Tucson 2017 - Mooka Jasper

Mooka jasper (or Mookaite) is an Australian jasper. It's one of the few gems that can morph into a lovely, deep pink / garnet-y red (though it's often deep maroon, beige, or yellow). Like other jaspers, it's formed in sediment, layers gradually building onto other layers, and this is evident in the soft striations of color often found in this gem. Like most jaspers, it takes a high, very reflective, polish.

I buy from just one gem dealer, who always offers what I consider the absolute loveliest examples of this beautiful jasper. This year I picked up some seriously gorgeous cabochons:

So much pinky-red goodness in my stash now! I try to find gems that are not entirely monochromatic (like the center stone in the second row); though that's nice, I usually like my gems to showcase a bit more interesting patterning. And these certainly do. You can see how reflective they are; making them hard to shoot without high spots. And there's not a variety of shapes usually; but fortunately the triangular shapes are a favorite of mine, and the organic-y asymmetrical gems work wonderfully with my own curvy metal designs.

Just a few more. These really showcase that beautifully soft pattern shift.

This gorgeous mooka jasper was paired with a beautiful peacock freshwater pearl. Both hues play beautifully together.

This is from a few years ago; one of the most unusually colored mooka jaspers I've ever seen. Topped with a bit of rhodonite which echoed the very light pink hue.

And this is another gorgeous (and large) cabochon, sharing its glory with a faceted labradorite. Very much a statement necklace.

Tucson Gem Show 2015, Part V

Here are some of the hits and misses from this year's shopping trip. First, the misses:

Too late:

This is a quick cell phone snap, but I think the gems show up beautifully despite that. The top is azurite / malachite with a copper (I think) infusion in it. Normally I don't like that kind of effect but these were amazing. Spendy, however. Like double the highest price I pay for earrings...I seriously thought about treating myself but I was being a good girl this year, and so they stayed.

The bottom gem...I'm still so sad about. It's one of the loveliest Tiffany Stone cabs I've ever seen. It's rare to begin with - found, so far, only in Utah - and quite pricey. This unfortunately got sold in the time I got the "okay" from a client to buy it, and the time I went back to get it. I am hoping it makes someone else VERY happy...

Too spendy:

The photo (again, cell phone; I don't haul the good camera to Tucson for gem shopping) does these no justice at all. They are facted, BIG, bicolor Tanzanite beauties. And at $450, there wasn't even a question that they were coming home this year. But they were amazing to look at.

Too rude:

The photo does none of these justice either...but trust, me they were amazing. However. When I asked about taking a photo for my client (not everyone allows it), the man I asked was very polite and said yes. So then I asked him if they would hold these four gems briefly while I texted my client the photo). He said okay, but then another man broke into our conversation and said, "Hold them for how long?" I said, "I don't know exactly, but I told her to have her phone nearly and she should get back to me shortly". He said, "That's not acceptable.". Then he paused, and said, "We'll hold them for fifteen minutes". Which was fine...but his attitude was beyond rude. I got about two steps away from the booth, and turned around. I flagged him down and said, "Never mind holding those. I'm not spending any momey with you today."

Damn shame, but there are enough lovely gems out there and enough dealers that I didn't want to spend with him. I don't get offended easily but there's no reason to be so rude. So I moved on.

And found this:

for my client. A fabulous and fascinatingly patterned Kingman turquoise. Unlike any other Kingman I've seen - the dealers had about four pieces of it, and this was the most superb. So I got the okay and now it's here waiting for me to make a very special necklace. :)

And the rest of the hits:

A very unusual crazy lace agate. Crazy lace was in short supply this year -  or at least the crazy lace *I* liked - but this was such a perfect little "scene" that I snapped it up.

Some new Mookaites (Mooka jasper, from Australia). I haven't bought any in a while, but I set (and fairly quickly sold) three or four of them last year. So I figured I'd add a few back into my stock. Its color is amazing, the cuts on these are excellent, and it takes a lovely high polish (as you can see by all the glares off the cabs in the photo). I really like to pair it with labradorite for a sort of moody, elegant combination. And the bottom one is also like a little scene. :)

These are amethyst with goethite inclusions, from Brazil. It's hard to capture the beauty of these in a photo, but they are partially translucent and beautifully cut and polished. I'm quite excited to play with them.

And finally, a sampling of  Utah lace agate. Slightly different than crazy lace agate (which comes from Mexico), this Utah lace that I purchased has some lovely red and purple-ish banding going through it, as well as some white parts which were well-cut to have them look kind of like snow-topped mountains. These will make spectacular pendants and earrings. :)