Natural Wonders: Boulder Turquoise

My love for turquoise is well known. And today I'm going to introduce you to a new kind of turquoise:  boulder, or ribbon, turquoise.

Boulder or ribbon turquoise is simply turquoise that still remains in its host rock. Sometimes turquoise is found as nuggets, and sometimes it is found as a "ribbon" (vein) running through the host rock, or boulder. In the past, the turquoise would be cut out of the host rock, and sometimes, especially if it was too difficult to get a good result (if the ribbon was too thin, for example), the host rock would be tossed aside and considered waste. 

Fortunately that is no longer the case! Now this type of turquoise is in demand.

Here's a great example of a "ribbon" of turquoise in the host rock:

source: ribbonturquoise.com

I was first introduced to boulder turquoise several years ago, when Brett and I took a trip to Highlands, NC. We poked around main street and happened upon a fun little shop which had a very western feel to it. They had an amazing array of rock specimens, Kachinas, pocketknives with inlaid stone and wood handles, dreamcatchers, fetishes, and of course jewelry. I bought this ring as a souvenir of the visit:

I love how the thin vein of turquoise is the focal point of this ring, embedded within its host rock. So unusual and a bit more subtle than wearing a "hello-look-at-me" piece of turquoise. Not that I mind that at ALL, but some days a girl just doesn't want her jewelry to shout at the world.  :)

Here's another view, straight on:

it has a beautiful, heavy thick sterling band and it's become one of my favorite rings.

Now that I am learning to set my own stones, I recently snapped up a few cabs for my stash:

I love the unusual shape and the strong mix of blues, greens, and browns in this cab.

This one is probably my favorite, with the beautiful vein of turquoise looking like a bright summer sky, and the host rock looking like the weathered, stark desert landscape.  :)

This cab drew me with its shape and the glorious COLOR! Reminiscent of my Kingman cabs, but a brighter color and different type of matrix. You may notice that this cabochon is "more turquoise, less boulder" and I don't mind that at all. I love how the brown host rock and the turquoise are intermingled here. I suspect that this would have been a "discard" before somebody got smart and decided boulder turquoise was marketable. There was probably a lot more host rock around the turquoise to begin with, but it's been cut away to create this happy gem that made its way home with me.  :)

Two for One? Turquoise Doublets

Remember this turquoise?

It has a little secret:  it's a doublet.

A what, you say?  Never heard of it?

A doublet is a combination of a precious or semi-precious stone and another, lesser material (such as rubber or glass) glued together. It doesn't happen naturally but is man-made, for any one or more of the following reasons:

- The gem material is too fragile / too expensive alone. This happens often with opals. The fragile opal often material needs a backing for stability before it can be set in metal.

- Alternatively, opals (for example - doublets do happen with other stones but opals are one of the most common examples) can be very expensive. Using less of the pricey gem material and more of a low-cost backing can help defray the end cost of the jewelry. And since, once set, the backs of most stones are not seen, a doublet usually doesn't detract from the finished item.

- To enhance the stone. Again, this happens fairly often with opals. Depending on the type of backing, an opal can become even more vibrant if it is doublet-ed.

Here's an example of an opal doublet (viewed from the side of the stone)
:

Getting back to my turquoise stones, I don't actually know *why* the turquoise was doublet-ed; but that's how it came to me. And for the ring setting, it didn't matter because no one would ever see the back. But it certainly can make a difference in other situations. For example:

source: Contrariwise Blog

This is not my own work, but that of another 'smith. I am using her photo to illustrate how sometimes you may want an open-back setting for your stone pendant - in this case it let in more light - and also can be a nice decorative feature. A doublet will *usually* not work for something like that. Here's why:

It's a style of stone-wrapping I used to do, years ago. With another piece of turquoise my Dad gave me.

Perfectly nice from the front, eh? But look at this:

Uh-huh. Not so pretty now. The back of this stone, just like the one in the bezel set ring, is doublet-ed. With what I can only guess is some sort of plastic. Why? I have no idea. Maybe the back wasn't polished, was rough, and that wouldn't have felt comfortable wearing in a piece of jewelry. Nor would it have been easy to bezel set with a lumpy and bumpy back. But I didn't know how to stone-set then. This piece was made for me, so I didn't worry about the back, but I would have never bought anything like this to sell to someone else, unless I could have covered the back up.

Doublets are a perfectly acceptable item to use in jewelry, as long as they are disclosed and they are used in an appropriate manner. But it wouldn't hurt to look as closely at the back of your jewelry purchases as you do at the front. A finished piece of jewelry should be just as well-finished on BOTH sides.   :)

American Picture Jaspers: Biggs, Deschutes and Bruneau

The term "picture jasper" encompasses a wide range of stones. Jasper in general is found all over the world, but American picture jaspers are a broad part of this spectrum.

Most picture jaspers in the U.S. come from Idaho or Oregon. Oregon in particular has produced some stunning jaspers. While stones are often named for the person who found them (for example, Pietersite is named after Sid Pieters, the man who discovered it), most jasper names indicate their location. Biggs jasper is from Biggs, Oregon. Bruneau jasper comes from Bruneau Canyon, Idaho. And so on. Each jasper is distinctive and (for the most part) easily identifiable.

Biggs and Deschutes jaspers come from a very similar area of Oregon, and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. Both are relatively rare in today's market as, depending on what you hear, the mines(s) are either "played out" (e.g. not producing any more), or inaccesible due to being paved over by a highway...what I can tell you for sure is that when I do run across either of these jaspers for sale, which isn't all that often, they are a good bit more expensive than most other jaspers I buy. But buy them I do, as I can afford to, because they are truly lovely stones.

Here's the first money shot:

 

A nice Biggs oval with some good color variation. I've shot it vertically but am thinking of setting it horizontally, like this.  Here's the side view:

This is a more "true" shot of the coloring. The edges are pretty good, though a little uneven, and it's a fairly thin cab, which of course also plays into the cost factor. The bigger and thicker the stone, the more it costs, of course. Here's a great example:

Here's another Biggs cab. LOOK at how thick this is! And it's a more unusual cut. The colors are good, as you'll see in the next shot:

Oh yeah. This is what I would consider a "specialty" cab. It's pretty large, it's an unusual cut, and the coloration is GREAT. And no, it was not in-expensive. But I can't wait to build some big, beautiful design around it.  :)

Funny how neither of those look like the first Biggs I posted, eh? I believe that's because the first one might be considered a "Biggs blue", which is an even less plentiful version of the Biggs jasper.

On to the Deschutes:

Talk about some kind of beautiful stone...another "specialty" but it is just so lovely. And it's also thick:

There's going to be a lot of metal invested in this gorgeous rock.

Last but not least, a horizontal shot (which may be how I set this one, too):

So now you're a little more familiar with some of the predominant Oregon jaspers.  Last but not least, Idaho!

Idaho's best-known stone is the Bruneau jasper, from Bruneau Canyon in south-central Idaho. It comes in a variety of colors, but is mostly known as pale brown and cream. I would say it is always "soft" colored - at least the Bruneau I've seen. It's more pastel-hued than popping with some of the rich colors found in other stones, but the soft beauty is what makes it gorgeous. See for yourself:

This is the only piece of Bruneau that I own. As usual, the darkish spot toward the bottom of the stone is from the camera. When I bought this stone, it was the first time I'd seen Bruneau Jasper. I knew nothing about it (fortunately the seller was also the stonecutter and he made sure I was informed). It was a bit costly even back in the day - I've had this stone for several years -  and it's a really great example of the soft lines and colors typical of this stone. EXCEPT for that pink at the top...it's not real. The camera read it as pink when it's a mid-colored brown. The more accurate colors are shown below, in the side view:

The sides are absolutely flat and even, and the stone is cut BEAUTIFULLY. The man I bought this from lives in Arizona and he cuts some gorgeous, gorgeous cabs.

Now you're a little more educated about some American gems. Stay tuned to for future posts once these are set and finished!  :)