May 2013 Chrysocolla and palm wood cabochons “I always look for new ways to make cabochons. I started cutting rocks in the late 1970s, stopped for many years, then started up again in 2009. I love, love, love rocks and jewelry! The templates I used earlier were the ‘standard’ ones: circles, ovals, squares, rectangles,...
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April 2013 Faceted stone necklaces “A wedding inspired this project. My daughter, Danielle, thought of a wonderful present for her bridesmaids: necklaces, each with a specially cut faceted stone. Since each bridesmaid was an individual, she decided, the gemstones in their presents should be fitting for each of them. “Sky blue would go with...
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March 2013 Lapis/agate/jasper picture pendant “After going through end pieces and leftover scraps, I found that a combination of denim lapis, blue lace agate, and picture jasper would create a beach scene of sand, waves and sky. “First, I cut the three pieces to similar sizes. Some stones are likely...
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February 2013 Lost wax bola “When I first joined the Vallejo Gem & Mineral Society, I finished many types and sizes of stones, and then I began to look for different ways to mount them. Fortunately, our club has a silver casting area using the lost wax casting...
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January 2013 Bumpy Inlay Bola “I was sitting in my eye doctor’s waiting room, flipping through a Western-theme magazine, when I came upon an advertisement for Southwestern-style jewelry by Darryl Edwards. I thought to myself, ‘I could do that!’ “When no one was looking, I tore out the page and stuffed it into my shirt pocket. I went...
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by Bob Rush December 2012 This small, carved obsidian vase is 1½ inches tall,” says December Lapidary of the Month Bob Rush, of Valley Springs, California. “I started with a piece of Davis Creek obsidian, my favorite material to work with. I trimmed it with my 10-inch trim saw into a cube that was...
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by Susan Dustin November 2012 “I’m a rockhound who has enjoyed rock adventures across the United States, as well as Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia,” writes November Lapidary of the Month Susan Dustin, of Stillwater, Minnesota. “Despite my avid interest in finding beautiful rocks, especially Lake Superior agates, I have no lapidary equipment other than a tumbler. As a result, I have purchased...
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by Jennifer Anderson October 2012 “I started making stone pens about a year ago,” says October Lapidary of the Month Jennifer Anderson of Buffalo, Wyoming. “I didn’t have any applicable equipment for such an endeavor at the time, so my father and I designed and modified three lathes that would serve to square the ends of the stone,...
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by Jerry Brown September 2012 “My son-in-law put his apprentice blacksmithing skills to work and forged a dagger blade for my daughter,” writes September Lapidary of the Month Jerry Brown, of Prineville, Oregon. “What made it rather special was his choice of metal: Sky iron, i.e., metallic meteoric iron. My daughter asked if...
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by Bob O’Donnell August 2012 For the last 10 years,” writes August Lapidary of the Month Bob O’Donnell, of Tucson, Arizona, “I’ve been learning jewelry fabrication techniques like soldering and basic silversmithing to make small jewelry pieces and have roamed and rockhounded southeastern Arizona with the late rockhounding legend Harrison Yokum. “The City of...
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