SOUTHWESTERN FLAIR - Bold and Dynamic !

In order to help the Turquoiise lover and wearer keep the price down, this 20 inch necklace is constructed of Turquoise colored Howlite. The highlight dangle pendant is 2 1/2 inches long hanging from a strand of Turquoise colored donut beads, Chalcedony beads, Smoky Quartz beads and ivory shell coin beads with silver accents. A Silver Toggle clasp completes the necklace. French Hook matching earrings of Chalcedony and Smoky Quartz complete the set.

Howlite, named for its discoverer Henry How, who found it in Tick Canyon, California in 1868. Howlite is one of those minerals that is more famous for imitating another mineral than being used for itself. In most cases the other mineral is Turquoise, a phosphate gemstone. Although natural Howlite is always white or gray, it can accept dyes fairly easily and be dyed a turquoise blue. The look of turquoise is so good that dishonest dealers have been unfortunately successful at this hoax. In more honest circumstances, dyed howlite is an affordable substitute for turquoise carvings, beads, polished stones and cabochons. It accepts a nice polish and its porcelaneous luster is attractive and enhances even undyed beads and carvings. Unfortunately it has low hardness, but it still has a distinct toughness. California is the source for most all of the howlite trade where nodules of up to one hundred pounds have been found. In addition to the famous turquoise color Howlite is dyed, it also can become a very bright red color to mimic red coral, or any other color in the rainbow.

Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. Chalcedony has a waxy luster, and may be semitransparent or translucent. It can assume a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, blue and grayish-blue or a shade of brown ranging from pale to nearly black. Chalcedony occurs in a wide range of varieties. Many semi-precious gemstones are in fact forms of chalcedony.

Smoky Quartz is many times incorrectly called Smoky Topaz, this brown transparent Quartz is sometimes used for unusual faceted cuts and is quite popular in many types of jewelry. Smoky Quartz has an unusual color for a gemstone and is easily recognized and is well known by the general public. Only a few other brown or black minerals are ever cut for gemstones such as black Diamond, smoky Topaz, the very rare black Beryl or brown Corundum. Smoky Quartz is also popular as an ornamental stone and is carved into spheres, pyramids, obilisks, eggs, figurines and ornate statues. The cause of the color of Smoky Quartz is in question but it is almost certainly related to the amount of exposure to radiation that the stone has undergone. Natural Smoky Quartz often occurs in granitic rocks which have a small but persistent amount of radioactivity and/or high hot therma fissures. Most Smoky Quartz that makes its way to rock shops and to some gem cutters has been artificially irradiated to produce a dark black color. Natural Smoky Quartz comes from many sources around the world, a few of the more noteworthy locations include Brazil, the world's largest supplier; Pikes Peak area of Colorado, USA, where it is associated with green Amazonite; Arkansas, USA in the Quartz rich area around Hot Springs, and the Swiss Alps, which has produced many tons of fine specimens. Smoky Quartz is found throughout Quartz deposites found in the Granite fields of New Hampshire. It is also know as Cairngorm, as when found it reminded the early settlers of their Scottish homeland.

Shell coin beads are also used in this set.

BLACK ONYX - a manmade variety of Chalcedony (Agate) !

Every now and then, a real surprise comes along and makes one step back and wonder about many other things. One such rendering took place this past weekend at the Southwest Gems and Mineral Society Show. Was told by a knowledgable lapidarist when looking at a display I had, than there isn't such a thing as "Black Onyx" which was included in several of the necklace sets I had on display. So started checking around, and the Earth Science Department from Trinity University was present with a booth, so chatted with them for a bit, and yep, no such thing as natural "Black Onyx". To make things easier to understand, here are some definitions of "Black Onyx" off of several different sites on the Internet.

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"Black onyx" is neither truly onyx nor truly black, but it is actually dyed chalcedony. According to some experts, it is produced by boiling slabs of gray chalcedony in a sugar solution. The sugar permeates the stone's "pores" between the submicrocrystallites and darkens the appearance of the stone. This dye/treatment is stable and requires no special care.

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Black Onyx - unknown in nature, it is produced by warming chalcedony in a sugar solution for several days or weeks. The stone in then placed in warm sulphuric acid. The acid reacts with the sugar, precipitating the free carbon. The black color is permanent.

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Black Onyx - Mohs Hardness: 6.5-7 - Treatment: Dyed for color uniformity - Color: clear to browns (See also Chalcedony as no such thing as Black Onyx). Onyx and Sardonyx are similar to agate, but Onyx has straight rather than curved bands. These bands may be in shades of browns, reds, tans, yellow, greens and rarely blues and will always have white. Since ancient Egyptian times, onyx has been stained to improve or change its color to an all black gemstone. All totally black onyx has been produced by soaking black agate (chalcedony)or other Onyx, especially clear, in a sugar solution, then heating it in sulfuric acid to carbonize the sugar particles. Found worldwide. Onyx is formed by the deposition of silica in gas cavities in lava, which results in the distinctive bands.

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So from now on the proper term to use with the 'little or big black stones' used in jewelry, should be either black Agate or black Chalcedony with the added comment "enhnaced by chemical treatments and is called black Onyx". One learns something new every day if you listen good.

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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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Blue Chalcedony, a sky blue gemstone in unique jewelry !

Blue chalcedony is stealing the show among blue gemstones in designer jewelry. And among other blue gemstone dazzlers, blue Chalcedony is fairly easy to find, and is definitely easier on the pocketbook than most other of the well known blue gemstones.

A piece of natural rough blue Chalcedony

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The most common forms of blue Chalcedony are solid stones, cut first, then carved into beads with smooth, faceted, or textured surfaces in shapes of every possible variety.

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Blue Chalcedony also comes in a few other forms. Botryoidal is the bubble-like form that yields a wavy texturized surface that displays so nicely in designer jewelry. Another form is druzy, which comes from the crystalline interior of geode formations. Because it forms only on the inside surfaces of internal rock voids, druzy of any kind is not particularly abundant and is therefore pricey. The blue variety of both is also quite uncommon.

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Botryoidal and Druzy blue Chalcedony

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Blue Chalcedony comes primarily from sources in Africa, including Namibia and Malowi, in Turkey, and in the state of Washington. Most designers acquire their blue Chalcedony for their designs from a few special sources in Tucson at the annual February Gem Fair. And, while the exact source of the Gem Fair vendors is unknown, most appears to be the blue Chalcedony that matches that which that can be identified as coming from Turkey. This is not because the vendors are Turkish fellows but because of the rich blue color which is characteristic of Chalcedony from quarries in West Anatolia. The blue in blue Chalcedony from other sources tends to be lighter and from some areas the stones are more translucent.

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Cut and polished blue Chalcedony in Sterling Silver pendants.

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Blue Chalcedony is a beautiful blue stone that should not be overlooked among the dazzle of other blue gemstones like Lapis Lazuli, Tanzanite, Topaz and Sapphire. And with blue Chalcedony, you’ll not only get dazzle but definitely more blue bang for your buck.

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At least for now anyway !

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Blue Chalcedony combined with White Fresh Water Pearls is a striking combination

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West Virginia "Chalcedony" !

Chalcedony is a catch all term that includes many well known varieties of cryptocrystalline quartz gemstones. Chalcedony includes Agate, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Chert, Chrysoprase, Flint, Fossil Coral, Heliotrope, Jasper, Onyx, Sardonyx, Sard, Petrified Wood, and Petrified Dinosaur Bone just to name a few of the better known varieties.

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Lithostrotionella, preserved as the siliceous mineral Chalcedony, was designated by the West Virginia House on March 10, 1990, as the state gemstone. It is found in the Hillsdale Limestone formations in portions of Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties and is often cut and polished for jewelry and for displays. Lithostrotionella is technically a silicified Mississippian Fossil Coral. This coral and many other varieties lived about 340 million years ago, during the Mississippian Period, at a time when the state was encroached on by a shallow sea. In addition to corals, this sea hosted a teeming fauna of brachiopods, trilobites, and fish. When the coral died, it became saturated with water which contained a dissolved mineral called silica. The silica replaced the coral's decaying soft parts. In other words, the coral became silicified or mineralized. This West Virginia Chalcedony occurs in a variety of colors, but primarily in blue-white, grey-tan, yellow and brown in the Hillsdale location.

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Nebraska's "Blue Agate" !

During Nebraska's centennial, the governor signed a bill designating blue Chalcedony, commonly called the blue Agate, as Nebraska's official state gemstone. The Blue Agate became the state gem on March 1, 1967 .

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The specific named Blue Agate has been found in place in wind-deposited claystones in the Chadron Formation of Oligocene Age in northwestern Nebraska in Sioux and Dawes counties. These gems have been found in colors other than blue and the large oval stone is a doublet with a blackened back to highlight the plumes in this material. Chalcedony, the more correct name, is found in many deposit forms. Stalactite growths of the mineral are seen in numerous places and often assume fantastic shapes and forms. It also may replace materials such as wood. The Chalcedony probably originated from silica that was freed when devitrification (changing from a glassy to a crystalline state) of wind-blown volcanic ash took place. The Chalcedony appears to have formed in or near sources of alkaline water and is also known by the name 'ledge Agate".

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As a side note, do not confuse Ellensburg Blue Agate with Nebraska Blue Agate. "Ellensburg Blue" agate is found as an amygdaloidal agate nodule or geode in Kittitas County near Ellensburg, Washington. Colors grade from almost white to a rich, deep, pure blue.

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Although Nebraska's blue Agate (Chalcedony) makes nice specimens and lapidary slabs, it does not normally produce crystals for faceting. Even obtaining a piece large enough for a clear cabachon is unusual.

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