Arizona Wild Horse Magnesite

A Pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and another color, usually browns. The color pattern existed in prehistoric times, and has been specifically bred by various cultures throughout history. Although pinto coloration is rare in the wild, people have always had an eye for animals of unusual colors.

The Pinto horse originated in Spain and was introduced to North America by Spanish and other European explorers. The Spanish explorers brought over Barb horses that had been crossed with other European breeds including Russian and Arabian strains, which are thought to give the horses their color patterns. When the Spanish herds were brought to North America, these horses mixed with the wild horses and were later domesticated by the Native Americans. Later, when the West was being tamed, the pioneers had to cross their refined European horses with the wild herds to develop a stockier and heavier muscled horse that would be more suited to the rugged and arduous conditions. Often referred to as piebald or skewbald horses in literature about the Wild West, the Pinto horse was a favorite among American cowboys and Native Americans. So would it be any different for a miner’s find to be named for the famed wild American horse.
A miner’s find among pockets of varying types of Turquoise, a new and rare discovery in the Gila Wilderness Area of Southern Arizona is Wild Horse Magnesite (a mixture of Magnesite/Hematite). This exceptional beauty is named for the gemstones resemblance to the Pinto horses with brown on white patches known to roam free in the Southwest and the favorite horse of many Native Americans. Wild Horse is antique white color with rich chocolate brown matrix, with varying degrees of browns, rusts, olives, and some light pinks. It is not a Turquoise, for it does not have the same mineral composite of Turquoise, but is a mix of Magnesite and Hematite or considered an Ivority/Hematite mixture. This is only mined in Arizona and should not be confused with Wild Horse or Appaloosa Jasper which can be found in California and Oregon.
This rare beauty retains a high value and is becoming remarkably popular in jewelry making. At the Holiday Shopping Extravaganza this weekend in San Antonio, I’ll be premiering this new stone in a design of Wild Horse mixed with Ivoryite, Crystal and gun metal daisy spacers.







Side note: As a former horsewoman, I know the difference between Pinto and Paint horses. These two breeds look identical in some cases; the difference is in the breeding bloodlines as to whether they are registered as Pinto or Paint horses.


Some excerpts are from Pinto Horse Association website

Affordable Holiday Gifts

The state of the economy has left many people worried, unsettled or rethinking their financial situation and holiday gift buying; but still many are looking for that unique and affordable holiday gift. That is where we come in; Timeless Designs offers natural gemstone jewelry uniquely handcrafted into one-of-a-kind pieces for the individual and at affordable prices that won’t break the bank.

Buying exclusive, handcrafted jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive; and by no means does it mean that we have sacrificed the quality of the piece for lower prices. To bring exquisite natural gemstone jewelry designs to you, this year we went direct and traveled to the world’s 2nd largest Gem & Mineral Show in Tucson, Arizona. There we shopped from thousands of vendors at hundreds of shows in the gemstone and jewelry industry. We came across and purchased some of the most unusual cuts and selection of natural gemstones and metal beads ever seen. This allows us to create some fresh, unique and individual design pieces, like no others, at affordable prices to our clients.
Shop our website and purchase necklaces, necklace sets, earrings, bracelets, and smart pendants. Choose from jewelry designs in an array of coral, turquoise, agate, jasper, and onyx; accented with our trademark wire sculpture links, twists, and spirals; then highlighted with metal spacers in silver, gold, and copper along with Swarvoski crystals, Dichroic pendants, pearls, and glass Czech beads.

Each purchase comes with a gift box all set for giving; just add your own card or wrap and you’re ready to give a one-of-a-kind jewelry design to anyone.

So what are you waiting for…visit us at our last show of the season November 22nd – 23rd here in San Antonio and chose from among our collection of distinctively handcrafted jewelry or browse our website and purchse from the comforts of your home or office.

Box of Jewels

I love creating with dichroic pendants and here I’ve designed a box full of precious jewels! Each bracelet has a custom one-of-a-kind fused dichroic glass pendant. The pendants have been designed with varying colors and sizes of Swarvoski crystals, which are capped in pewter, among sterling silver spacers and toggles. The bracelets average in size from 7” to 7.5” and are available for purchase, just contact us!

Business Series

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not an expert in owning a Business. This series is meant to solely provide information to the reader.

Your hobby has been turning a profit lately and you’re wondering, “Could I really make a living at this??” I wouldn’t go out and quit your day job just yet, however keeping records and looking at the future could prove interesting. Depending on what business you have chosen, some people beat the odds and become thriving, growing companies; while others remain that time to time interesting hobby.

One of the first things I did when I made the decision to start my own company, was to determine what industry I wanted go into. My passion of customer service and working with my hands has always led me to some type of ‘craft’. I love jewelry and decided that maybe, just maybe I could really make a living at this craft. First, I looked at the industry; what did it have to offer, who is the competition, what are the trends, could I compete with those who’d been here for 10 – 20 years. How would I market my company and where to sell my wears? Could I learn to ‘master the art’ well enough to sell my goods to the public?

I spend about 6-8 months searching these and many other questions. After much research, I started writing things down, and begun my Business Plan, which was about another 2-3 months. This is an ongoing document that provides an ‘outline’ of my business, where I want to go, what I want to achieve and spans the first 1-5 years of my business. Next, I got my licenses; both sales tax and city business license. Then I breathed and thought “What am I doing?”!

Here are some sites that I highly recommend you start with to research the beginning of your business.

State Government Website – Find out what licenses you will need and how to register your business.
State Comptrollers Office – This is where you will get your state sales tax license.
SCORE – This organization offers free and confidential business advice from the experts in business.
SBA – Small Business Administration has a wealth of information on their website. Find services, tools, small business planners, and how to find local services for your business.
IRS – Get information on your business tax questions

This is just the beginning! In future posts of the Business Series I’ll go into more details about some of these and many other subjects. If there is a particular subject you would like to read about, please email me!

Starting & Managing a Business

“How do you manage your business?” “What do I need to start my business?” “Where do you get all the show information?” “Do I really need to be licensed?” “Should I be doing inventory control and how do I do it?” “Where do I find vendors, wholesale or retail?”

These are just a few of the questions that people ask me about my jewelry business. This prompted me to open many of my college books, dig through business information and websites, and rummage around in boxes for vendors, shows, and inventory, marketing and business strategies. I’m no expert by any means, but I’ve always been one to share information with whoever asked. This gave me the idea to share my experiences and knowledge with those of you out there that have been asking these and many other questions. So watch, book mark, or subscribe to posts, because over the course of the next several months I’m going to do posting about my business knowledge and experiences. These articles will be based on the experiences I gained from my first business, which I owned almost 10 years, my current jewelry business, knowledge learned while getting my BS in Business Management and research to find out answers to questions I encountered. If you have certain topics you would like to see, please email me and I’ll do my best research!