Coral Fossils for Jewelry !

Natural Coral Fossil cut as a Pendant

Corals are simple animals that secrete skeletons made of calcium carbonate. They are close relatives of sea anemones and jellyfish and are the main reef builders in modern oceans. Corals can be either colonial or solitary.

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As fossils, corals are found worldwide in sedimentary rocks. Based on these fossils, we know that the corals began their long evolutionary history in the Middle Cambrian period, over 510 million years ago. In Kansas, they were deposited from about 315 to 250 million years ago. Nice coral fossils are found in Pennsylvanian and Permian rock formations. Although corals are the main reef builders in modern oceans, not all corals build reefs. In addition to the corals, which are called framework organisms, other organisms contribute to the formation of reefs. For example, modern reefs are inhabited by binding organisms (such as encrusting algae) and filler organisms (such as snails, bivalves, and sponges), whose skeletons fill in the spaces in the reef after death.

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Two groups of corals were important inhabitants of the Pennsylvanian and Permian seas--tabulate and rugose corals. Tabulate corals were exclusively colonial and produced calcium carbonate skeletons in a variety of shapes: moundlike, sheetlike, chainlike, or branching. Tabulate corals get their name from horizontal internal partitions known as tabulae. Some tabulate corals were probably reef builders..
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Pink Coral Fossil and Indonesian Coral Fossil are among the most commonly found Coral Fossils used in todays jewelry.

Coral fossil material displays the unusual internal structure of the original coral. Coral fossil cuts and polishes like Agate, but in most cases are a bit softer.

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Red Eye Coral and Black Eye Coral are two of the more unusual types of Coral Fossil found in present day markets. Both come from sea floors around South East Asia.

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Sponge Coral ! That's its trade name. It is known to marine biologists as melithaea ochrace. A sponge coral really has nothing to do with sponges. It just looks like a sponge. Found mainly in the South China Sea, from Taiwan down to Indonesia, the sponge coral has a distinct fan-shaped appearance underwater. Until recently, sponge coral was not used for jewelry as they weren't considered jewelry-quality coral because they contained too many holes. However with the "farming" of man-enhanced Sponge Coral, we now have a renewable source and thus the harvesting and use of other natural corals is becoming more and more controlled, even to the extent that importation of coral is illegal into many countries without special government issued licenses, however Sponge Coral does not fall under these regulations. The majority of Sponge Coral used in jewelry has to date been shades of reds and oranges.

A very rare pure White Coral Fossil.

The coral can be cut and placed into very fine jewelry, such as this Black Coral ring. However, coral is best used in earrings and pendants, as its softness can allow it to be easily damaged in jewelry such as rings, unless properly protected.

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And of course in todays market place we have all kinds of fakes and man made gemstones. Although natural, colored coral fossil stones are normally found to have been helped a bit with some colorations from man.

PYRITE - The "Fools Gold" Stone

Lets start by how you may see Pyrite when looking for it. First it could be a 'cube' attached to a host rock, or a bunch of small 'crystals' in amoung other crystals such as Quartz, or maybe the real fooler, a Golden Pyrite "clump'. These are not the only way Pyrite appears however, as can be seen in several of the following pictures.

There are several shiny brassy yellow minerals, but pyrite is by far the most common and the most often mistaken for gold. Whether it is the golden look or something else, pyrite is a favorite among rock collectors. It can have a beautiful luster and interesting crystals. It is so common in the earth's crust that it is found in almost every possible environment, hence it has a vast number of forms and varieties. During their search for forture, many infamous shouts ocurred amid the Old West propsectors "There's Gold in that Riverbed !" only to be disappointed in finding Pyrite or as the golden rock quickly became known as "fools gold". Many a gold seaker was fooled by this shiny yellow mineral that looks so similar to gold.

Pyrite is a polymorph of Marcasite, which means that it has the same chemistry, FeS2, as Marcasite; but a different structure and therefore different symmetry and crystal shapes. Pyrite is difficult to distinguish from marcasite when a lack of clear indicators exists, as can be seen by the following picture of a piece of Marcasite.

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Almost any rock that looks a little rusty will mostly likely contain some pyrite. Pyrite is cubic crystals composed of iron sulfide; spherical and bulbous pyrites also exist; it is found in large quantities, mainly in coal mines and near clay workings. It comes in a vast number of forms and varieties, but the most common crystal shapes are cubic and octahedral.
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One sought-after form is flattened nodules found in chalk, siltstone and shale called “pyrite suns’ or ‘pyrite dollars’. These nodules are usually made from thin pyrite crystals radiating from the center.

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Enourmous amounts of small Pyrite crystal clusters come from Oruro and Colavi, Bolivia. In Navajun (Logroño), Spain, large cubic crystals, are abundant. They are frequently embedded in a light brown matrix, and are occasionally twinned.

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Perfect crystals occur in Rio Marina on the island of Elba, Italy. In the U.S., there are also many fine localities. In Park City, Bingham Co., Utah, very large, well shaped Pyritohedrons and Pyrite Cubes have been found, as well as in the American Mine in the Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake Co., Utah. Large, intergrown cubes, many times partially octahedral, occur in abundance at Leadville, Lake Co., Colorado. Pyrite "Dollars" are mostly found in Sparta, Randolph Co., Illinois. The French Creek Mine in Chester Co., Pennsylvania is famous for the octahedral crystals that occur there, although most are distorted. Many interesting nodules were recently discovered in Alden, Monroe Co., New York.

The use of Pyrite in decorations is also quite common. How many times have you visited a mine to see mining scenes in Pyrite avaiable on the sales counters.

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And more recently, Pyrite has been faceted so that it can be made into jewelry such as rings, pendants or earrings.

GEMSTONE JEWELRY - Should you match Face Shapes and Jewelry Styles ?

It doesn't matter what Season of the Year it is, one thing to remember is that various styles of Necklaces and Earrings, most of the time, go best with particular face shapes. Here are some suggestions by the "experts", but in the end, remember it all depends on what one likes and what the person you might be giving the gift to wants to wear and what they feel they look best wearing. What "you" like and looks best on you, is not always the best shape and style for the one to whom you are giving a jewelry gift to.

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OVAL FACE = Necklaces - wear anything from a choker to a “V” necklace, to a long strand of beads. With this face you can pull anything off. Earrings - Once again, you can pull from any look, so don’t be afraid to wear anything you like.
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ROUND/SQUARE FACE = Necklaces - Your goal is to slim down the face, use long necklaces, stay away from Chokers and large round beads. Earrings - Anything long that draws attention down instead of around is very flattering.
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RECTANGLE FACE = Necklaces - Opposite of the round face, a rectangular face needs to have width added. Something short with thick beads. Earrings - A button or post style looks best, to shorten the length of the face.
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HEART FACE = Necklaces - many say chokers look best because it softens the sharp angle of the chin, and if you add double or triple layers is adds width around the neck balancing the thinness and angles of the chin. Earrings - teardrops, long upside down triangles, something to draw attention away from the narrowness of the chin.
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And as originally said, in the end, no matter what is suggested by the "experts", what is worn is one's own decission to make. Just remember some shapes and colors go much better with your figure, clothing and other accessories, and not with the person you may be giving a gift to. It all depends on how you or that person wishes to stand out -- classy or exotic.
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The Fragil "Mystic" Topaz

One of the most beautiful gemstones currently on the market is the "Mystic" Topaz. You can find one in some 64 known colors and probably a few more on Cruise Ships that haven't been advertised. One thing not always stressed to the buyer of all varieties of "Mystic" Topaz is the fact that "Mystic" Topaz is nothing more than colorless topaz that has been subjected to a vapor deposit process by which a variety of secret ingredients are coated on the surface of the stone creating the various colors and sparkle. There is no "Mystic" Topaz mine, but there is a fabulous "Mystic" Topaz manufacture that I linked to a couple years ago on my web-site at http://www.jewelrybycnc.com/ that is still in business, and you can browse his site at http://www.mystictopaz.com/ to view many varieties of "Mystic" Topaz as well as many other gemstones.

The real problem with "Mystic" Topaz is not just that it easily scratches, but that it is also very fragil, to the point that it can be damaged by a jeweler's tweezers during setting and especially resetting, any kind of normal wear and tear, and even heat and cold. But another real problem is that you cannot clean the stone.

Below you see two images. At one time these two stones were identical in color. But one was placed in a normal jeweler's ultrasonic cleaner with the same ammonia and water solution that is sold as jewelry cleaner around the world. You can see that in a very short period of time all of the coating was removed by the ultrasonic cleaner. Meaning that any mystic topaz gemstone set in any kind of ring with diamonds or other gemstones can never be properly cleaned. The only option is a cursory cleaning in plain water, maybe with a small amount of Dove Soap. Which by itself will not remove things like hand lotion, body oils, and perfumes. Meaning that once your mystic topaz ring gets dirty, you are pretty much stuck with a dirty ring.

Probably 98% of all gemstones are treated in some form or another, heat, dying, radiation, infusion, etc. Without treatments, the available number of gemstones on the market would be greatly reduced. And as long as treatments are properly disclosed to consumers, they present many valuable streams of revenue to the independent retail jeweler around the world.

But this craze over Mystic Topaz has just gone a bit overboard. The treatment is too fragile to be viable. There is just too much promotion going on that leaves out the fact that this treatment is temporary, at best. The coating can be flaked off by your fingernail. It cannot withstand heat or cold. And more important, it cannot be properly cleaned after being set into jewelry items with other gemstones. But "Mystic" Topaz is beautiful, and certain manufactures are now claiming that their treatment procedures are becoming more perimenent. Hopefully if one acquires a "Mystic" Topaz, no matter what color, it is of the newer and more perminent coloration nature.

An original green colored "Mystic" Topaz.

Metal Clay in Jewelry Making !

For many jewelry makers who have dreamed of working with metal but have had nightmares about using the torch, Metal Clay, also called Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and Art Clay, may be their dream come true. However, keep in mind that while you don't need to use a torch to necessarily solder metals together, it can be helpful to know a little about metal work in order to clean and finish metal clay pieces.

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Metal clay is a clay-like medium used to make jewelry, beads and small sculpture. It consists of very small particles of precious metals (such as Silver, Gold or Platinum) mixed with an organic binder and water. Metal clay can be shaped just like any soft clay, by hand or using moulds. After drying, it can be fired in a variety of ways including in a kiln, with a handheld gas torch, or on a gas stove. The binder burns away, leaving the pure, sintered metal. Shrinkage of between 8% and 30% occurs (depending on the product used), but this is exploited by artisans to produce very fine detail.

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Silver metal clay results in objects containing .999 pure silver - aka fine silver, which is ideal for enameling. Although gold metal clay is much more expensive to use, the color and richness is phenomenal. It can be used to make stunning solid gold objects or used sparingly to make beautiful accents on silver pieces. Lump metal clay is sold in sealed packets to keep it moist and workable. The silver versions are also available as a softer paste in a pre-filled syringe which can be used to produce extruded forms, in small jars of slip and as paper-like sheets, from which most of the moisture has been removed.

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There are two popular brands of this material, Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and Art Clay Silver (ACS).

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Precious Metal Clay or PMC was developed in the early 1990s in Japan by metallurgist Dr. Morikawa. The material consists of microscopic particles of pure silver or fine gold powder and a water-soluble, non-toxic, organic binder which burns off during firing. Success was first achieved with gold, and later duplicated with silver. The original formula of PMC, now called "Standard", must be fired in a kiln at 900 °C (1,650 °F) and has a shrinkage rate of 30%. Mitsubishi Materials Corp later developed two additional versions of silver called "PMC+" which can be fired as low as 810 °C (1,490 °F) for 30 minutes, and "PMC3", which can be fired as low as 599 °C (1,110 °F) for 45 minutes. Both PMC+ and PMC3 have a shrinkage rate of 12-15% and may also be fired with a handheld torch for 4-7 minutes. A 22k gold gilding material called "Aura 22", and lump 22k yellow gold clay (an alloy of fine silver and gold) are also available. PMC also manufactures an 18k gold clay and a platinum clay, but these latter two are only marketed in Japan.

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Art Clay Silver or ACS was developed by AIDA Chemical Industries, another Japanese company. Art Clay followed PMC Standard with their Art Clay Original clay (more like PMC+ than PMC Standard), which allows the user to fire with a handheld torch or on a gas hob. Due to subtle differences in the binder and suggested firing times, this clay shrinks less than the PMC versions, approximately 8-10%. Further developments introduced the Art Clay Slow Dry, a clay with a longer working time. Art Clay 650 and Art Clay 650 Slow Dry soon followed - both clays that can be fired as low as 650 °C (1,202 °F), allowing the user to combine the clay with glass and sterling silver which are affected negatively by the higher temperatures needed to fire the first generation clays. AIDA also manufacturers Oil Paste, a product only used on fired metal clay or milled fine silver, and Overlay Paste, which is designed for drawing designs on glass and porcelain. In 2006 AIDA also introduced the Art Clay Gold Paste, a more economical way to work with gold. The paste is painted onto the fired silver clay, then refired in a kiln, or with a torch or gas stove. When fired it bonds with the silver, giving a 22ct gold accent. The same year also saw Art Clay Slow Tarnish introduced, a clay which tarnishes less rapidly than the other metal clays.

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A do-it-yourself version called Silver Smith's Metal Clay Powder is available in a dry powder form to which the user adds water to obtain any desired consistency.

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This book is a great guide for getting a start in Metal Clay Jewelry.

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OPAL - Australia's National Gemstone

Based on several requests have decided to do a Blog on Opals. However this specific BLOG deals with Australian Opals. Many thanks must go to the Jewelers Association of Australia for their information and pictures. There are other major varieties of opals not covered here, Mexican Fire Opals (transparent to translucent opals with warm body colors yellow, orange, orange-yellow or red and they do not show any play-of-color), Peruvian Opals (semi-opaque to opaque blue-green, green, blue or pink stone found in Peru which is often cut to include the matrix in the more opaque stones. They do not display pleochroism), to name a couple. Other varieties of opal can also be found in Slovakia, Brazil, Ethiopia and the Northwest and Southwestern United States with new finds now reported in China.

The Australian Opal. Nature has captured all the colors of the spectrum, displaying them in an infinite variety of shades, patterns, and brilliance and locked them into this rare stone. Opals lie dormant in the earth until a miner clips the edge and light reaches the gem exposing the most beautiful dancing displays of color. This ‘Play of Color’ is the basis for the opals beauty. It is unique in the world of gemstones. It originates from the breaking up of white light due to the three dimensional spherical shaped microstructure of the silica partials inherent in the opal. Similar color phenomena can be observed when oil lies on water. Opals occur where silica gel fills small fissures or voids in the earth. A large portion of Australia’s inland was once covered by a sea, leaving deposits and creating an environment suitable for the formation of the opal. As the cellulose of the tree wood decays, it leaves empty cells in the wood. As the silicon rich water seeps down into the void, it eventually dries out and leaves the silicon behind to form opals. Some of the water is retained by he silicon dioxide...which is why opals contain so much water. The silicon forms as small rows of round spheres that create the ‘Play-of-color’. Natural Opals are divided into categories to distinguish the location where mined and the specific variety of Opal.

BLACK OPAL is the most valuable and comes mainly from Lightning Ridge. High quality stones are very rare; this type is easily distinguished by the blackness of the base or background body tone.

BLACK CRYSTAL OPAL is mainly mined at Lightning Ridge. These black opals show a degree of transparency, the colors are often brilliant and can appear to come from within the depth of the gemstone. Good black crystal opals are extremely rare.

DARK OPAL comes from all the fields and is desirable because the colors are generally more brilliant, due to the dark background highlighting the colors. Good specimens of this type of opal mainly come from Mintabie and Lightning Ridge.

LIGHT OPAL is usually found at all opal fields but the bulk of the better material comes from the South Australian fields of Coober Pedie and Andamooka, although the first material was mined at White Cliffs. Some light opals are so light they are called White Opals (2nd picture above).

CRYSTAL OPAL embraces opals which are transparent or very translucent and in the better quality stones shows a distinct and very bright play-of-color. This type of opal is found in most Australian opal fields.

BOULDER OPAL is composed of opal naturally occurring on its host rock. It is mined predominantly in Queensland. It is easily identified because when cut, the host rock if left on the sides and/or back of the opal. Boulder Opal may be light, dark or black within the host rock. This type of opal in cabochon settings, has become very popular in the past few years, especially those stone that have the host rock all around the ‘window’ of opal in the center of the stone.



MATRIX OPAL comes in two types in Australia.

-BOULDER MATRIX OPAL is usually found in Queensland. The opal is intimately diffused with the host rock (usually ironstone so is magnetic), which is quite obvious in the presentation face of the stone.

-MATRIX OPAL from the Andamooka area has opal internally diffused throughout the host rock, a sandstone, which is often porous and can be treated, turning the material dark, resembling black opals.

NATURAL OPALS are the complete opal cut and polished as one piece. These can be very fragile and easily damaged when worn.



COMPOSITE NATURAL OPALS consist of a natural opal laminate manually cemented or attached to another material. There are three main types.

-DOUBLET OPAL is a composite of two pieces where a slice of natural opal is cemented to a base backing material.

-TRIPLET OPAL is a composition of three pieces where a thin slice of natural opal is cemented between a dark base material and a transparent top layer, usually of quartz or glass.

-MOSAIC CHIP OPAL is a composition of small flat or irregularly shaped pieces of natural opal cemented as a mosaic tile on a dark base material or encompassed into resin.

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There are three (3) specific other Opal types that also come from Australia that I hope to gather further information on and be able to post a Blog in teh near future on them - Andamooka, Koroit and Yowah Opals. Check out the Opal Forum at

http://forums.opalauctions.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1647&start=180

for informatin on these Opals.

SYNTHETIC and IMITATION OPAL has become a real problem worldwide, but not a problem in Australia. Australian law deals harshly with anyone making or selling synthetic or imitation opals and the few retailers who have them, will have them so marked and inform purchasers of this fact. You will see very few within Australia.

For our budding gemologist and geologist, opal is a mineraloid, it is an amorphous SIO2 - NH2O (hydrated silicon dioxide). The water content is usually between three and ten percent, but can be as high as 20%. It is a 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Opal has a RI: 1.44 - 1.46 -- Birefringence: None -- Optic Character: None -- Specific Gravity: 2.10 average but varies based on amount of water contained in the stone.

Opal is the traditional birthstone for October and the state gemstone of Nevada.

Caring for your Opals
As with Pearls, the number one care item for Opals is to never have them on when using hair spray or wear them when doing rough work.
Solid Opals -- Opal is a soft stone, so it is important to treat your opal carefully In order to avoid damaging it. Remove your opal jewelry if there is a chance it will be scratched or broken (i.e. working in the garden, moving furniture, etc.) Many people believe solid opals can be damaged by water - however, this only applies to doublets and triplets. Solid opals are fine in water. In fact, most precious opals contain about 5-6% water. As a result, opal may crack if subjected to very dry conditions or rapid changes in temperature. Try to avoid very high temperatures or low humidity extremes, such as boiling water or zero humidity bank vaults.
Doublets & Triplets -- Caring for doublets or triplets is a little different to caring for opals. Because doublets and triplets consist of multiple layers glued together, prolonged exposure to water will eventually cause lifting between the layers and the infiltration of water. A doublet or triplet will take on a 'foggy' or grey appearance if this happens. This does not mean your opal will be ruined if you wear it in the shower once, or are caught in the rain. It takes prolonged exposure to cause water damage to a doublet or triplet.
Cleaning Your Opals
Solid opal should be cleaned gently with mild detergent in warm water and a soft toothbrush or cloth. Avoid bleach, chemicals and cleaners. Doublets & triplets may be wiped with a damp soft cloth and mild detergent, but should never be soaked or immersed. Never allow anyone to clean your opal in an ultrasonic cleaner, as the intense vibrations may cause cracking in a solid opal, and water penetration in a doublet or triplet. If your stone loses its shine or becomes scratched, bring it back to an opal cutter. After years of wear, small scratches and scuff marks cause an opal to lose its shiny polish and become dull looking. Professional polishing can bring new life to an opal which has become dull or scratched, and we can also check for claw damage and ensure the security of the setting.
Storing Your Opals
If you need to store your opal away for a period of time, simply place it in a padded cloth bag for protection and store it away. For longer storage periods, place your opal in a sealed plastic bag wrapped in cotton wool with a few drops of water just to be safe. The water is not intended to soak into the stone (as opal is impervious) but will prevent water coming out of the stone if it is exposed to very low humidity environments (for example, zero humidity storage safes).

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GEMSTONE COMBINATIONS !

To be a bit different and let my designing juices flow a bit, decided for this Spring and the upcoming ROSC Joint Services Luncheon at Lackland AFB on March 25th, to come up with some changed variety in gemstone combinations for several new Jewelry Sets..

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Turquoise, Coral and Silver is an old standby, but this time I added some Wild Horse Magnesite to the mix.

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Combining Russian Amazonite with some Denim Lapis, and an Ocean Jasper Pendant with Silver Accent Chain, makes for a totally different look.

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Silver Fresh Water Pears, Pink Zebra Jasper highlighted with pink Crystals and then twisted with a Pink Zebra Jasper Pendant gives a striking demension to this necklace.

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Peppermint Jasper inserted between various shapes of Ivoryite and Black Onyx provides a dynamic and bold look.

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And for the Classy, a Blue Chalcedony Marquise Pendant hanging from Kyanite discs, Montana and Clear Crystal rondells, provides the evening-out look.

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These and other new designs will be available on the Web-site over the next week and for those in the San Antonio area that will be attending the luncheon, please come and look at these and other new items close-up.

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LAZURITE - Varieties, Trade Names & Misnomers !

After posting a picture of some new material that was recently acquired, several e-mails were received with information that one of the stones had been misidentified. Misidentification is a very easy thing to do, but one must also remember that the same exact stone may be called one thing in one place and a totally different name someplace else, with all names being correct. Thus we have what are called Varieties, Trade Names and Misnomers.

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The stone in the picture was identified as Afgan Lazurite Quartz. Now the mineralogy world says this about Lazurite. 'Lazurite is a popular but generally expensive mineral. Well-formed, deep blue crystals are rare and valuable. It is found combined with other minerals, most commonly combined into a rock called Lapis Lazuli, as shown in the second picture. Lapis Lazuli or Lapis for short is mostly made up of Lazurite, but commonly contains Pyrite. Lazurite can also contain Calcite and is sometimes mixed with various colors of Quartz.'

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The name means "blue rock" and it is always a brilliant blue with violet or greenish tints. The rich blue color is due to the sulfur that is inherent in the structure of Lazurite. Small crystals of Pyrite are always present in Lapis and their brassy yellow color is both attractive and diagnostic in distinguishing lapis from its also blue cousin - Sodalite, which lacks Pyrite. The Calcite produces white streaks in the Lapis, thus forming a multi-colored stone many times also containing pieces of various colored Quartz, as seen in the first picture. This particular pendant could be call Quartz, Calcite or Lazurite, maybe even Granite or Marble, because all are present. But since the Lazurite is the rarest of the minerals present, it is being referred to as a Lazurite Pendant. Since it happens to be known where it also came from, the name Afgan is added to its identification.

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Just for comparison purposes, the small carved cross is Sodalite. To really keep one on their toes when looking for or shopping for specific stones, here is a partial listing of the names that Lazurite goes by ---- Lapis Lazuli, Afgan Lapis, Chilean Lapis, California Lazuli, Lasurite, Persian Lapis, Russian Lapis, Sapphiros of Phiny, Siberian Lazuli, Ultramarine Pigment, Canadian Lapis, German Lapis, Hackmanite, Sodalite, Ditroite. Many of these 'variety' names are based on the amount of Lazurite and other minerals also present in the specimen.

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No matter what the name, fantastic and unique pieces of jewelry can be made out of this material, and look great in combination with other gemstones.

Afgan Lazurite Quartz Pendant with Jade and Copper

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