Thank you all for your support over the years, it has been a pleasure. :]

~This website will be maintained as a simple archive only. 

A clear quartz stone that looks very muck like a gramophone when set..

Great new finds, Madagascar Quartz, Tibetan Jet, Lapis, Pyrite sphere..

A ring to be..

Madagascar Quartz and Lapis marriage, curing in the sun..

Shaping and first cuts.. starting to reflect more of the Lapis..

Wee tiny 11mm Sichuan Quartz..

Tension and cushion set, stone is removable..

Pyrite sphere ring.. disco disco!

And my new favorite.. Pristine Arkansas Quartz, one serious silver bale, red brass chain, and a custom clasp..

And the mess it all makes..

[All images shot with Instagram, some edited in Photoshop]

Solstice Ring~ Homage to Margaret De Patta!

107ct clear quartz crystal with a frosted dome, set in sterling silver.

Having no idea what i would create, i opened a drawer of jewels… this time the Nepalese ones, and this flawless beauty said yes! Carving was a breeze, but i may never understand these lines and curves. The metal work was complicated… but i just kept moving along. Sometimes in silence, sometimes in Bach. A short day later… well, here it is~ all dressed up, what a tease!

Most of the images were linked to dead sites, so listing credit would be a chore.. however, the bottom left was shot by a new contact on Flickr who has wonderful images!

The best i have ever seen were at the Smithsonian, in their mineral collection. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wise enough to grab a shot of them, and the whole of the internet only turned up one image (below: left). They are the two smaller ones on display… this image does them no justice, but believe me~ they are unreal! The ones on the right are also a part of the Smithsonian collection, just discovered these wonders today. Enjoy!

The second (completed today) has been an ongoing project for nearly 2 years… just never could get it right. It was very fussy, and required very specific curves.. I almost completed it last week, but it chipped under pressure at the last minute. I can’t say im still sad about that, because now, the light is absolutely perfect for reflecting the turquoise.

The quartz is the most fantastic Nepalese stone i have ever handled, and the Nevada turquoise is beautiful, untreated and completely natural. They are now one and the same, and seem to play in the light as if they have been doing so for centuries! So HELLO Spring time!

It spent a few days in the sun.. and then jumped right to the front of the line. I had been thinking a lot about all the possibilities.. i could do this, or that, or this and that.. something this clear and this striking could certainly be exploited. However, in an interesting turn of events.. and just in time, i received an email from a friend who suggested that i consider working a bit with aquamarine and the like.. and that “simple might be best”. The coincidence was reason enough for me to change course.. now, if i could just get that sort of guidance when im out searching for lunch~ “sushi.. brown rice today”! :)

So, i put away all my little carving tools and wiped the 3d mental model.. fashioned new points, polished its faces, drilled and put a little twang on its bail. Presto.. simple as nature intended for this one.

Ill admit, i had tossed and turned one night.. wondering if i had done enough, but judging by the feedback i have received.. ill rest easy feeling it was the right move indeed. but what if…shhhhh

The lot…

and again…

little Brazilian points…

two new Tibetans (one singing!)…

two new Seed Crystals…

and two very perfect Arkansas points…

These are all brand new purchases… i just keep saying “its an investment”.. it gets me through! Actually, my bank called me last week and said “can you please verify these purchases” lol.. they had temporarily shut down my card! ha… sigh :)

The Seed crystals require slow concentration, and will need to be worked during times of no distractions.  Alongside the Arkansas points… they will be part of a higher-end series that ive been crafting for a while. As for the Tibetan.. well, those will be business as usual! However, the singing one brings me to my new desire… i want to see how i can alter the pitch, sustain, and resonance of the singing quartz through design and carving.. with any luck, my excitement will be updating you very soon! :)

A few nights of meditation with the strange creature was enough to confirm, at least in part, some of the new-age tales! Time pressed on and new wonders grabbed my attention.. and my abstract Moldavite window found its way in to my silver bedside gem box. Exactly eleven months later i was anxious and bored and possibly even feeling a bit destructive… twitchy fingers burrowing through cases of loose crystals in search of something to force my will upon, i chose my Moldavite. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.. press your luck with a pricey 15 million year old piece of perfection”… “really, the saw blade.. you’re gonna cut off the entire left side?”. I pressed on. Decided it was translucent enough to smooth out and get something usable.. i took to my lap, and very quickly found my tune had changed, from somewhat malicious to very excited and optimistic about discovering this new formula… Moldavite+polished raised portions+untouched shallows=awesome! Textured to the eyes, smooth to the touch, dark on the skin, brilliant in the light! Bad mood makes good!

This gem has a new home now… i am sending it to an extraordinary new friend to live near his heart (and at least temporarily) much closer to the Sun in St. Maarten! :)

And ah yes, a brief history (via wikipedia):

It widely argued that moldavite glass was formed 15 million years ago during the impact of a giant meteorite in present-day Nördlinger Ries. Splatters of rocks that were melted by the impact cooled while they were actually airborne and most fell in central Bohemia. The glass can be found in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, and the Republic of Moldova.