Friday, July 28, 2017

Tucson 2017 - Montana Agate

Ahem. A bit late with this one; apparently I completely forgot this posting regarding some of my gem show goodies....but here's the Montana. :)

I've not always been a Montana agate lover. Much - so much - of what I see just looks junky to me. Dark splotches across an unevenly clouded surface, with no interesting presentation. For years, I avoided it - with very few exceptions - entirely. But in the last couple of years, some really amazing Montana agates have started to show up (or I've just started to notice them), and I'm finding myself a little captivated.



See that above? It's nice. It's just not exciting (to me).And that's my typical attitude toward this gem. So for years they've just not registered. And then...I don't know, suddenly I had something in my hand, and thought, "What is THIS?". That was about two years ago, and it's all been snowballing from there. 


There were these sweet teardrops, which reminded me a little of my beloved dendritic opals, except these are like water scenes instead of winter scenes (and in fact, the process (mineral inclusions being deposited into cracks and crevices in the stone) is very similar. Except somehow seeming even more delicate and ethereal. 


I didn't buy many; there were quite a few to be had, but again...most of them didn't appeal to me. Too dark, too clunky looking, too clouded over. But I did find about ten or so, to start playing with, seeing how they work with my designs. 


They may not appeal to me on a broad scale, but they're here for now. And we'll just see what happens. ;)


This (bottom gem) was actually one of the first Montana agates I ever purchased. It's exquisitely cut and has golden rutiles in it...an amazing, amazing gem I held on to for several years. Finally last year this dark chocolate-y druzy came into my possession and they were meant to be together. It sold last year to a lovely woman and I am thrilled that once I finally put it into a design, it went to a very good home. :)