Russian Charoite

Purple Stones at their best

 

     For quite some time now, we have been looking for some Russian Charoite stones that we could cut and cab. Recently, we found some ! We are very excited about this, as, most of what we have found has been so expensive, it was well out of our reach. 

     The stones have a gorgeous coloring in various shades of purple, and a light chatoyance, which just adds to the beauty and appearance of the stone. 

     It is said that Charoite has very good healing properties, but for us it's just the natural beauty of the stone that attracts. If you love purple, and are generally looking at Amethyst in purple stones, this is a wonderful choice to add to your collection of stone jewelry.  

     If you are looking for other alternative purple stones, some of the choices are:

Amethyst

Flourite

Sugalite

Lepidolite

Charoite

     There are others out there, we just haven't located them all yet, but.....we will!! So stay tuned!! 

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 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charoite (K(Ca;Na)₂Si₄O₁₀(OH;F)·H₂O)^[3] is a rare silicate mineral, first described in 1978 and named for the Chara River.^[2] It has been reported only from the Sakha Republic, Yakutia, Siberia, Russia.^[3] It is found where a syenite of the Murunskii Massif has intruded into and altered limestone deposits producing a potassium feldspar metasomatite.^[1][2]
Charoite is translucent lavender to purple in color with a pearly lustre. Charoite is strictly massive in nature, and fractures are conchoidal. It has an unusual swirling, fibrous appearance, sometimes chatoyant, and that, along with its intense color, can lead many to believe at first that it is synthetic or enhanced artificially.
Though reportedly discovered in the 1940s, it was not known to the outside world until its description in 1978. It is said to be opaque and unattractive when found in the field; a fact that may have contributed to its late recognition.
Charoite occurs in association with tinaksite and canasite.<sup>[3]

Mohs scale hardness 5 - 6</sup>


Name Origin: Named for the impression that it gives: "chary" in Russian means "charms" or "magic" and not for the Chara River, which is 70 km away from the locality.

 Locality: Murun massif, Chara River area, Aldan Shield, SW Yakutia (Sakha Republic). Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

 

 

 

 

 

New Wire Wrapping Tutorial

For about the past year or so, I have had so many people ask me to post a tutorial on my wire wrapped pendants. Well...I finally sat down, and put it together. After several hours of picture taking while wrapping a gorgeous Rhodonite gem stone, and typing up the instructions the new tutorial is now live, and listed in my shop.
This wire wrap technique is designed to save you time and money in creating your hand made jewelry.

Now that I have figured out how to do a tutorial on my own, I feel there just might be more in the near future!!

Come check it out!

Copper Wire Jewelry Style

     It has been a long time used material in jewelry making, and the style, and warmth of copper continues to be a favorite among a large group of people. It's properties create a genuine feeling of warmth when worn, as well as being a favorite when it comes to the Fall season each year. Copper is said to remove toxins from the body, which is why a person's skin may turn green occasionally. It's easily cleaned, with no harsh chemicals need  to do so, simple dish soap and water, or even Ketchup, with clean copper. 
I have had a back stash of copper wire sitting here, and hadn't had a use for it really, but I decided to make some things and use it up. It turns out, I had a lot more here than I thought I did, but, I am enjoying working with it, as well as some beautiful red brass. 

Check out my latest creations, now listed in my Etsy shop!! 

 

9 LB Lake Superior Agate found just before Agate Days in Moose Lake!!

This is just a beautiful, once in a lifetime find for us! We found this huge Laker in our favorite hunting spot in central Minnesota. And, we knew it was big, but as we dug it out of the ground, it turned out to be way bigger than we first thought....a whopping 9 pounds! Agates likes this are extremely rare, the odds of finding something like this are just phenomenal, as only 1 in every 10,000 Lake Superior Agates are even over a pound. The average size of a Lake Superior Agate is the size of a pea, and finding bigger ones, especially ones this big, is so exciting. And while owning this rock is exciting for us, we believe it should be in the hands of a serious collector. The agate is whole, and not broken, showing small areas of fortification banding, moss agate, and quartz. I have included wet and dry photos, and have even more photos on hand for anyone who wants them before buying.To purchase this stone please check my Etsy shop.
Where we found this stone:

And the Agate itself:

Thank you for taking the time to check our Agate, and our shop!!

There ARE other stones, besides a Lake Superior Agate,  to Wire Wrap......Right?

     While I try very hard to wrap a Lake Superior Stone every day, I always have to remember that there are others to cab and wrap as well.....not always easy for me, but...I manage to get some other items made. Agate Days in Moose Lake is still approaching fast, and I still can't wait to go. Should be a very fun, and exciting day for me, because, well, you all know how I love the Lakers!! I do have a couple more wrapped up, just need to get them listed in the Etsy shop, that should be later today....
Meanwhile, here are some of my latest wraps I thought you all would enjoying looking at......

Blue Lace Agate

Chrysoprase

Dalmatian Jasper

Green Tree Agate

Sodalite

 

 

 

Have a look at the rest of my silver pendants.....you might find that perfect one!!

Moose Lake MN Agate Days

It's almost that time of year again, and Agate Days is coming fast! Lived in this area for about 5 years now, and it seems like every year something comes up, and I don't get to go! This year, however, I am doing my very best to get there, and am getting really excited for it!
This show is all about my beloved Lake Superior Agate, the gorgeous stone which got me started in the rock & gem cutting world, created my addiction for rock hounding, and has given me an inner peace that I cannot even explain, not clearly anyway.
From rough, to specimens, big and small, jewelry, gifts, and so much more, I understand that if you like Lake Superior Agates, this is the place to be!
As my excitement builds, here is just a small handful of the stones I have recently cut for cabbing, and then to make jewelry/pendants with....

These, among many others, will be wire wrapped soon, and listed in my Etsy shop....The Goal, as soon as I catch up on some orders is to get 1 a day done...that's the goal, we'll see what happens!!

Cabochon Rough

Introducing the newest Rough for our Cabochons!

     We were going to wait, and just surprise you all with the latest rock shop finds from yesterday....but....it was so exciting to find all of this wonderful material, we just could not hold back! These photos will show you "almost" all of what we found.....gotta hold back a couple for surprises later on....I will tell you that at least one of those we aren't telling you about will be premium grade cabs...We are also holding back on all the self collected Minnesota material we have found out on rock hounding days.So, without further delay......here are the latest rocks we found down there for you guys. 
AMAZONITE

BLUE GOLDSTONE

OCEAN JASPER

LEOPARD SKIN JASPER

GREEN GOLDSTONE

LABRADORITE

CHRYSOCOLLA

WHITE LABRADORITE (RAINBOW MOONSTONE)

GREEN TREE AGATE

HYPERSTHENE

TIGER EYE

AND THERE YA HAVE IT!!

These will hopefully be cut this weekend so we can start cabbing  it up for you next week......and again, there are more......something purple, something blue, something green......We are very excited about being able to find some of these. Have been looking for MONTHS now to find the White Labradorite, as well as another one we found, and FINALLY, we have it!! A possibility of getting more too!! There is more of the White Lab than I show in the photo. The Labradorite stones are showing some outstanding promise on the outside , and we are hoping there will be flash through out the stones. The green Goldstone is something I have also been looking for, and they finally had a huge chunk of it in stock!! I looked on Etsy, and right now there are only a handful of listings using this stone...so my girls will be able to put something new on the table with it!! We continue to try and find you all stones that there aren't a lot of people using, so that you are not swallowed up in the listings from so many using the same stones. Finding UNIQUE stones for you is not an easy task, but when we do, it's soooo exciting. We want you all to succeed at what you are doing, and being able to offer something DIFFERENT is key in that success.....

HOPE THIS EXCITES YOU ALL AS MUCH AS IT DOES US!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY, AND ENJOY THE NEW CABS TO COME!! 

Marie & Boots

Superior Agates