My Latest Wired Challenge Piece

One of my favorite things is to go over to the mineral company and see what new ‘goodies’ they have gotten. This can sometimes be a dangerous trip; it becomes like Christmas and I act like a kid in a candy store, but I have fun when I’m there!

I knew that they had just received a brand new shipment of Amethyst this week, so I was excited to see what the smaller pieces would be like; especially since he told me they were a very deep dark purple, more than they have had before and quite high quality. To my surprise when I arrived and we started going through the shipment, he handed me this delicate little piece and said “I new this was one that would be perfect for you to wire wrap”.

 This new little piece is so delicate and small; it will be an excellent specimen to wire; however the challenge will be working the wire in and around the frail delicate crystals and hopefully not breaking anything in the process. There is no outer ridge to work with like normal, just lots of tiny crystals; this is what makes this piece such an excellent specimen, at least in my optioning. I’m up for a challenge and this one definitely will be just that, so stay tuned, when I get it finished I’ll be posting the finished product! I’m not sure what I’ll do with it once it’s been wired; rather I’ll put it into a necklace piece or let it stand alone as a single pendant, which it most definitely can do!

A variety of vitreous quartz with purple, violet, or red-purple colorations, amethyst derives its name from the ancient Greek amethustos, meaning literally “not drunk’ as it was believed to guard against drunkenness. Traditionally associated with purity and piety, amethyst has also always been favored by royalty as purple is considered a regal blue. 

Found in most countried where grantic rocks are exposed, amethyst occurs in alluvial deposits and geodes. Its coloration is principally due to traces of iron, and it is sometimes color-zoned due to twinning or preferential absorption on the rhombohedral faces. Major commercial sources of amethyst are Brazil, where it occurs in geodes that are frequently human-sized; but it is also found in Uruguay, Siberia and North America. Crystals from Brazilian and Uruguayan deposits are most often found as radiating masses, with individual crystals appearing as pyramids. Lower grad Brazilian and Uruguayan amethyst is frequently turned into citrine by heat treatment, which changes its color. Where both amethyst and citrine occur naturally in the same stone, the name is ametrine.

Amethyst has a long history as a gemstone. In the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, amethyst was highly valued and was used to create cylinder seals, engraved with a religious design and the owner’s name. The engraving was transferred to legal documents in the form of clay tablets by rolling the cylinder over the tablets. The ancient Egyptians also valued amethyst, using it in much of their jewelry. The Greeks wore an amethyst for protection against magic, homesickness, evil thoughts, and drunkenness. This is why wine was preferably served in amethyst beakers. In antiquity amethysts were also known as “stones of Bacchus”, because out of jealousy the goddess Diana had changed a nymph with whom Bacchus had fallen in love into an amethyst. It is said that the traditional properties of amethyst will alleviate migraines and improves concentration. It is said to attract justice and protection against burglars and thieves. It also wards of danger and violent death. It is the stone of Pisces, brings clarity to the conscious and unconscious minds and the birthstone for February.

Several pieces of amethyst have been wired and are available in our online shop as pendants; this beautiful piece to the left never made it to the website, it was sold right away!

The focal is a beautiful amethyst chunk, surrounded by faceted deep purple amethyst crystals and chunky turquoise nuggets.

Earthy Fossil Gets Classy

One of my favorite fossils to work with is the natural Orthoceras fossilized squid from Morocco. Orthoceras are a famous and very large fossil deposit of animals that can be found in Morocco, North Africa. Ancestors to ammonites, Orthoceras are extinct sea creatures, and depending on what source you refer to, they date from the lower Ordovician to Triassic ages (500 to 190 million years ago). As they died, their shells accumulated in great numbers on the sea floor where they were aligned by currents, buried by sediments, and transformed over the ages preserved in black limestone. Today, this prehistoric sea floor is ironically, found in the dramatic Atlas Mountain Range in southern Morocco at the northern fringe of the Sahara Desert.

The term 'straight' cephalopods is used in this case to describe fossil examples of straight ammonoids called Baculites, straight nautiloids called Orthoceras and Belemnites. Their bodies were predominantly elongate with conical shells. Some of these creatures evolved into semi-coiled forms eventually giving rise to coiled cephalopods like ammonites and nautili. Another branch of straight-shelled cephalopods continued to coexist with the coiled forms on into the Pennsylvanian Period. These straight forms were much less diverse and abundant than the coiled cephalopods, as a whole.

Straight cephalopods were among the most advanced invertebrates of their time having eyes, jaws, and a sophisticated nervous system. These creatures were predators that swam freely using a jet propulsion system by squirting water from their bodies. They had tentacles and ink sacs also much like the present-day squid.

Except for belemnites, cephalopods had external shells with hollow internal chambers separated by walls called septa. A tube called the siphuncle, connected the body with the chambers allowing the animal to fill them with water or air, changing its buoyancy in order to rise or drop in the ocean. Only the last and largest chamber was occupied by the living animal. Belemnites were different in that they had internal shells called 'guards' which were covered with the soft, muscular tissues of their bodies. These shells were also chambered but much less complex than the straight varieties of nautiloids and ammonoids.

Straight cephalopods probably lived for one to six years, with the majority living two to four years. They fed on plankton (tiny free-floating organisms), sea lilies, and smaller orthoceras. Although many fed off the ocean floor, others may have caught plankton while floating or swimming via jet propulsion, expelling water through a funnel-like opening to propel them in the opposite direction. Because straight cephalopods lived exclusively in marine environments, their presence also indicates the location of prehistoric seas.

Healing Stones

As a healing stone, fossils are believed to increase life span, reduce toxins, anxiety, stress, balance the emotions, and make one more confident. Containing supernatural and physical healing powers, they promote a sense of pride and successes in business, leading on to be open to change and new ideas. Healers use fossils to enhance telepathy and stimulate the mind. Traditionally, fossils have been used to aid in reducing tiredness, fatigues, digestive disorders, and rheumatism.

Visit our online store, Timeless Designs at Ruby Lane to see many different designs featuring the orthoceras and other fossils!

Fossilized Sand Dollars

Fossils come in many different shapes, sizes and varieties; one of the newest for us to work with in jewelry design is the Holectypus Echinoid, or sand dollar fossil. Holectypus, fossil echinoderm genus, of the extinct echinoids genus are much like the modern sea urchins and sand dollars.
 

This species are found as fossils exclusively in marine rocks of Jurassic to Cretaceous age (between 200 million and 65.5 million years ago).  The echinoids, having such an extremely long fossil record, are often used by scientist and paleontologist for dating rock strata and fossil locations.

The Holectypus was bun shaped with a flat bottom and arched back. The mouth of the echinoids is at the underside of the animal. These are rough looking fossil specimens as most have some cracking and chipping on the top of the shell, but the underside of the specimens are very well preserved. The echinoid has an exoskeleton or outer shell with no inner skeleton. This animal lived mostly in shallow seas and would have moved about on the sea floor by way of moving their long spines that stuck out from their shell; eating mostly algae. Today, many collections, both private and public, are comprised of many different species of fossil echinoids.

Our newest designs to our Rock Yard Collection feature the Holectypus Echinoid from the Cretacous Majunga Basin, Madagascar. Each one is unique and has been hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish wires. Each necklace design is unique......

....this one to the right reflects a Mediterranean or Egyptian design style with a mix of golden citrine nugget chips, faceted indian agate and amethyst crystals. 

  

...this set to the left a more chic tribal and ethnic design constructed with a couple of carved onyx stones with a matte finish, painted onyx, turquoise, and rare Arizona ivoryite.

Visit our online Timeless Designs store to browse and shop our collections, featuring uniquely artisan crafted jewelry!

Rawness in Golden Yellow Citrine

The name Citrine is derived from the Latin word Citrus, meaning “lemon”. Until the Middle Ages this name was used to designate a wide range of yellow stones. Citrine has been highly regarded as a gemstone and healing stone for almost six thousand years.

The soldiers in Caesar’s legions wore citrine on their chest because the stone was believed to have life-saving properties in battle. As befits its color, it is recognized as the stone of light, sun and life. (Did you know…..that the yellow amethyst and smoky quartz can be heated to artificially create citrine?)

Citrine is yellow to brownish quartz (silicon dioxide) and resembles yellow topaz. It is colorless by hydrous iron oxide, and is found in the same hexagonal crystals as the other varieties of crystalline quartz. Natural citrine is much less common than amethyst or smoky quartz, both of which can be heat treated to turn their color to of citrine.

Citrine occurs principally in localities that produce amethyst, and it is sometimes found as a zone of citrine in amethyst, when it is known as ametrine. Gem-quality citrine is found in a few places around the world such as on the Isle of Arran, Scotland; in the Ural Mountains of Russia; near Hyderabad, India; in Dauphine, France; and in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

This new specimen just arrived from the mineral company today and is huge (at least to me it is!); measuring about 18"x 16" in diameter in an irregular shape and 3"-4" thick in some places (and is quite heavy).

The large chunk is still in its raw form; jagged crystal cylinders, rough edges…the stories it could tell. This piece of citrine is from Artigas, Uruguay; rich in colors of the golden yellow sun with the light bands of white around the edges and bottom of gray ground.

The chunks of each crystal cylinder are gorgeous; defiantly add this one to your collection of minerals or just to ‘showcase’ in your den or study.

Ancient Fossils of Ammonite

Ammonites are one of the most popular of the fossils, both for collectors and jewelry designers. They are mostly from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Peridos that evolved into a great variety of forms. They can be found in a vast range of different shapes, sizes and structures. The movement of different species may have depended on their shape. Some of them are big and round, while others are thin and disc-shaped, some have shells that are quite small and others are very large. Ammonites are marine creatures that may have moved freely in the water, though some of the largest may have browsed more on the seabed.

The spiral coiling of the ammonite shell does not usually extend upwards. Instead it is coiled in a flat plane, with both sides of the shell depressed in the center. The ammonite shell itself has a large body chamber at the shell opening. This chamber reaches back for about half a whorl. Usually the animal lived with the body chamber at the lowest point, and the rest of the shell above.

 

We often feature many designs using the ammonites; which are hand wire wrapped.  The range of soft earthy colors or sold balck are perfect for any seasons!

Browse and shop our custom jewelry collections at Timeless Designs on Ruby Lane!

Fiesta of Gems Show

If you are a rockhound, general fossil, rock or mineral enthusiast and living in the surrounding around of San Antonio, than don’t miss the gem and mineral show this weekend! It is put on every year by the Southwest Gem & Minerals Society of San Antonio, Texas. This year marks their 50th Year Anniversary show!

There is something for the whole family --- gemstones, lapidary, beads, fossils, minerals, faceting, crystals, demonstrations, silvercraft, exhibits of all kinds, and jewelry. There will be door prizes hourly and the proceeds support the Earthy Science Scholarships.

Fiesta of Gems

March 19th – 20th

Live Oak Civic Center

Free Parking

Admission

Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm (Sat)
10:00am – 4:00pm (Sun)

Come on out and celebrate and have tons of fun!

*Picture by Lee, registered Gemologist.

Rockhound’s Paradise – Quartzsite

If you are into rocks, minerals, fossils, and just all around rockhound than Quartzsite is the place for you! Every year in January, in a sleepy little town just 20 miles east of the Colorado River on I-10, sits a the town of Quartzsite, Arizona. It has been know since the 1960s as the rockhound’s paradise, coming from far and wide across the globe. It has become the mecca to over a million visitors (mostly in RVs) each year during the January through February months; some would say it’s the pre-show to the epic Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in February.

The show is host to over 2,000 vendors specializing in rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and everything else imaginable; creating one of the world's largest open air flea markets in Quartzsite. Eight major gem and mineral shows as well as vendors of raw and handcrafted merchandise peddle their wares to snowbirds, collectors and enthusiasts, making Quartzsite the place to be the first two months of each year.

Historically, a small mining boom revitalized the town as Quartzsite in 1897 and it remained thus until 1965, when the Pow Wow Rock, Gem & Mineral Show began the rockhound winter migration to Quartzsite each year. These days, the population can swell to almost a million during January and February as rockhounders, jewelers and vendors, mostly in thousands of RVs, attend the eight major gem and mineral shows.

Enjoy and have fun at Quartzsite list of shows below.

Show 2011
January 01 - February 28, 2011 Desert Gardens -Gem & Mineral
January 07 - January 16, 2011 Tyson Wells Rock & Gem Show
January 08 - January 23, 2011 Main Event
January 21 - January 30, 2011 Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama
January 22 - January 30, 2011 Sports, Vacation & RV Show
February 2 -February 6. 2011 Hobby Craft & Gem Show
February 4 - February 13, 2011 Tyson Wells Arts & Craft Fair


The next stop……the “Big Show” Tucson Gem & Mineral Show!!

Rockhounds & Rock Enthusiasts

Looking for something to do this weekend and get out of the cold? Take a drive up to Fredericksburg for a rockhound experience at the Hill Country Gem & Mineral Show!!

Drop by the Panther Creek Minerals booth; they have brand new shipments of museum quality minerals, fossils, amethyst, citrine, and much more!!

42nd Annual Hill Country Gem & Mineral Show

January 15th – 16th / Sat: 9:00am – 6:00pm & Sun: 10:00am – 5:00pm

At the Pioneer Pavilion – Lady Bird Johnson Park

(off Highway 16 three miles south of Fredericksburg, Texas)

Put on by the Fredricksburg Rockhouds

 

The show is free and so is the parking, with raffle drawings and hourly door prizes!! You can find minerals, fossils, meteorites, gems, jewelry, exhibits, demonstrations, rock experts, panning for gold, and much more!

Best of 2010 from our Rock Yard Collection

The Rock Yard collection is a turn of nature’s treasures in fossils, minerals and raw rocks coming to life as single pendants or incorporated into necklace and earring sets. It is by far the most watched and purchased of all our collections; especially the designs using fossils and minerals. This collection is by far the toughest to pick the best of the year from, but here’s our shot at it!

A twist of old turquoise meets million year old fossil; a lovely button ammonite fossil hand wire wrapped in brass non-tarnish wire is at the focal. The base of the necklace is blue turquoise and a green/blue turquoise mosaic mix bead and accents of gold tone pewter.

 

Many people are used to seeing the ammonite cut on the half shell, but I’ve been working with the whole thing! This design is a whole red ammonite with fire on both sides, encased in brass non-tarnish wire; accented with charmed crystal rondelle beads, gorgeous wavy bronzite and lampwork beads in black to beige design.

 

Black and white in a nice sized large orthoceras fossil hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire as a pendant. The necklace base is onyx, red (dyed) coral, Swarovski black cosmo crystals and sterling silver textured square beads.

The charmed necklaces were such a hit that I didn’t want to leave out the fossils; so I created this one using a small orthoceras fossil encased in non-tarnish silver wire and then charmed many swarovski crystals, cloisonné beads and freshwater cultured pearls. All set stationary on a silk black cord with matching earrings in a double coiled spiral.

  

A large goniatite fossil pendant in soft earthy colors all hand wire wrapped in brass non-tarnish wire is the focal in this design. Then I paired it with two strands of coral chips and long ceramic Tibetan beads which are capped in gunmetal filigree.

  

Digging around at Tucson one can find some real treasures and I got lucky with several pairs of matching earring and pendant ammonite fossils. This beautiful and striking earthy color in this half shell ammonite fossil that is hand wire wrapped in brass non-tarnish wire; the matching earrings are the same colors and mounted on posts. It is hung from and can be removed to wear on other cords or collars, a beige silk cord.

Browse all our collections to find your hidden treasure of artisan crafted jewelry!

Pendants & Charms Coming Together

One of the new designs that I did this year is with many different kinds of pendants and charming. The charming technique takes quite some time to create, but the affect is most appealing. Using different pendants gave each one a unique look while using accents in stones, swarovski crystals, dichroic glass, freshwater cultured pearls, and some of my free form spiral or double coiled wire work.  The neat idea behind this is that each design is stationary on the silk cord, so the designs will not be lost and each comes with a matching pair of earrings!

In this design I used a puffy heart pendant in lapis lazuli and the charms include freshwater cultured pearls, swarovski crystals and black agate. Wire work is done in non-tarnish silver wire.

 

Turquoise is one of my favorite stones of nature to work with; here I’ve paired the blue teardrop pendant with a fold-over wavy bail and charms of swarovski crystals, white magnesite and black agate. Wire work is done in non-tarnish peacock blue and black wire.

Fossils are fast becoming one of my more favorites to work with in wire as they are so individually unique; here I’ve used an orthoceras fossil pendant with charms of swarovski crystals, freshwater cultured pearls and two cloisonné beads. All wire work is done in silver non-tarnish wire.

  

Browse our collection of artisan crafted jewelry, available for purchase at Timeless Designs Ruby Lane shop!

Ammonite Fossils – Matching Pendant & Earrings

Ammonite fossil pendants are pretty easy to come by, but to get matching earrings for a complete set that is a little more difficult. Here are a couple of wire wrapped ammonite pendants with matching earrings; they come on silk cords that can be removed and worn with on other collars, chains or cords. All these fossils come from the regions of Madagascar.

Ammonite Fossil Pendant & Matching Earrings in  Beautiful Earthy colors; wire wrapped in non-tarnish brass wire

Ammonite Fossil Pendant & Matching Earrings in Striking Black; wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire

 

Rugged Elegance to Wearable Earth…Check out Timeless Designs Ruby Lane shop to purchase artisan crafted jewelry!

Wired Ancient Fossil Meets Southwest

Wired ancient fossil meets a little southwest…..I started this design using a midnight black Ammonite Fossil from Madagascar, it shows a nice vein chambers in gray and is handcrafted in non-tarnish silver with coil and supporting wires. The base of the necklace is then created from Arizona Turquoise (stabilized) graduated in raw chips; all reflecting earthy colors of brown, rust, black, cream, green, and hint of blue. Scattered between the turquoises are barrels of Arizona Ivoryite, faceted smoke black crystal rondelles and silver disk spacers. The set includes the matching pair of black Ammonite Fossil earrings.

The ammonite’s name comes from the shell’s resemblance to a coiled ram’s horn (the ram being the symbol of the Egyptian god Ammon). Like the extinct belemnites and the living nautiloids, octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, they belonged to the mollusk group known as the cephalopods. The name comes from the Greek ‘kephale’ (head) and ‘podia’ (foot), referring to the tentacles they have in the head region.

There are many different species of Ammonites; Phylloceras, Psiloceras, Stephanoceras, and Caloceras just to name a few. I haven’t yet identified which group the pendant and earrings are members but they are quite definitely strikingly black ammonites.


Browse our online shop and find your rugged elegance in wearable earth!

Aventurine the Stone

Aventurine is the name given to a variety of quartz that has a spangled appearance due to sparkling internal reflections from uniformly oriented minute inclusions of other minerals. It is always massive; green aventurine is colored by green fuchsite mica; brown aventurine is colored by pyrite; and reddish-brown aventurine is due to hematite. Other inclusions can color the mineral orange, bluish-white, yellow, or bluish-green.

Aventurine feldspar or sunstone can be confused with orange and red aventurine quartzite, although the former is generally of a higher transparency. Aventurine is often banded and an overabundance of fuchsite may render it opaque, in which case it may be mistaken for malachite at first glance.

The name aventurine derives from the Italian "a ventura," meaning "by chance." This is an allusion to the chance discovery of aventurine glass or goldstone at some point in the 18th century. Although it was known first, goldstone is now a common imitation of aventurine and sunstone. Goldstone is distinguished visually from the latter two minerals by its coarse platelets of copper, dispersed within the glass in an unnaturally uniform manner. It is usually a golden brown, but may also be found in blue or green.

The majority of green and blue-green aventurine originates in India, particularly in the vicinity of Mysore and Madras, where it is employed by prolific artisans. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile, Spain and Russia.

Historically it is said that in ancient Greece aventurine was sewn into the clothes of men going to war to preserve their courage and optimism. It is said also enhance the sense of humor, cheerfulness, mental agility, peach, an open heart, motivation and promote leadership of those who wear it. It symbolizes tranquility and patience and gives the wearer inner equilibrium and stimulates dreaming.



This design is a hand-charmed cluster of aventurine surrounding a button fossil Ammonite.

Artisan crafted jewelry available on our online shop!








*Research from various mineral/rock books & websites

More Tucson 2010 Shows

There is plenty to see at Tucson 2010; precious faceted gemstones, raw material slabs, lapidary, equipment, beads, findings, finished jewelry, minerals, and fossils and much much more! It’s almost enough to make one’s head spin, but Tucson 2010 has now been in full swing for a week. Plenty still to see next week, with the Original Tucson Mineral & Gem show towards the end of the week; here’s some shows remaining to check out…

Madagascar Minerals Gem Show – Visit Norcross-Madagascar Gallery

Globe-X Gem & Mineral Show - Located as part of the “Street Vendor I-10”; many different Amethyst geodes, minerals, lapidary, beads, and much more!

1820 Oracle Warehouse Show – TopGem Minerals, Fossils and more

Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show – Located as part of the “Street Vendor I-10”; features jewelry, colored gems and minerals from all over the world!

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at Mineral & Fossil Marketplace – Selling of mineral & fossil specimens, lapidary material, gemstones, jewelry, and other nature related materials.

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show – “Where the Best Happens”

Rapa River Gem & Mineral Show – A wide variety of very unique and unusual products from all parts of various countries.

For more details and lists of shows check out the Tucson Jewelry Show Guide.

Petoskey Fossil Coral

Homegrown and commonly found along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the United States is the water stone Petoskey Fossil Coral. A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often found in the shapes of pebbles and composed of fossilized coral, Hexagonaria percarinata. These corals colonized Michigan in the Devonian period, about 350 million years ago when most of Michigan was submerged under water. The stones were formed as a result of glaciations, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

The name of the stone is a derivation of the name Petosegay, the name given to the son of a Frenchman who married an Ottwa Indian princess and later became the tribes’ chief. According to legend, Petosegay was the child of a descendant of French nobleman and fur trader, Antoine Carre and an Ottawa princess. Petosegay, meaning "rising sun", "rays of dawn" or "sunbeams of promise", was named after the rays of sun that fell upon his newborn face. In keeping with his promising name, Petosegay was a wealthy fur trader who gained much land and acclaim for himself and his tribe. He was remarked upon to have a striking and appealing appearance, and spoke English very well. He married another Ottawa, and together they had two daughters and eight sons. In the summer of 1873, a few years before the Chiefs' passing, a city began on his land along Little Traverse Bay. The settlers christened the newborn city Petoskey, the English translation of Petosegay

This new piece is made from Petoskey Fossil Coral and Denim Lapis with many silver spaces in-between. The website has this and many other custom pieces available for purchase.

*From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and various lapidary websites.