop”, with progress reports as your project is made.

Star Crinoids. Snob Appeal Jewelry — A customer sent these Star Crinoids, he found, to be made into pendants and earrings. The material was not very stable, and was a challenge.

Polishing your rock: Polishing is often combined with cutting, but not all the time. As an example, we live in an area where people find Michigan’s Official State Stone, the Petoskey Stone. These stones are almost pure Calcite, and some of them get pretty beat up in the surf of Lake Michigan. Barely any Petoskey Stones are water polished, so the crust needs to be removed, and a nice polish needs to be added. If you are looking for someone to polish your Petoskey, or most other stones, look no further.

One of my all-time favorite projects, A Greenstone and Petoskey Stone Turtle I made for a Christmas gift for one of my friends’ wife. A Christmas present of a lifetime.

Did you find any Yooperstones in the U.P.? Let me make something of them.

Datolite with Copper Lightning. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Datolite with copper Lightning.

Laguna Agate. Snob Appeal Jewelry — Very unusual Laguna Agate.

My Busy Workbench

An average day on my workbench. Several things happening at once.

Lake Superior Agate slices. Snob Appeal Jewelry — I cut some deluxe Lake Superior Agates for myself. I could cut yours’ also.

We are like that guy on the TV commercials, that’s seen it all. When it comes to rocks, I have not seen it all, but I’ve been around long enough that I have seen a lot, and done a lot, with rocks.

Even though I make jewelry from Precious Metal Wire, I have studied Lost Wax, Silversmithing, Chain Making, faceting, and other disciplines at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts. I have settled on Wire wrapping, because it is very a very creative art form. My wire wrapping skills are a step (or many steps), above most. This is because I try to improve every aspect of what I do, each time I do it. I never settle on “Good Enough”. I strive for perfection, but realize there is always room for improvement.

Lake Superior Agate Pendant and cabochon. Snob Appeal Jewelry — **Send me a picture of what you have, and there is a possibility I could make something amazing for you.**

Wire Wrapping

The stone is the star with my wire wrapping. Our custom lapidary work enhances whatever gemstone I use. I do not hide my gemstones in a lot of wire. Some Wire Artists use lots of wire with loop-de-loops and curlicues galore, but it is not my style. I spend too much time cutting my unusual, and/or rare stones, to hide them in a tangle of wire. I have been taught wrapping using a lot of wire, often referred to as “Wire Sculpture”, but my personal style is considered “classical”, with a more restrained use of the wire as decoration.

We are not a big production shop, so if you want multiple. production line, type work, I’m not your guy. We are a small business, based on honesty and integrity, creating one-of-a-kind pieces. We always treat our customers as if they are friends and family.

If you have a Lapidary project that you have been thinking about, let us know. We look forward to working with you. If I can’t do your project, I may know someone who can.

Read more about our custom work:

Making Custom Great Lakes Stone Jewelry

Cabochons, Custom Lapidary, and Found Treasures

Custom Rock Cutting, Lapidary, and Wire Jewelry, Created Just for You!

Thanks for over a decade of support for our “Snob Blog”

Ocean Jasper – Amazing Pastel Colors and Patterns

The variety in both pastel coloration and pattern in Ocean Jasper in phenomenal.

I have never written a blog about Ocean Jasper, even though it has been one of my favorite non-Michigan stones. I expect this blog will atone me of that sin–Amen!

When Ocean Jasper appeared in Tucson at the gem shows, around 2000, it was the hottest stone in town! Paul Obeniche discovered Ocean Jasper in 1999 after years of searching. Eugene Mueller, of the Gem Shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and Paul Obeniche introduced Ocean Jasper to Tucson in 2000. Gene was responsible for the trade name “Ocean Jasper”. For several years, Ocean Jasper was all over Tucson, and I purchased a lot back in the day. The orbs, veins, and crystal pockets make each piece have its own special character.

orbicular jasper rough — Obicular Jasper from Madagascar was readily available back in 2010

Ocean Jasper rough — I wish now I’d have purchased more.

Ocean Jasper close up show Orbicular patterns — This is a closeup of and Ocean Jasper intarsia tabletop. Tucson 2011.

Ocean Jasper beads. We may still have some of these.

Surprising colorations are not uncommon.

Discovered in NW Madagascar, this colorful Obicular jasper was ripe with patterns and colors, as well as crystal veins throughout the gemstone. There were two mines, one on land, and one on the shore. The deposit on the shore was mostly harvested during low tides. Even though the name Ocean Jasper was copywrited, others tapped into the demand for this material. The veins were depleted in 2006. Most of my Ocean Jasper has been purchased from Enter the Earth (Entertheearth.net). Enter The Earth owns the now depleted Ocean Jasper Mines in Madagascar.

Crystal Glory Ocean Jasper at Snob Appeal Jewelry — “Crystal Glory” was this one’s name.

Flowers Ocean Jasper Pendant at Snob Appeal Jewelry — We called this one “Flowers”

Ocean Jasper Pendants at Snob Appeal Jewelry — A selection of Ocean Jasper pendants of various colors

Obicular Jasper from Madagascar can still be found at rock shows, and it remains one of my favorite pendant-making stones. Even though the fun days of searching though 50 gallon drums, or Gaylord Boxes of OJ are over, still, searching through my barn piles might produce Ocean Jasper. I bought a lot of Ocean Jasper back in the day. The colors are so varied and unique it is hard to resist.

Bonnie, while editing this blog, mentioned that I should make some new Ocean Jasper Pendants. I told her if she could find some, that I would. She rooted around and found some beautiful slabs from 2011. I guess I have to get busy.

By 2002 this jasper-agate was all over the Tucson Gem show as beads, slabs, spheres, bookends, and all other things lapidary. By 2006 the source was pretty much depleted, but the stockpile must have been huge. Ever since around 2011, availably is becoming less and less.

The demand for this Obicular Jasper has decreased over the years, but I still produce an occasional pastel Pendant; Ocean Jasper just makes me happy! Our pendants are elegantly wire wrapped with top-quality 14/20 yellow gold, pink gold, and tarnish-resistant argentium silver wires–Check out our Ocean Jasper jewelry page to see what makes you happy!

Rock Foolers and Other Thoughts.

Some stones confuse or surprise rockhounds by looking different from the norm. For April Fool’s, let’s take a look at some of these Rock Foolers!

Sodalite Granite pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Fluorescent Sodalite Granite Pendant from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This stone has many names, Filrefly Granite (my own name), or YooperStones, found by Johnny Gladstone. It is a fine grain granite found on the shores or near Lake Superior
when hunted with UV lights at night. It is typical granite in the daylight, but….

Fluorescent Sodalite Granite Pendant under UV light — but under UV lighting, this granite sports amazing bright yellows and oranges.

If you have ever attended the Tuscon Gem Shows you know how massive they are. 50 some shows with hundreds of dealers at each. Anyone experienced at Tucson knows that many times the same stones are sold by different dealers, but have different names. This is done for marketing purposes and fools many unwary buyers. Blue Pectolite, for example is sold as Larimar. A picture jasper might be sold under three different names even though it is the same thing.

Cold Mountain Thunderegg is surprisingly like Butterfly Jasper

Sometimes these deceptions are intentional, but sometimes a dealer might not know or remember what it is, and randomly gives it a name. You can be fooled at the shows! I have also benefited from dealers not knowing what they have. One time in a major dealer show in Tucson, I purchased an amazing Black & Red Kentucky Agate because a facetted gen dealer did not know what she had.

In my own barn I have come across material that has fooled me into thinking it was something else. In this blog I show you a few surprising variations, that might fool us into thinking it is something other than what it really is!

In my business, I won’t sell something that I’m not sure what it is. Sometimes it takes a lot of research to discover the identity of a stone.

I know that turquoise is somewhere in the turquoise range. Sometimes people say they have white turquoise, but there is no such thing. There is white buffalo which is sometimes sold as Turquoise.

Petrified Wood from Holbrook, AZ, just outside the Petrified National Park. Here it is dressed in rainbow colors with no indication of the normal patterns associated with Petrified Wood.

Another fooler is Picture Petrified Wood from Holbrook AZ.

Rhodochrosite Pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — The common Rhodochrosite is basically pink, or even brown. Rhodochrosite color varies from brown to brightr pink. This piece has yellow bands alternating with pink Rhodochrosite.

Crushed Pattern Petoskey Stone by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Michigan’s State Stone is the Petoskey stone. Ocassionally we find Petoskey Stones that are very unusual and might not be readily identified as our statre stone. This stone has a crushed pattern with unusual blue mottling….

Close up of crushed pattern Petoskey Stone — This close up clearly shows the Hexagonaria patterns. It takes a close examination to determine the true identity of this April Fooler!

Great Lakes Gemstone Pendant on Steroids

It isn’t often that a write a blog about one pendant, but I had to do it with this one.

Extravagant Greenstone Pendant with ten Greenstones plus two Thomsonites — A challenging pendant yet to be named. My two suggestions are “Extravagant Wire Whimsy” or “Don’s Wrestling Match”. Since I’ve already sold it, I told the new owner, she could name it.

Sometimes when wire-wrapping, things happen that you wish had not happened, and you end up going in a totally new direction. This is how I made a Great Lakes Gemstone Pendant on Steroids, and it started by an accident.

It was a heartbreaking moment. While creating a really nice Blue Datolite Pendant a week ago, during the final setting, the top of this rare gem fractured. I am capable of reworking a stone, but I decided, as a challenge, to use the wire frame; adapt it, so to speak, to make another totally different pendant.

The decision to change tracks in the middle of the race, was spurred by thrift, I didn’t want to waste the wire frame I had just built! I looked through a couple trays of Great Lakes Cabochons, and plucked out an amazing dark-eyed Thomsonite that fit well in the bottom of the original wire bundle, but it wasn’t nearly as big as the Datolite I had started with. So I paired this with both a slender Isle Royale Greenstone, and a very unusual Green and dark pink Prehnite. Wow, now I had the challenge I was looking for. How do you securely fit three Great Lakes stones in a space designed for one?

Fortunately, Bonnie (my wife), was not around for all the expletives, as I wrestled to re-shape this wire frame to accommodate new stones. There was much bending, pushing and pulling involved . Most of you do not wire wrap, so I have to explain that it is a finesse skill. Precious metal wire will harden as you work with it, and eventually, if you work it too much, will get brittle and break. After a couple decades of wire wrapping, I generally get a feel for when the wire will break. I HATE when this happens–it means you have wasted wire and time. You have to start all over again. I have to admit, the wire (and myself), were right on the edge of breaking.

close up of Calcite with copper in Greenstone — Notice the Copper included Calcite in the bottom of the long Greenstone.

The pendant took large quantities of coffee over three days, to get it right. I finished the original cage for the stones, but the pendant lacked balance. This is an artistic term that means that it looked “not right”. Not quite that it looked like crap, but something else was needed.

How about some Greenstone beads? Now that would be decadent, wouldn’t it? I strung 8 tiny Greenstone beads along on edge. After this more messing around took place. How do I fit this stone in, how do I attach this all together, that doesn’t look just right, this needs to be fit in and so on. Finally I added a Thomsonite Bead on the top. NAILED IT!! I just know when things have melded.

Extravagant Greenstone Pendant by Snob Appeal Jewelry — Thomsonite, Prehnite, Greenstone

Bonnie liked it also. If it passes the “Bonnie inspection” all is good. She may say “it’s nice” and bring me a cup of coffee, I feel worthy when she does this.

back side of wire pendant — I REALLY liked the rear of this pendant. Doesn’t it look like an abstract art project?.

One of my favorite parts of this pendant, is the back. The wire design on the back, accidentally; No wait; purposely came out amazing. Usually when we sell a pendant, the buyer will examine the front AND the back. I can’t wait for someone to carefully look at the back of this pendant.

When I finish a new pendant, and it passes the Bonnie quality control inspection, I always say that I “Got Lucky Again”. I think I got lucky on this crazy Great Lakes Gemstone on Steroids!

Visit our jewelry pages to see current selections:

Great Lakes Pendants

Greenstones

Thomsonite Pendants

Lake Superior Agate Pendants-My Favorites

Small is often wonderful. A dime sized Candy Striper will make someone happy.

My Favorite Gemstone

Those that know me and/or follow my Snob Blog, know that my Favorite Jewelry Stones are Lake Superior Agates. I love the variety of types, and the amazing natural designs and colors.

The different banded patterns of Lakers is amazing.

The deep Maroon red and bright whites makes this Candy Striper “Classy”.

Refined Pendants

My self-isolating and social distancing has provided time and inclination to make the perfect piece of jewelry. Even if most people cannot readily discern any difference in my pendants, I can tell I’m using new techniques and liking the results. My designs are becoming often more complex and intricate, and I’ve been experimenting more. My recent pendants have reflected these refinements.

Pinks were the colors I tied together in this free-swinging triple-stoned pendant. The top is a Delaware Datolite with the pink that that location is famous for. The middle gemstone is, of course, a pinkish banded Laker, and the bottom is a grouping of Isle Royale Greenstone beads with pink Thomsonite inclusions.

I love the unusual! There is a lot going on in this stone, including a bit of Smokey Quartz.

One of the most eye-appealing Lakers ever. Unusual coloration with lovely Shadow-effect banding. The transparency is amazing also.

Banding and designer shapes flow perfectly together in this remarkable Lake Superior Agate treasure.

Small and simple, requiring nothing but neat wire wrapping. The stone is definitely the star here.

Since “Lakers” are my favorites, they have been imbued with some extra special thought and development as of late. Many of my recent Lakers have been combined with other gemstones in diverse ways.

Lake Superior Agates are a Great Investment

Why do we sell so many Lake Superior Agates? Several factors are involved. I look for the very best rough material, perfect agates; mostly fracture free, with spectacular colors and banding. These qualities are difficult to obtain, and I’m never really sure how an agate looks until I cut it. I reject the majority of the Lake Superior Agates I look at Our customers appreciate quality. I refuse to compromise when it comes to jewelry.

I try to match the shaping and finishing to the particular agate. Many of our pendants are wrapped in more than one precious metal. This makes buying easier if you are not certain what a special person might wear regarding metal. I try to match the metal to the stone pendant I am making.

The best Quality Control Available

My wife, Bonnie, serves as quality control. She is brutally honest with me. I appreciate her opinions, and make any adjustments she recommends (sometimes). I can trust her to match any pendant with the correct chain.

Our jewelry always looks better in person; this delights our customer base. Many of our customers become old friends as they purchase jewelry repeatedly from our inventory. We also produce jewelry for our customers stones.

The finest Lake Superior Agate Jewelry Anywhere-Shop Now!

The Most Remarkable Greenstone I’ve Ever Cut

It’s always heartbreaking when a good friend passes away. I hope you will indulge me as I remember Beth Harland, a loyal member or the Grand Traverse Area Rock & Mineral Club.

I recall that John and Beth joined our club in 2005 or 2006, when they moved up after retirement to Traverse City. John became Club President shortly there after and Beth took notes for the Club Newsletter that I edited.

Over the years Beth invested in many pieces of jewelry that I made, and I mentored John in Wire Wrapping. We became close friends.

In 2009 John handed me a Greenstone, and asked if I could make a pendant for Beth. The Greenstone was 3 1/2″ by over 2″! “You want me to cut this Greenstone; are you sure?” Over the course of the next week, I asked him if he was still sure, and the answer was yes every time.

The following incorrect information was found on the internet:

“The largest gem quality stone is in the Smithsonian Museum and measures 1.5 by 3 inches. It was first described from Isle Royale, Lake Superior by C. T. Jackson and J. D. Whitney in 1847. Chlorastrolite, also known as greenstone, is the official state gem of Michigan.”

John found this Greenstone on Isle Royale back in the early 60’s, and it sat on a shelf for all those years. The above information was on Pinterest and is obviously incorrect . John’s Stone was the REAL world record. The finished stone easily covers a half-dollar with room to spare! It was 1.75 by 3.25 inches! It actually covered 2 silver dollars! The finished pendant is substantially larger, or course.

The Greenstone had previously been worked by someone unskilled in cutting Greenstone, so my challenge was increased by correcting someone else’s errors.

This was, and still is the most challenging and scary rock I’ve ever cut. It was especially scary, when I found out that I was working on one of the largest Gem-grade Greenstones ever found. Those that are skilled at cutting Chlorastrolite, know that there are numerous pitfalls that could happen. Holes and pits (which this was full of), cutting through the pattern, or not developing the pattern to its fullest (this also had taken place. So how do I proceed?)

I studied this Greenstone for several hours, and developed my plan of attack, based on my experience of cutting thousands of Greenstones. Mostly working slowly and carefully, using my intuition and hoping my choices were correct. I actually took three days on the cutting alone, and the results were fabulous. That stone had full pattern and was very hard.

I was finally able to produce both an amazing pendant and a set of large earrings from that monster.

Beth loved that piece of jewelry, and I was honored that John ask me to make it. I personalized the pendant, and she wore it often.

Her recent passing brought up one of many good memories of Beth. We’ll miss her and think of her often. I can see her wearing that stone as if it were yesterday.

Here’s another Pendant I made for Beth. She loved Bling!

A Quartz pocket containing pink and blue topaz–Beth loved Bling!

Give a Gemstone Heart

Valentine’s Day is coming soon! As a result, I have created several new Gemstone Heart Pendants, and I also will show you a few hearts in our inventory.

Beautiful Royston Turquoise from Toropah, Nevada.

Very unusual coloration for Ocean Jasper. This agate type is mined out in Madagascar.

Leland Blue Stone is a Slag Glass from an old foundry in Leland, Michigan

Beautiful “eyed” Thomsonite from the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Variscite from Clay County, Utah, is one of the worlds best.

I found this piece of Ametrine was found in a bucket in my barn. Ametrine is a cross between Amethyst and Citrine.

If cut properly, Rainbow Obsidian will show lovely hearts.

I would not count on the USPS to deliver any of these at the last minute, nor would I count on any of these hearts to still be available; so order quickly.

Mushroom Rhyolite/Mushroom Jasper

Several years ago I purchased an amazing Mushroom Jasper/Rhyolite slab at the Tucson Gem Shows. I was attracted by the bright orange of the matrix , and the amazing gray, Perlite “Mushrooms” floating like gardens in the Silica matrix. Much of Mushroom Jasper, if it has a matrix color, it is redish hues, and not bright orange.

Mushroom Jasper’s source is NW of Phoenix on BLM land. My sources testify that it is very difficult to cut through all the bureaucracy to even get a permit to mine for it. In general, it is a money losing proposition, digging for this Ryolite.

Mushroom Ryolite/Mushroom Jasper looks like Mushroom Gardens floating in the matrix.

As is my norm at the Tucson Shows, I shipped large flat rate boxes back to Michigan, full of goodies purchased at the shows. Try as I will I just can’t seem to organize all my rocks as I should. This Mushroom Jasper/Ryolite slab was relegated to a drawer in my slab cabinet. The Steel cabinet has about 50 or more drawers containing assorted slabs, ready to cut, shape, and polish. Long story short, this beautiful Rhyolite was covered by other slabs, and forgotten.

Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock formed when the magma rapidly erupted from a volcano, and is cooled rapidly on the surface, rather then cooling slowly underground. There are many forms of Rhyolite including Rain Forest Jasper, Butterfly Jasper, and Obsidian. Those mentioned are attractive, but Pumice is also a Rhyolite, and not a jewelry stone.

Ten years later, while rooting through the drawers I reconnected with the Mushroom Jasper, and immediately took it to my shop for cutting. This cutting produced one of the most amazing cabochons I’ve ever produced.

Last year I loaded some trays filled with cabs that I thought I might work on while “suffering” as a snowbird in Florida. Subsequently, I chose the Rhyolite one day, repolished it, and wrapped it in Argentium Silver.

impressive in every way with triple pulls of wire around the edges. Anyone that wears this can expect loads of complements,

Since the cab was 2 3/4″ X 1 1/2″ is a good sized cabochon, for an eye catching Pendant. After a few hours of careful wrapping, a gorgeous pendant, meticulously wrapped in Argentium Sterling was produced.

I used three times the precious metal wire I normally use for a pendant. This stone demanded the extra attention. Rhyolite is not an uncommon stone, but what I was working on, was an uncommonly attractive Mushroom Rhyolite Cabochon.

Here’s a link to the Orange Mushroom Pendant, if you’re interested.

Wire Wrapped Pendants- All New for 2021

Favosite Pendant Snob Appeal Jewelry — What should I do with this remarkable Favosites? I’ve saved this fossil for the better part of a year, awaiting inspiration. I don’t see many Favosites specimens so clear, and showing every single Polyp. I had to add some color using Swarovski bi-cone Beads. Bonnie made the matching earrings. Favosites (common name Charlevoix Stone) and Hexagonaria (common name Petoskey Stone) were both colonial Corals and were important reef builders in the Silurian and Devonian Periods (400 million years +/- ago) Favosites is an extinct Genus of Coral. The Favosites corals’ corallites had perforated walls, and shared nutrients between Polyps. I make no political statement with this piece, but it does suggest a “sharing” vibe.

In many ways we’re glad 2020 is over. In other ways 2020 has been great. Our business has been surviving despite the Pandemic. Our Loyal customers have continued to support our small business, but being semi isolated has allowed me to expand my jewelry line, produce some great pendants, rings, and many custom pieces of jewelry for a lot of people.

I made many very special pendants for the New Year of 2021. Beginning January 1st, I’ve been remarkably productive and creative. I keep cabochons in jewelry trays and pull them out as they inspire me, or are “Begging” to be wrapped. My goal for 2021 is to improve my wire wrapping and creativity. I hope you enjoy all my new things.

From a deposit 20 miles south of the Agua Nueva Ranch, in Northern Mexico, Agua Nueva Agate became very popular in the 1970’s. The Agua Nueva deposit is about 40 miles from the famous depostit of Laguna Agate. Agua Nueva Agate is famous for its’ variety of colors, eyes, and moss. This one had everything and is an impressive 2″ round. The Apple Red in this stone is pretty impressive.

Several years ago, while “rooting” through a bin of scrap slabs at Quartzsite, Arizona, I found a less than stellar looking slab. What attracted me was the red coloration. I decided to adopt the slab, and took it back home with many other homeless slabs from that “by the pound” bin.

One day I’m looking through the stuff I bought that day, and again was attracted by the unusual red in that same, large slab. I cut, ground, and polished that particular slab; working around several cracks and issues. The more I worked on it, the better it became. This was a three hour, three coffee, cabochon. That ugly duckling was transformed into a gorgeous, big, round, Agua Nueva Agate cabochon, featuring bands, tubes, moss, eyes, and still retaining the unusual red coloration. This cab had amazing character!

I took it to Florida, where it was made into my first pendant of 2021. A big, bold, beauty, wrapped in lots of shiny Argentium Sterling. The cabochon was so fantastic by itself, I felt it best to keep the wrapping precise, neat, and simple. This pendant can be worn by a man or a woman. The large 3/8″ bail can accommodate a cord or a chain. Find more agate jewelry on our Agate Treasures pages.

Another New Year’s pendant was made from a very unusual Datolite slab from the old Clark Mine near Copper Harbor. “Unusual” is an understatement. The stone features a picture of chaos. I named this pendant “Datolite Explosion” for it’s resemblance of a landscape “EXPLODING”. The Datolite has a hint of pink. This Datolite reminded me of how 2020 seemed at times. You will find our Datolite pendants are each very different.

Another 2021 Pendant is one of my now famous “Yooper Special” pendants featuring a Firebrick Upper Peninsula, and an Isle Royale Greenstone, floating on an angry Lake Superior made of Blue Lace Agate. This one is in silver with 14kt gold fill wraps. I change the metals on each piece, and the Greenstones offer up different characteristics, so each one is a little different. I’ve actually made three new Yooper Special Pendants. You can see current offerings on our Greenstone pages.

Here are several other pendants made this year.

The Pantone colors for 2021 are gray and yellow, so I made this really crazy, Crazy Lake Agate to adhere to the 2021 colors.

Just a very fine Laker was transparent, with beautiful banding .

Chevron Amethyst is always beautiful; especially when cut into a designer shape.

From the Wheeler Shale of Delta,Utah, comes Elrathia Kingii Trilobites (among many other fossils). The fossils in this Cambrian Shale are over 500 million Years old! During the Devonian Period most Trilobite Orders became extinct. I love how large and perfect some specimens are. Most have full cheeks that you do not often see in Trilobites from Morocco and other places. Trilobites actually lost their cheeks during their “Molting phase” On a whim, I wrapped this in Pink Gold and Silver. I think it turned our great!

Coprolite is petrifided feces of prehistoric animals. I’m not an expert as to if this piece of crap came from a Dinosaur, a prehistoric Tortoise, or something else, I did name this pendant “2020”; a year that was pretty crappy at times.

This Pendant is different under UV light. Sodalite-infused Granite from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, in the top; Ruby in Fuschite from India in the bottom. The Sodalite and Ruby are Fluorescent under the UV light.

It’s difficult to take a good picture under UV light. I played around with camera settings and got some advice from my friend Johnny Gladstone. This gives you an idea what this Sodalite/Granite looks like under UV light.. Rubies are also Fluorescent, as you can see. Johnny calls these “Yooperstones”. I like to call them “Firefly Granite” Since I bartered with Johnny, I will call them Yooperstones. TRIVIA: **Rubies are actually red Sapphires!**

**Isle Royale Greenstone**; Michigan’s Official State Gem, This small pendant is very nice in both coloration and pattern.

Many have tried to duplicate the famous Victoria Stone from the early 1970’s; some of the copies are actually pretty good. No one has been able to match the colors and chatoyancy of the original. This particular color was called “Reddish Purple” and shows wonderful silky flash when moved in the light. Very rare and very coveted.

Our exclusive YOOPERLAND Pendant. Firebrick, Isle Royale Greenstone, and Mexican Blue Lace Agate. Lots of time and trouble to create, but one of our most popular original designs.

A Lake Superior Agate Pendant made from Many Striped Agates Bonnie gave me for Christmas. This one turned out great! I have lots more of similar banded beauties to work with. Lakers are my Favorite stones.

A Leland Blue Heart…Valentines day is just around the corner. Hint Hint!

Bonnie often has fun checking our multitude of buckets around the shop area. This is a Datolite she rooted our one day last summer. I immediately cut it. WOW! I’m not exactly sure what mine I discovered it at.

A close-up of the Previous Datolite, with more light on the Copper in it.

This Lake Superior Agate (also made from gifted Agates) is about dime size, and has wonderful coloration.

A small, but amazing dendritic Opalite I called “Lone Tree” for obvious reasons.

I do not believe I have ever made this many pendants, in one week, since my times at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts, many year ago. I have no idea why I have been so inspired recently, but it’s been a boon to our jewelry inventory.

Bonnie said, “Isn’t that about enough Blog Pictures?” This Blog was many hours of work, and I need sleep and/or coffee. I think 17 Pendants, so far, this month is a good start for the New Year. Only a few of these have been posted up so far. Some are going into show inventory, but if you are interested in any, let us know.

Bonnie and I sincerely wish everyone has a happy 2021. Keep us in mind if you wish to stimulate the economy by supporting our small business.

Remember; I can cut, polish, and wire-wrap your own treasured stones. Visit our Custom Work page.

Two Very Special Pendants

Snob Appeal Jewelry has made many people happy this holiday season. Santa was busy delivering gifts, made by us, throughout the Land.

Two Christmas gift pendants stood out from the crowd. The first was made for the Jewelry Makers Wife (Bonnie). The idea formed while cutting a piece of Fairburn Agate from Teepee Canyon, South Dakota. This was old stock, containing yellows and reds.

Although Bonnie has a fantastic jewelry collection, there are not many yellow gemstones in it. I cut the Teepee into a Teepee shape. I had a very fine piece of Citrine nearby and formulated an idea. This whisper of an idea all formed around May. Now that’s thinking of Christmas early!

Cutting and polishing was no problem. The problems were keeping the stones safe and secret for the better part of a year, AND remembering where they were while secreting them from Bonnie. Still, there was one more component the pendant needed. I developed a ploy to enhance the proposed pendant with facetted Gemstones, and initially made this piece while she was gone to a Garden Club Meeting.

The “Gem Strip” as I called it contained an Imperial Topaz, flanked by a pair of Peridot’. I put all three components in a little zip-lock envelope and hid them in the RV, in a sock drawer. I knew I’d re-find them. I did pretty much forget them until we Snowbirded to Florida, and I looked for socks.

I was inundated with custom orders before Christmas and finished them all up a couple weeks before Christmas. it took another week, off and on. to finish the pendant. The finished pendant was one of my best, fitting for a Jewelry Makers’ Wife. She was very happy when I gave it to her on Christmas Eve.

The second Pendant I Custom made for one of best buddies’ wife. Andy sometimes helps me with minor RV repair issues. He installed a Wi-Fi extender unit and said “I don’t want money. I need you to make something for Whitney” (his bride). “She loves Turtles, and Greenstones”. Almost instantaneously an idea formed.

I cut a turtle-shaped piece of Petoskey Stone for the body. I always have a good supply of Isle Royale Greenstones and I picked out four matching legs, a tail shaped Greenstone, and I saw I had another Greenstone shaped like a Snapping Turtle’s head; PERFECT!

The challenge was attaching the appendages to the turtle so they would not get knocked off while wearing the pendant. This was solved by cutting a thin Jade backer. Jade has the ability to be cut almost paper thin, yet still maintain strength. My diamond bandsaw made quick work of this.

The pendant glued together perfectly and a Prong setting also increased the integrity of the Pendant. The bail was hidden behind the head of the turtle, and I “Collared” the turtle’s neck. Now he’s “Whitney’s Pet”.

Whitney is delighted. This was really an amazing and fun piece for me to make.