by Rose Marion, Wire-Sculpture.com

Video by John Dyer

If you have the budget for quality cut stones, you have to check out this video by John Dyer. John explains the faceting in gemstones to look for, including windows and polishing quality. While there is nothing "wrong" with economy stones that have windows or crooked facets – in fact, buying imperfect gemstones is an excellent way to prepare for wire wrapping the real deal -I hope you’ll enjoy this video.

While we don’t carry John Dyer’s magnificent stones at this time, you will enjoy wire wrapping our selection of cut gemstones!

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Tool of the Week for
May 14, 2012

This week’s tool: Cordless Bead Reamer, #HDP-380.00

Video by Kate, JewelryTools.com

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Fire Agate and Iris Agate, one in a Series on Quartz

Shop Agate Cabochons | Shop Agate Beads | Shop Fire Agate Cabochons | Shop Crackle Fire Agate Cabochons

Fire Agate

Fire agate is a special kind of agate that appears brown from a distance. However, upon closer inspection, this agate is botryoidal in appearance (as I mentioned last week, that means it looks like a boiling pan of water caught bubbling, frozen in time – or like a bunch of grapes). What makes fire agate more interesting than typical botryoidal agate is its color play. Upon its brown background, a rainbow fire plays, with iridescent red, green, gold, and sometimes blue lighting up the surface of the stone.  Fire agate received its name from the feeling of staring into the embers of a fire, resulting in a similar color play.

Fire agate stones from Mildred Schiff's collection (click to view full-sized)

How did fire agate acquire its firey colors? It is thought that hot water, filled with colloidal silica and iron oxide and heated by volcanoes, raced into cavities in rock and then slowly cooled, forming a hard agate. Alternating layers of silica and iron oxide, forming over time, cause the schiller and iridescence. Fire agate is especially rare because unlike regular quartz, which is found all over the world, fire agate is only found in pockets of the southwestern US and northern Mexico. It’s estimated that fire agates are 24-36 million years old, due to the timing of volcanic activity in that region of the world.

Jane Elizabeth Duke brought this fire agate home from Wire-SCulpture and created a magnificent Argentium and Gold Filled cabochon frame for it, attaching a peridot stone and a fire agate bead to the orbit design. (click to view full-sized)

There are 3 factors that contribute to fire agate’s rarity and high cost to be used as a gem in jewelry: as I mentioned, it has a unique creation, and is only found in specific locations. The third factor is lapidary effort. The botryoidal agate must be carefully shaped, removing the outermost layer to perfectly reveal the best colors. Removing too much chalcedony from the top layer will ruin the iridescent effect, and too little will leave the surface dull. This is why, when you visit Tucson or other gem shows and see fire agate cabochons resting in a tub of water or polished in a case, most are not calibrated-cut, but freeform.

Wire-Sculpture has a small selection of beautiful freeform genuine fire agate cabochons (limited supply)

Despite the delicate process of finishing a fire agate stone, the stones themselves are very sturdy and durable. Although it has a strong resemblance to opal, fire agate does not share the danger of cracking or crazing. The layers will not flake off, nor will the stone lose its shine: like its quartz and agate siblings, fire agate has a Mohs hardness of 6.5-7, much tougher to scratch than window glass.

For an amazing gallery of fire agate pictures, click here!

Metaphysically speaking, Fire Agate is said to have a deep, calming energy bringing security and safety. It is also linked to the fire element, of course, bringing vigor and opening the root chakra. it is also said to aid in conquering addictions and harmful desires.

Crackle Fire Agate

There is another type of stone that is often called fire agate by vendors, which we call crackle fire agate. This “stone” is typically either glass or carnelian that has been heat treated to produce the lava-like lines in the stone. While also in demand, crackle fire agate is not its rare and pricey cousin, real fire agate. The crackle fire agate on Wire-Sculpture is real agate that has been dyed and heat treated to achieve the firey, crackle effect.

Crackle Fire Agate Cabochons, available on Wire-Sculpture.com

Iris Agate

Iris agate is another, lesser-known kind of iridescent agate. Iris agate is also called rainbow agate, although some vendors simply call any agate that is colorful, “rainbow agate,” even when it does not have the iridescent effect. When true iris agate is thinly sliced, it shows all the colors of the rainbow! The effect is more delicate than fire agate. This rainbow effect is the result of very tightly packed, very thin layers and banding, and can occur in colorless or pale chalcedony. It is also mostly found in North America, although some has been recorded in Argentina. Because it must be sliced so thinly, iris agate is fairly rare in jewelry. You can read a complete analysis of iris agate at this link.

Iris agate slice - image courtesy of Karen Brzys, Gitche Gumee Museum, Grand Marais, MI www.agatelady.com and www.agatelady.blogspot.com, used with permission.

Next week, I will cover some agate you have probably wire wrapped, or seen in person: moss agate and plume agate. Have you made wire jewelry with moss agate or plume agate (including Graveyard Point Plume Agate)? Send your agate pictures to tips@wire-sculpture.com, and they could be featured!

Resources

• AgateLady’s Iris Agate
• Crystal-Cure.com
• Mindat.org Fire Agate
• Mindat.org Iris Agate
• Minoscam.org Iris Agate
• Wirewrapjeweler.com Fire Agate

Gem Profile by Rose Marion

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by Rose Marion, Wire-Sculpture.com

Video by John Dyer

John Dyer is one of the biggest names in the gem world, and I was fortunate to meet him briefly at the GJX show in Tucson this year. (GJX is one of those shows with very tight security – and for good reason). John Dyer’s faceted gems are among the most well-cut I’ve ever seen, and you can tell a John Dyer stone by the tiny "JD" logo cut in a discrete place in the gem. While well out of my price range now, perhaps someday I, like Dale, will be able to wrap a John Dyer stone!

I hope you enjoy this recent video by John Dyer which explains how a rough stone is taken through the cutting and faceting process to become a brilliant stone, which is then perfect for snapsets and wire prongs for use in wire jewelry.

Happy Jewelry Making!

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Tool of the Week for
May 7, 2012

This week’s tool: Miniature Digital Caliper, #GAU-178.00

Video by Kate, JewelryTools.com

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Orbicular Agate, one in a Series on Quartz

Shop Agate Cabochons | Shop Agate Beads

In today’s agate article we will discover orbicular agate, bloodstone, and botryoidal agate. I apologize for the lack of pictures; these are some rare forms of agate. Instead, I have included several links so you can visit several rockhounds’ private collections of these unique agates. Please enjoy!

Bloodstone cabochon pendant wire wrapped by Vicky Martin

Orbicular Agate: As shown with bloodstone, the components that make up rocks and gems have quite a bit of overlap between agate and jasper, including the orbicular varieties. As you may remember from Dale’s jasper discussion, the kinds of jasper that have circles or spherical inclusions – "needle-like crystals of different minerals in a radial structure" – are called orbicular jasper, such as ocean jasper and Dalmatian jasper. However, that is practically a synonym of orbicular agate. But – what are the types of round-spotted agate?

Polka dot agate has round spots on a translucent background in a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, yellow, gray, and green, as you can see in this example. It can be found in several locations, Oregon being one of the well-known US locations, yielding slabs like these.

Pigeon blood agate is named for its bright red hue from the high iron content of the stone; pigeon blood agate is often clear with a few bright red spots, while others have many red inclusions and a translucent background. This agate is found in Utah. You can understand the bloody connection by taking a peek at this pigeon blood agate and the cabochons on this page.

A little different from orbicular agate is botryoidal agate, also called grape agate. "Botryoidal" comes from the Greek term for a "bunch of grapes." This type of agate really does look like a bunch of grapes: spheres form in the layers, rather than flat or banded layers. These bubble-like structures can be on the surface, which looks like a pot of boiling water frozen in time. Click here to see some colorful examples of botryoidal agate. The grape- or bubble-like structures can also form away from the surface, into the stone, called turtlebacking: here is an example of a turtleback blue agate cabochon. What an interesting effect! This adds a deep dimension to the cabochons. Several other minerals can present in a botryoidal or globular shape, including fluorite, hematite, and malachite.

What causes the botryoidal feature? From its Wikipedia entry, "Each sphere (grape) in a botryoidal mineral is smaller than that of a reniform mineral, and much smaller than that of a mamillary mineral. Botryoidal minerals form when many nearby nuclei, specks of sand, dust, or other particles, are present. Layers of mineral material are deposited radially around the nuclei. As more material is deposited, the spheres grow larger and eventually overlap with those that are nearby. These nearby spheres are then fused together to form the botryoidal cluster."

Next week’s article will cover fire agate and iris agate – I can’t wait! Have you made wire jewelry with fire agate or iris agate? Send your agate pictures to tips@wire-sculpture.com, and they could be featured!

Resources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botryoidal
• http://mindat.org
• http://www.glypticconcepts.com/turtleback.html
• Peterson Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Frederick H. Pough, ISBN 0-395-91096-X

Gem Profile by Rose Marion

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by Rose Marion, Wire-Sculpture.com

Something that I usually don’t talk about here on Wire-Sculpture is my medical history, but today I’d like to share a bit of it. I have life-threatening food allergies as well as asthma. Luckily I outgrew many of my food allergies, but I’m still very allergic to milk, eggs, tree nuts, and peanuts. Let me tell you, I am saddened by the rise of allergies and things like gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease – but I’m delighted by the new range of gluten-free, milk-free, egg-free, and nut-free foods that just wasn’t available 10 or 20 years ago! (And my poor husband is, too!)

The Bracelet I Loved to Hate

I’ve had allergies and asthma all my life, and it was a lot to learn about as a child – I learned to read ingredient labels before I read Dick and Jane. But one of the big things I had to learn was to always wear my medic alert bracelet, which was a metal box with the medical insignia that I wore around my wrist; the box opened to reveal a page of waterproof paper with my allergies and doctor information on it. I wore my medical bracelet so that if I started to have an allergic reaction, an adult could call 911 and paramedics would know to use my Epi-Pen. And so began my love/hate relationship with jewelry.

You see, I was a very small child and the jewelry wasn’t designed well for children – the band dug into my wrist, was heavy, stuck on hot days, was very unattractive, and I got teased for it in school – but it protected my life.

I "upgraded" to a more standard medical alert bracelet as time went on and I could explain my medical issues to strangers. I got a simple engraved plate with my name, allergies, and "Call 911" written on it with the standard red medical symbol. But it came with an ugly curb chain that didn’t fit well and I hated looking at it.

I have to admit – many days, I would just stuff it in my pocket. Luckily I never needed to use it during that time – I’m sure paramedics are used to looking for medical jewelry on wrists and around the neck, but wouldn’t dig through my pockets!

Then I Saw a Solution to Unwearable Medical Jewelry

Then one day in school, I noticed another girl who wore a medical bracelet, and she had wire wrapped beautiful glass beads on links to attach her medical ID – no curb chain there! And it fit beautifully. I was amazed. Who knew that was possible?

Well, now I know. My ideal medical id bracelet will have wire wrapped beaded links that are interchangeable with the medical tag, so I can match my outfit. The links will be fairly heavy, to balance the medical ID plate in the middle of the bracelet, so it doesn’t slide around my wrist all day. And the bracelet will have a toggle clasp, rather than a lobster claw clasp. You have heard me mention I hate lobster claw clasps – there was a time when I didn’t know there was another kind, and I had to clasp and unclasp my darn bracelet myself every day!

You can find many generic medical id pendants and bracelets in drug stores, near the pharmacy, and there are also many medical id tag sellers online who will engrave your information and customize it for you.

I had to have some information changed, so I am waiting for my new medical id tag to come in the mail. I can’t wait to dress it up!

Do You Make Medical Jewelry More Wearable?

I’m sure there are many jewelry artists who’ve found creative solutions to wear their medical jewelry, or ways to dress up friends’ and clients’ medical jewelry. It’s a great service that you can mention when you see people wearing medical jewelry that are checking out your jewelry booth, too. While it’s careful to make sure paramedics will still recognize it as a medic alert bracelet, I’m sure there are a lot of people like me who would love a customized option. You can make wire wrapped links, as I did (use this pattern for inspiration!); incorporate the medical tag into a wire bangle; use chainmaille techniques or a charm-style bracelet; or even create your own perfect style of wire wrapping medical id tags.

How about you? Have you helped a friend or relative design their own medical jewelry, or medical jewelry for yourself? Leave a comment below about your wire solution to such an important piece of jewelry!

Happy Jewelry Making!

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Tool of the Week for
April 30, 2012

This week’s tool: CHP Milano Italian Wire Flush Cutters, #PLR-487.00

Video by Kate, JewelryTools.com

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Agate, one in a Series on Quartz

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About Agate

Generally agate’s hardness is a 6.5-7 on Moh’s scale, with a waxy luster. Although some agates have the appearance of glass, it is much harder: glass is typically only as hard as a 5.5. Agate is quite abundant and most varieties are very inexpensive, yet some still use glass to imitate it; a simple scratch test will prove whether it’s agate or glass. Many glass marbles are made to imitate agate, and there are also many beads on the market sold as imitation agate. Agate typically appears in gray, blue, yellow, or brown shades, and sometimes red; green and blue are the most rare of agate colors. Agate takes dye and color treatments well, which I will discuss along with geodes; however, bright and neon colors such as bright blue, bright purple, bright pink, etc are indicative of dye.

Idar-Oberstein, or at the time Oberstein, Germany, was the biggest name in cutting and processing agates, dating back to 1497. This included cutting European imports of South American agate, and dyeing. Low-cost energy provided by the Nahe river ran the cutting and polishing machines, and labor was inexpensive. Oberstein prospered until local gemstone finds dwindled; many laborers left for Brazil and other South American gem excavation sites, creating a new gem economy. While Oberstein has recovered in the years since WWII, it has steep competition from Thailand and India.

There are many forms of agate; this week is on riband agate, in which the layers of agate are parallel to each other.

Banded Agate

Many of the agates we’re used to seeing, for example Blue Lace agate and Botswana agate, have distinctive banding: light lines running through the dark piece (sometimes the hues are reversed). Sometimes this banding is so tight that it causes a rainbow effect, which you can see in this picture (click). While a neat effect, it usually doesn’t have an effect on the agate’s value or price.

Botswana and Blue Lace Agate cabochons, perfect for makign wire jewelry

Lake Superior Agate cabbed and wrapped in sterling silver wire by Marie Frazier

Brecciated Agate

Brecciated agate (click to see an example) is a kind of agate which has chunks of rock, rather than banding. "Brecciated" simply means broken rock, so while brecciated jasper is rock formed form pieces of jasper, brecciated agate I formed from pieces of agate that are then formed into a new rock. One example would be caused by an earthquake. A piece of formed agate rock is broken in the earth by an earthquake. Then over time, quartz forms around the agate pieces, such as amethyst or another quartz. This results in brecciated agate, which appears to have "chunks" of agate embedded in the stone. This kind of agate is sometimes called "ruin agate," because it resembles the ruins of buildings. The original agate and the surrounding material are often in contrasting colors,

Next article will cover agates that have "dots" rather than banding, such as bloodstone, fish-egg, polka dot, and orbicular agate. Have you made jewelry with any "dot" type agate? Send your agate pictures to tips@wire-sculpture.com, and they could be featured!

Resources

• What Is a Round Marble Made of Color-Streaked Glass Called?
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agate
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idar-Oberstein
• Precious Stones by Max Bauer, ISBN 0486219119

Gem Profile by Rose Marion

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by Rose Marion, Wire-Sculpture.com

They’re one of those cultural things that seem everywhere. On your car, in movies, needing attention every couple of years: license plates. License plates, surprisingly, began in France in the 1800s, before the car was invented. On this day, April 25, in 1901, New York became the first state to require license plates; but rather than provide a metal plate with year and month stickers, like states do nowdays, drivers were expected to make their own! Early license plates were made of cardboard, copper, plastic, leather, porcelain, and even pressed soybeans before standards were put in place.

What does that have to do with jewelry? Well, I drive a Toyota Camry. I love my car, but it’s not exactly unique; there are usually a couple other Camrys in the same color when I park at the mall or to get groceries. And if I didn’t have my electronic key FOB that I can press to make my car beep, I’m sure I’d have a harder time finding my car. Now could you imagine if we didn’t have license plates, either?

I was thinking about license plates and I started to wonder how I identify my jewelry. Sure, compared to the rest of my jewelry box, my jewelry stands out pretty well: I recognize what I’ve made (much better than remembering where I parked). Even my wild and crazy experiments still are familiar to me. But what if one of my circle of friends, who gets showered with handmade jewelry on my birthday, can’t remember who made her bracelet, can you blame her? So here are a few ideas I came up with to help “license” your jewelry.

• Does your jewelry tarnish? Include a small polishing cloth, or an anti-tarnish strip and a plastic bag with the gift.
• Give your jewelry in a special box: many gem shows will have a vendor who specializes in beautiful wood, silk, cloissone, or ceramic tiny gift boxes and pounches.
• Include a personal note on scrapbooking or handmade paper that begs to be saved in her jewelry box
• Do you have a special symbol, or a special thing that will remind your friend of you? Attach a small charm, such as a cross, peace sign, dolphin, or “Mom” charm near the clasp, so she thinks of you whenever she puts it on.
• Search online for jewelry tags and metal jewelry stamping punches so you can stamp your initials on the jewelry tag charm

What ways can you think of to “license” or “mark” your jewelry that you give as gifts? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy Jewelry Making!

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