CALSILICA - Natural Gemstone or Man Made ?

When Calsilica, sometimes spelled calcilica, first appeared on the fashion jewelry circuit, it started a controversy and has and continues to create quite a stir because of its beauty and has generated a fair bit of controversy and speculation over it's true origin – particularly whether it is a naturally-occurring stone, or a man-made material. After its initial appearance, the most persistent claim has been that Calsilica is found at a mine in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, in the veins or seams of the volcanic Rhyolite that is mined at this location. This speculation of being man-made is continuing because geologists have been denied access to the mine, supposedly to protect the resource from over-exploitation. In the last few years, focus has changed and now is centered on an alleged deposit of Rainbow Calsilica in China.

.

Many claim Calsilica, also known more commonly as Rainbow Calsilica, is a synthetic stone that is manufactured from a mixture of Calcite, plastic resins and artificial coloring pigments. The different colored bands through Rainbow Calsilica are powdered carbonate rock artificially colored and then stabilized with plastic resin. The bands of color can come in any order and in any color. Despite possibly being a synthetic stone, Rainbow Calsilica has been increasing in demand for jewelry, especially high end items. Natural or man-made or man-enhanced, Rainbow Calsilica is one of those stones that always draws attention.

.
Others claim that Calsilica, or "Rainbow Calsilica", is a naturally occurring material. However, all seem to agree that Calsilica, just like Turquoise, is most of the time stabilized to keep it from flaking, and protect the colors when being worn as jewelry.
.

Calsilica jewelry can be very dynamic. As seen to the left, in this piece designed by Gayle, the Rainbow Calsilica combined with Sponge Coral and Silver beads is a stand-out. So where do we stand today? Based on all available information, it appears that Calsilica is essentially an agglomeration of several natural and man-made materials, Calcite being the predominent mineral and held together by a paraffin-like binding agent. The original contention that Calsilica is a form of microcrystalline Calcite may be accurate, but binding agents are most likely man-made. Until the "mine owners" in Chihuahua provide greater access to the site, it would be wise to assume that Calsilica has at least been mofdified by man.

.
Calsilica specimens can be quite beautiful and colorful, and as such, can be used too make earrings, pendants, beads, rings, and other items. As seen to the right, a necklace of graduated Calsilica beads put together by Jay King, becomes quite dramatic on its own. While the purists amongst us may be disappointed that Calsilica is perhaps man-made or man-modified, Calsilica continues to capture the imagination of jewelry designer as well as jewelry wearers alike. It is really any different that the common practice of stabilizing Turquoise? The key in the future of Calsilica may be seeing the mine and determining if colorization in addition to the stabilizing, is being done on the natural stone.

.

There are other varieties of Calsilica on the market also. Below are a couple of other color combinations, both also out of Mexico. The second picture below is a new find a couple years ago from Sonora, Mexico area and is called Sonoran Sunrise.

SAN ANTONIO ROLLING OAKS MALL - Mall Market Days !

We Now Have A Location !

.

Come and visit JEWELRY BY CnC at Rolling Oaks Mall

Lower Level under the Palm Trees in front of Dillards

.

Hours are:

10 to 9 Fri 29th and Sat 30th

Noon to 6 on Sun the 31st

.

Come and see Jewelry Sets constructed of unusual gemstones such as

Llanite - Texas

Navada Lapis - Nevada

Rainbow Calcilcia - Mexico

Seraphinite - Russia

Mookaite - Australia

Ruby in Zosite - South Africa

Ammolite - Canada

Larvakite - Norway

.

Rollings Oaks Mall is located on the northwest corner of Nacogdoches Rd and Loop 1604 just west of the I-35/Loop 1604 Interchange on the northeast side of San Antonio.

.

.

ROLLING OAKS MALL - October Mall Market Days !

On October 29th, 30th and 31st come and visit San Antonio's Rolling Oaks Mall for the 4th Mall Market Days of 2010. Rolloing Oaks Mall is located on the north east side of San Antonio at the intersection of Loop-1604 and Nacogdoches Road.

For our San Antonio and Hill Country area friends and customers, please come and visit our booth in the mall during the three day event during normal mall hours. Plan on seeing the following new designs by Gayle, as well as many more not shown on the BLOG .

.

Stop bye and say Hello and let us know you saw these items on the BLOG.

.
.

Striped Onyx, Black Agate & Kyanite Necklace and Earring Set !

Once in a while when unusual combinations of gemstones are placed together, they appear to bring out colors that are not obvious when looking at the stones by themselves. Although blue is not a common color to be found in Onyx, sometime the white, cream or ivory colored striping will have a slightly bluish tinge.

.

Such is the case with this necklace combination of a very large striped Onyx pendant combined with Black Agate (Onyx) barrels and rondel beads and then highlighted by the unique gemstone called Kyanite, along with silver bead highlights. French hook earrings of matching Kyanite beads and Black Agate (Onyx) rondels complete the set.
.

STRIPED ONYX - Onyx is a cryptocrystalline form of Quartz. Striped Onyx is a redundant statement since true Onyx will have color bands that range from white to almost every color (save some shades, such as purple or blue). Commonly, specimens of Onyx that are seen in the market place contain bands of colors of white, tan, and brown. Pure black Onyx is actually Dyed Agate or poor grades of Onyx where the stripes have been dyed to black.

.

BLACK AGATE (Onyx) which is truely a died black Agate, is more common and perhaps the most famous variety, but not as common as natural Onyx. Onyx is a crypyocrystalline form of Quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color (save some shades, such as purple or blue). A picture of a true Black Onyx specimum is seen at the left. True specimens of Onyx contain bands of colors of white, tan, and brown. As stated, the pure black form which most people know as Onyx, is not a naturally occuring variety. Black Agate or poorly colored Onyx is heated and dyed black to come up with the pure black form so well liked within the jewelry industry.

.

KYANITE is one of three minerals to have the same chemical composition . These are Kyanite, Andalusite, and Sillimanite. Kyanite is the high pressure polymorph, Sillimanite is formed at high temperature, and Andalusite is the low pressure polymorph. Occasionally, clear and very colorful blue Kyanite is encountered. This material is highly prized by those who cut gemstones, especially the bluer the piece of rough is. It can be cut as a cabochon, faceted, or used to produce beads and pendants. Kyanite is considered to be an "exotic" gemstone because it is not often used in jewelry.

.

.

Wire-Wrapped Agate Necklace and Earring Set !

While walking around in a field or climbing a mountain side, finding a great chunk of Agate or a piece of Jasper is a thrill for any rockhound, but being able to identify exactly what it is that has been found is quite a headache for the beginner. These headaches can be relieved very easily though with just a little bit of knowledge about the different Quartz group of stones. Agate and Jasper are actually Chalcedony, which in turn is cryptocrystalline Quartz. When you pick up a stone you can rule out that it is a piece of regular massive Quartz quite quickly just by looking to see if you can see grains within the stone. If you can see grains, you do not have an Agate or a Jasper. Most likely, what you have then is massive Quartz or some other type of stone. Many new rockhounds will mistake massive Quartz for a piece of Agate, so don't feel bad if you do. It's a very frequent mistake.

.

Jasper and Agate will appear to be made of wax. If the rock is just plain clear to white translucent with no markings or patterns, it is considered Chalcedony. If it is opaque, that is, if you cannot see into or through it, it is Jasper. Jasper is most frequently earth tones or red but you can find jasper in just about any color or color combination and it can contain some very lively patterns. One well known form of Jasper is called 'Picture Jasper', and just as the name suggests, the lines and markings look just like a scenic picture of mountains and valleys or forests and so on. Geometric patterns are also common in Jasper stones.

.
If a stone is an Agate, it will be translucent as is Chalcedony, but an Agate will have patterns. Most commonly, Agates have bands, and are appropriately called 'Banded Agate'. Sometimes the bands are also translucent, sometimes some are opaque. There are many Agates named to describe how they look, such as plume, orbicular, or flower and many that are named for the place they are found, such as Dryhead or Lake Superior.

.

This design incorporates a very interesting piece of Agate, which is striped but also is considered partially a Fire Agate and a Druzy Agate and has been enclosed in a silver wire wrapped holder and bail. The necklace then contains puff oval Citrine beads and faceted round Sunstone beads with their "shiller" effect and highlighted with silver beads and finished with a Toggle Clasp. Matching silver French Hook earrings containing a faceted Sunstone bead completes the set.

.

AGATE is a microcrystalline variety of quartz, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although Agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks but can be common in certain metamorphic rocks. No gemstone is more creatively striped by Nature than Agate, the chalcedony quartz that forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colours and textures. Each individual Agate forms by filling a cavity in host rock. As a result, Agate is often found as a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, fanciful scallops, or even a landscape with trees.

.

CITRINE is any quartz crystal or cluster that is yellow or orange in color. Although often cut as a gemstone, Citrine is actually somewhat rare in nature. Most Citrines on the market have been heat treated. Specimens of low grade, inexpensive Amethyst or Smoky Quartz are often cooked at high temperatures to produce the more profitable orange yellow Citrine. Citrines whose colors have been produced by artificial means tend to have much more of an orange or reddish caste than those found in nature, which are usually a pale yellow. Much of the natural Citrine may have started out as Amethyst but heat from nearby magmatic bodies may have caused the change to Citrine. Citrine made by heating Amethyst may be returned to a purple color by bombarding it with beta radiation.
.

SUNSTONE is a plagioclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangeled appearance; this has led to its use as a gemstone. It has been found in Southern Norway, and in some United States localities. It is the official gemstone of Oregon. The optical effect appears to be due to reflections from enclosures of red hematite, in the form of minute scales, which are hexagonal, rhombic or irregular in shape, and are disposed parallel to the principal clevage-plane. These enclosures give the stone an appearance something like that of Aventurine, whence sunstone is known also as "aventurine-feldspar." The optical effect called "shiller" and the color in Oregon Sunstone is due to copper. In the middle part of this crystal, it sparks a lot, and usually has a dark color in the middle, and the color becomes lighter as it becomes the outer part.

.

.

SONORAN LEAVES - more designs using the leaves!

Sonoran Leaves are a specially fired glass that is made into the shape of leaves in different sizes for use in pendants and earrings. Boro glass is a particular type of glass, better known under the brand name of Pyrex. It was first developed in the late 19th century and was used primarily for scientific glass due to its strength and durability. Artists have started to use boro glass for bead making even though it is a very hard glass and requires high heat to form a bead. Boro glass has a very distinctive range of colors from varions other minerals or impurities, often much more vibrant than the softer European glass. Sonoran Leaf pieces are made one at a time, in a flame. Because they are made by hand there may be slight variations in color from one batch to another. Do not confuse these Sonoran Leaves with other types of poured or fused glass leaves made in bulk and sold at craft stores and shows. Two more designs using these unique Sonoran Leave are shown below-------

Here we have Dark Blue Sonoran Leaves combined with Lapis Lazuli and Kyanite along with Crysatl Beads.
.
.



















This set combines Light Blue Sonoral Leaves with Turquoise and Crystal beads.
.
.

GEMSTONE JEWELRY - new design using Sonoran Leaves !

We are returning to the Glass, Crystals and Gemstones combination. Not a combination one would automatically think of, but when the glass is cut or formed correctly, and the crystals and gemstones have been cut and polished also, you have a unique combination for the “discerning” jewelry wearer. Come and see this design and others at the Deep in the Arts of Texas Show at the Live Oak Civic Center, Sat Oct 9th, 9 to 5

.

This unique design incorporates reddish Sonoran Glass leaves in two sizes. Twelve large Agate nuggets and four feceted rondels combine with Carnelian beads to complete the necklace. Crystals are interspirsed as accents. A silver plated hook and loop clasp completes the necklace. Matching Carnelian and clear crystals dange from French Hook earrings to complete the set.

.

Sonoran Leaves are a specially fired glass that is made into the shape of leaves in different sizes for use in pendants and earrings. Boro glass is a particular type of glass, better known under the brand name of Pyrex. It was first developed in the late 19th century and was used primarily for scientific glass due to its strength and durability. Artists have started to use boro glass for bead making even though it is a very hard glass and requires high heat to form a bead. Boro glass has a very distinctive range of colors from varions other minerals or impurities, often much more vibrant than the softer European glass. Sonoran Leaf pieces are made one at a time, in a flame. Because they are made by hand there may be slight variations in color from one batch to another. Do not confuse these Sonoran Leaves with other types of poured or fused glass leaves made in bulk and sold at craft stores and shows.

.

Agate - No gemstone is more creatively striped by nature than agate. This distinct and dramatically banded variety of Quartz comes in layers. Agate composition varies greatly and can be of many colors. Each individual Agate forms by filling a cavity in a host rock. As a result, Agate often is found as a round nodule with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. It is said to be named for the place it first was found along the River Achates (now called the River Drillo) in Sicily.
.
Carnelian is an A-grade Agate. What a lot of people call "true carnelian" is the fiery red/orange color, and in theory, Carnelian is naturally that color. However, most of that fiery red/orange "true" Carnelian is heat-treated in secret before it reaches the gemstone-cutting factory. This apparently has been a secret for thousands of years; each part of the world thought everyone else's Carnelian was naturally red, but they were heating theirs, too. When held against the light, the color-treated Carnelian shows its color in stripes, while natural Carnelian shows a cloudy distribution of color. The name Carnelian is said to be derived from the Latin word 'carnis' ("flesh") due to its color. Deposits of Carnelian are found in Brazil, India, Australia, Russia, Madagascar, South Africa, Uruguay and the U.S.A.

.
.

CRAFT SHOW - Deep In The Arts of Texas - a ROSA Show