A little about Rock Crystal Quartz

I just love rock crystal!   The colourless variety of quartz, high grade rock crystal can easily glitter like the harder (and more costly) white topaz, lower grades look like shaped ice cubes and occasionally pieces have internal fractures that can create colorful refractions.

Here is a bit of information on this pretty stone - technical, historical and metaphysical: 

Crystals forms when minerals in magma cools beneath the Earth's surface.  If the minerals happen to be silicon dioxide and it cools to a temperature below 573 degrees Celsius it will begin to crystallize into rock crystal.   If there are significant concentrations of other minerals within the silicon dioxide, different types of quartz will form.

Rock crystal is found worldwide and  huge crystals weighing tons have been found - although they're rarely of cuttable material.     Rock crystal can have inclusions of goethite, gold, pyrite, rutile and tourmaline.  

Rock crystal can be confused with other colourless gems as well as glass imitations.  A useful test is to look for birefrigence or double refraction, which whilst low, is often still discernable in a transparent stone.   A quick way to test for it is to place the gem on a white piece of paper with a clear and straight black line drawn on it.   When looking through the top, you may be able to see a slight doubling of the line.   Note that you may have to turn the gem in different ways to test for this as it is dependent on the crystal structure not the cut. 

The name crystal comes from the Greek word for ‘ice’.  Pliny the Elder believed that rock crystal was eternally frozen water ice and it certainly can look like it. Japanese myth says that quartz formed from the breath of the revered white dragon. As such, rock crystal was regarded as the perfect jewel and came to symbolize perfection or the pursuit thereof.  In first century Rome, a mystic named Apollinus of Tyana used quartz to "transport" himself. Apparently he dematerialized and materialized in the presence of Caesar Domitian and used the gem to disappear and reappear at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius!

Many cultures used rock crystal for mystical purposes.   It is found regularly in burials in passage tomb cemeteries in Europe and the Irish word for quartz grian cloch, means 'stone of the sun'.  An ancient Celtic practicewas to place nine small Quartz crystals in water, boil it, cool it, and then drink the enhanced water for nine consecutive days - apparently it would restore and maintain health.

Modern metaphysical beliefs ascribe certain benefits too -  as a powerful healing and energy amplifier.  For healing it is considered a master healer, stimulating the immune system and bringing the body into balance.  Natural rainbows are found within many quartz crystals (caused by internal fractures) and these stone draws off negativity and disperse healing energy to the body and environment.

So there you have it.  Rock crystal 101!    

Photo above is of a gorgeous pair of rock crystal and sterling silver earrings.  The gems are a fascinating cut - half cabachon and half highly faceted.  The result is a beautiful white flash amongst the sparkle! They'll be on my site soon :)

Rose Quartz and a bit more about Creativity

I had another brilliant day last weekend at the Scone Grammar School annual fete - lots of stallholders this time and a real market feel to the whole event. People kept milling about and there was a real reluctance for people to go home! I caught up with lots of clients, some ex-Coolah residents and sold lots of jewels. It's wonderful to watch people see "the" one piece of jewellery for them. (Of course, I have a couple of clients who find "the" one, each time they look LOL. Addicted to beautiful stones - what a way to be!)

I've had a few questions recently about specific stones and realised I haven't really written about the stones themselves for a while. So this week I thought I'd do a run down on rose quartz since I use it quite a bit in my designs.

Rose quartz, a member of the quartz family, is found abundantly in Brazil, Madagascar, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the USA and in smaller quantities elsewhere in the world. Of course, the grade of rose quartz varies considerably and it is often crackled and usually turbid rather than transparent. Some higher quality rose quartz is softly glowing pink and rather than completely clear it is often as if it's just a bit misty. With a hardness of 7 it is a sturdy stone although care should be taken to avoid hard knocks or impacts as these can cause conchoidal fractures - which will look like 'chips' to the naked eye.

Rose quartz is named after its pink colour and this colour is thought to come from titanium. Although its crystal structure is trigonal, it is usually found in a massive form (so found in chunks rather than crystals).

A popular stone, its use in jewellery goes back to 7000BC in Mesopotamia where it has been found in the form of beads. The Assyrians used it during 800-600BC and the Romans used it for seals.

Many cultures believed in its metaphysical properties, notably for love and matters of the heart. Egyptians believed it prevented aging (quick, give me some!). It is still used by crystal healers in a variety of ways, predominately to restore calmness, balance and clarity to the emotions.

All in all a pretty stone with nice connotations!

On to other things, the topic of creativity has featured prominently around here lately. I worked with the local preschool on a mother's day project where the children could make a bracelet for their mum. I took in a vast array of beads and my not-good-enough-to-use-in-my-jewellery gems and pearls, some memory wire (it springs back into shape) and my pliers. Over the course of a week, the children strung their selections onto the wire which I then made into bracelets. The results were incredible. There was the occasional mish-mash and the occasional child that obviously wasn't really interested, but most of the bracelets were amazing. There were some real stars too in the colour combination category! The feedback from the mothers has been overwhelming - the preschool teacher even called me last night to tell me how thrilled the mums were.

Is this creativity innate or do you think it's inspired by things they see or their play? Do you think it fades as we grow older or it just needs topping up?

I saw a great post on the Heart On My Sleeve blog about a couple of university graduates being so inspired by the often colourful washing hanging on lines that they took photos of clothes lines in over 22 countries! Some of the pics ARE inspiring too, particularly with the varying backdrops. And if creative play inspires, then I think the cute little knitted finger puppets at Your Cheeky Monkey would be just the thing to get the children in the mood.

Given the run down on rose quartz, today's photo is of a rose quartz and freshwater pearls sterling charm bracelet. Very feminine and very spring inspired (even though we're going into winter - like I said, the muse takes me where she will, regardless of what's going on around me! *sigh*)

Till next :)
Annette

Photography and magnesite

Christmas is over for another year, in fact another year is almost over - only hours to go until 2009 shows its face!

Our christmas was very family oriented and the children had a wonderful time, as they always do. Did you receive anything you just LOVE? I did! I received an autographed copy of the wonderful book A Grain of Sand by Dr Gary Greenberg. I've mentioned it on my blog before as a wonderful look into something so mundane yet so startingly beautiful that you will never look at sand the same way, ever again! Not just a gorgeous coffee table book, there is wonderful information on both Dr. Greenberg's microphotography and on sand itself.

I was contacted by a fellow who saw my admiration of macrophotography and sent me a link to his photos on flickr. He has taken some wonderful shots of stones that would make great wall art.

Bright blue-greens are always popular in summer and I found a great strand of treated magnesite (pictured above made into a necklace) that gives that wonderful aegean green colour. I haven't dealt with magnesite before and was interested to learn more about it. It is commonly found in a massive form (more rarely as crystals) in white/grey/yellow-brown. Fairly soft at 3.5-4 it has been used for sculpture for thousands of years. (A small Mesopetamian lioness sculpture made of magnesite c. 3000-2800 BC was sold by Sothebys in 2007 for over US$57 million!)

Metaphysically it is said to bring deep peace to meditation. It promotes a positive attitude, stimulates ideas yet has a calming effect on emotions. Said to detoxify the body it acts as a muscle relaxant, treats bone and teeth disorders, speeds up fat metabolism and helps deal with fevers and chills. Sounds like I should save a piece for the medicine cabinet! ;)

My family (and I imagine half of Australia) are off to a New Years Eve celebration tonight. If you have such a gathering to attend I hope you have a wonderful time and I look forward to catching up with you in 2009 ;)

Happy New Year!

Kyanite and getting distracted

I'm having trouble concentrating. It's sad but true. Fact. Not deniable. Not even defendable. I'm just getting way too distracted.

I decided I would start a list so accordingly made one (a rather a long list too) and looking at it over 24 hours later there are still quite a few things there. Normally that's okay. But I seem to have ticked off all the inconsequential things instead of the productive things that have deadlines!!

Perhaps I'm still in recovery from our weekend away? We went to visit my dad - "grandfather" to the children and it was great to see him and for the children to see him ... living 6+ hours drive away is not very handy, after all. But all that travel really takes it out of you and I get a little unsettled away from home too.

So, that's my excuse. For now. One of the things I did do today was catch up on my blog reading (see, not exactly a NECESSARY task LOL) and found that fellow blogger & jewellery designer Hilary has had the same problem. Makes me feel MUCH better :)

Today's pic is of some simple, but nevertheless stunning kyanite and sterling silver earrings. I love the silvery blue flash of kyanite and given that it is a stone used for balancing, cutting through ignorance & confusion, increasing logical thought and many other metaphysical benefits - it's no wonder I like it!

Often a fibrous looking stone and therefore exhibiting a streaky appearance, it is challenging for a gem cutter to cut due to variable hardness and cleavage. It's hardness also varies depending on if it is tested along or across the crystal axes, so I would avoid having it in a ring or bracelet where it could take an unitentional knock. An aluminium silicate, its name comes from the Greek word for blue 'kyanos'.

In ancient times it was believed that a kyanite suspended from a human hair could follow the Earth's magnetic force like a compass needle. Cool!

Till next, when hopefully I have achieved a little more than today!!

Aquamarine and Finding your Niche

Identifying your niche market can be a huge task which can sometimes seem insurmountable. But I came across a link to a magnificient Niche Workshop by Tad Hargrave on Ingrid Cliff's Small Business Ideas blog. I would highly recommend this workshop paper to anyone in business that feels like they are wallowing around a bit finding their target market. I am fortunate that I know my target market...women just like me LOL!

So, being a woman, just like me, I hope you like my piece for today! I was fortunate to acquire some amazingly beautiful aquamarine smooth nuggets and made this rather stylised pendant and I really like it, although it might be a tad too modern (or even tribal) for some!

Aquamarine gets its name from the Latin 'water of the sea' and I picture the Aegean with these nuggets! Aquamarine is a type of beryl and quite a hard stone although it can be brittle, so I wouldn't recommend it for bracelet or rings unless it is well protected. A lot of aquamarine comes from Brazil, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the USA.

For many centuries, oceanic energy was believed to be contained within aquamarines. Legends say that it is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. Amulets were made of aquamarine and sailors believed that it would instill them with bravery and the ability to overcome even the most terrible storm. It was also believed to have a soothing influence on land, especially on married couples, and to counteract the forces of darkness. Should you dream of aquamarine it meant that you would meet new friends.

I feel a strong desire to "own" this stone, and when I read that aquamarine is a stone of courage, with calming energies that reduce stress and quieten the mind, I now know why! It also harmonizes its surroundings and protects against pollutants as well as healing sore throats and swollen glands and calming the immune system.

Jasper

I just love jasper. With a veritable feast of varieties and the amazing patterns it is a difficult stone to resist!

Jasper is basically a chalcedony although sometimes its grainy structure means it is separated from other chalcedonies. The name Jasper comes from the Greek and means 'spotted stone'. Often containing up to 20 percent foreign materials these additions determine the appearance.

As it is relatively common, jasper was often used in ancient times and appears repeatedly in myth and lore.

Moses was apparently given jasper as one of “The Stones of Fire” which were said to possess the power to summon angels. He then had these stones mounted into a sacred breastplate for his brother, the high priest Aaron. Additionally, jasper is one of the twelve gemstones set in the foundations of the city walls of Jerusalem.

Red jasper was sometimes used by the Egyptians in place of carnelian as the "Blood of Isis" and as the "Buckle of Isis" on the throat of the dead. Likewise green jasper was often used in place of jade by the Chinese in the mouth of the dead.

Black jasper was believed to assist in the capture of cities and fleets and mottled jasper was used as a protection against drowning. Reportedly some Italian farmers still use jasper as a protection from lightning.

Modern day crystal healers believe it is a nurturing stone, bringing tranquility and wholeness and unifying all aspects of your life.

The stones used in the necklace I have photographed above is called in the trade "leopardskin" jasper and is a combination of "picture" and "pop" jasper (which has orbicular patterns). From a metaphysical point of view, picture jasper contains a message from the past within its pictures for those who can read it and brings comfort whilst jasper with orbicular patters helps you to accept responsibility and instills patience.

I was very attracted to these particular stones - I love their shape, colour and patterns and from a design point of view they needed little additional adornment. So that each stone can be appreciated and doesn't overwhelm, however, I spaced the larger nuggets out with smaller rounds of the same stone and added a touch of delicacy and shimmer with the addition of small 12ct gold-fill balls.

Christmas cards and Variscite

Yes, its that time of the year again....I have started to receive Christmas cards from well-meaning (and organised) friends that serve to make me feel very inadequate!!! They must write them in the middle of the year and send them out on the first of December!? I usually stumble around and eventually find some suitable cards, then hastily write our yearly letter (summary of our lives for the last twelve months) and post them off in the absolutely last post available (that postmarks them before Christmas Day)....if I'm lucky. *sigh* Okay, I might not be as organised as I would like but at least I have started looking for cards! I found these very nice ones at Jenni's Papercraft Designs. I note she made them back in November. I wonder if she sends them out before Christmas Eve?

Last week was an absolutely mad week with 2 days out in neighbouring towns (140 and 100kms away - each way) respectively. Add to that two visits to friends/neighbours, a P&F meeting, a Christmas drinks party, delivering and making orders.....you get the picture I'm sure! I was seriously considering doing a pre-Christmas show in Mudgee, but I just don't have the time. Instead, I am concentrating on getting all the orders done this week so that I can spend the week leading up to Christmas with my children. I felt I actually missed out last year as I was so busy with work, so I won't be making the same mistake this year!

Do you like the necklace pictured today? I have to admit I am a 'green' girl. I just love green. When I look at my stock the green far exceeds other colours - I just can't help myself and have to buy green stones!!!! LOL, this reminds me - I received a great sweatshirt today that I ordered from a favourite geology related site - UnEarthed Tees, who I have mentioned before. It says "As a matter of fact I do have rocks in my head, I'm a gemmologist" Ha ha! Ooops, off the track there....

OK, today's necklace is a simple yet totally stunning piece. Grand in size, elegant in shape and vivid in colour. The wonderful stone used is granny-smith-apple-green variscite, together with lightly oxidised sterling silver bars and tiny silver balls.

Variscite was first described in the early nineteenth century and its name comes from the Latin name for Vogtland "Variscia" in Germany where it was found. Very early beads of Spanish variscite that date from around 4500BC have been found in the Italian Alps, along with articles of green jade that seemed much admired and desired. (Maybe they liked green too!) Deposits of Variscite are also found in the USA and in Australia and it is often confused with green varieties of turquoise. Gemmologically it is a phosphate mineral and its colour comes from chromium. Metaphysically, it is classed as a 'worry' stone - it is used extensively to calm busy minds and nervous systems, helping with anxiety, stress, depression, fear and worry. It also encourages truthfulness, courage and hope.

Till next time :) By the way, don't forget free worldwide shipping if you need a special piece to wear for Christmas!

Australian Summer and Amethyst

We've just been to Sydney and its a long, tiring drive. We made the journey to see my dad while he was there as he lives on the north coast of NSW which is even more of a drive!

We left very early in the morning, just before there was light in the sky and the children thought it a great adventure to see the sky gradually lighten and change colour. By the time we made it to the Blue Mountains, the sun was high in the sky and blazing down from a bright blue sky.

Driving along, with chattering children in the back, and engine noise from both our and others cars, the cicadas in the bush were still loud and a definite reminder of the Australian bush. My husband and I spoke about how that sound reminded us of summer in Australia - hot days in the bush and that constant buzz of cicadas. I just saw this post on the Rainbow Designs blog, and it is so true! We certainly are fortunate to be able to be so close to nature in this big country. Remember my holiday post and the kangaroos in the front yard! ;)

The response to free worldwide shipping has been great and I am so glad I can now more easily share my jewellery, in reality, with the rest of the world. Its a great feeling and makes the additional cost to me very worthwhile!

Today's picture is a very stately, classic necklace. Made with big faceted lilac coloured amethyst and set off with natural lilac freshwater pearls and tiny little Karen Hill Tribe silver faceted balls. Although you can't see it, the silver clasp is in the shape of an adorable ribbon bow. Very feminine!

Amethyst is a beautiful stone and comes in every shade of purple from lilac through to the deep purple favoured by royalty (they're featured in the British Crown Jewels). It is the stone of the Buddha and Catholic Bishops wear rings of amethyst. Some tribal shamans used amethysts as a talisman and object of power. Egyptian solders wore amethyst into battle to retain their courage and the Romans made goblets of amethyst as it was believed to protect against drunkenness.

The Romans had a wonderful myth for explaining the occurrence of this lovely rock. The god Bacchus had been insulted by a mortal and furious, swore that the next mortal that crossed his path would suffer his wrath. A young maiden called Amethysta, who was affiliated with the Goddess Diana was the next mortal he saw and in his anger killed her. Diana took pity on Amethysta and changed her into crystal. Bacchus soon repented his act and wept on the crystal, whereupon his tears turned the crystal purple.

Metaphysically, amethyst is still considered a powerful and protective stone. Among its many attributes are: a natural tranquiliser, helping you feel more focused and in control; enhances acceptance of new ideas; dispels anger and fear; alleviates sadness and grief; opens intuition and enhances psychic gifts; brings intuitive dreams when slept with; tunes metabolism; cleanses the blood and eliminating organs; heals bruises and swellings, poor hearing and skin conditiouns; treats insomnia and brings restful sleep.

I've been SHOPPING :)

Ahhh, shopping, don't you LOVE it. The highs of finding something new, hearing that little angel on your shoulder going "goodie goodie" and then the expectaction of waiting for the items to arrive (since I only ever seem to shop online, the whole shopping experience is somewhat extended!). Then when the goodies DO arrive, the anticipation has built and you rip open the box to see the treasure inside! Ahhhh, bliss.

OK, well, maybe I'm a shopaholic? But I KNOW there are many of you out there that are the same. Nod your head .... that's right ;)

So, what have YOU been shopping for? I've been shopping for stones and pearls - I told you I needed more last week! I've revisited some of my favourite suppliers and even found a new one that I am sure will keep me salivating for years.

Someone sent me an email the other day saying there was only 51 days left to Christmas! EEEK. Its even less than that now! I really will have to think about gifts soon. I've just had to have a look at my favourite gift store, Tonic Gifts, and found the Action Hero's Handbook - now I know my son would love it as he has always aspired to be Indiana Jones and I can see my hubby sneaking the odd peek too ;) Michelle from Tonic Gifts also has a great article on her blog about christmas shopping which is well worth a look before we plunge headlong into the fray!

The pic for today is a necklace of huge amazonite balls (they really are big!) separated by white freshwater pearls. The toggle closure, although you can't see it in the pic, is also made of amazonite - how cool is that! I call this my "Wilma" necklace - as in the Flintstones ;) . The amazonite is a beautiful aqua blue colour and really quite magnificent, especially in such a size! Meaning "from the Amazon", this sodium feldspar has been used for ornamentation for thousands of years, with articles of amazonite being found in treasure hoards from ancient Egypt. Metaphysically it is considered a soothing stone, calming thoughts and the nervous system and protecting against electromagnetic pollution.

Sunstone and first spring show for 2007 a success

Well, I'm back! I had a wonderful time in Nyngan - the View Club ladies were so very welcoming!! A big thank you to Di who organised for me to come out there and to Ruth for billeting me out for the night :)

I went with fellow Coolah resident, Eleanor Cook, the NSW Rural Woman of the Year who was speaking to these groups about herself and how she got to be voted as the NSW Rural Woman of the Year. It was fascinating to hear her story as one of 12 children (11 girls and 1 boy) in suburban Sydney, her life in PR and marketing, and her move to the country. As part of her new community she saw the town with the fresh eyes of a non-local and saw there was a need to revive the town which, over a period of many years, she worked so tirelessly on. The current town of Coolah, also recently voted as "community of the year" really has a new view on its existence and is determined to survive regardless of the closure of a large employer a few years ago and the rather devastating drought from which most of us are still recovering. It is wonderful to see the difference that one person can make - we tend to take these people for granted, but they work very hard to improve the lot of the majority, which they really should be recognised for! Eleanor's message to the ladies of Nyngan was to work out a plan - find what everyone agreed was important to improve, then work on it - keep the big picture, but work on the project in small bites - and as these projects are successful, celebrate your achievement with the community to keep them motivated and involved. By the time Eleanor had finished her talk, there were lots of motivated ladies, some of who needed new jewellery ;) - the feedback on my spring collection was dazzling! Thank you ladies!!

Speaking of dazzling I wanted to share a pic of this beautiful sunstone necklace that has gone to a new home with one of the Nyngan ladies - it was only made a couple of weeks ago as were a few of the pieces I sold this week - so I won't get the opportunity to share it again I less I post it here!

The necklace is made of large, smooth nuggets of sunstone - a plagioclase feldspar which has shiny flecks of orange-red suspended within the stone which catch the light as it moves and give a beautiful, understated flash. Of average hardness (6-6.5) it is usually transluscent and one of the most well known sources of sunstone is Oregon in the USA. When I was looking at designing this piece I was in a conundrum - it's such a unique colour that other stones and pearls didn't enhance either the sunstone or themselves so what? I tried silver with it - but it drained the colour. I tried gold but it was too 'brassy' looking. Then I had tried silver and gold together and hey presto - just enough and not too much.

Metaphysically sunstone instills good nature, restores a good view on life and allows the real self to shine through. Traditionally it is linked to luck and good fortune.

No wonder I like it! Do you?

Lapis Lazuli & stocking up.

Ahhh, time marches on and I still don't post. Had a bit of a reorganise though and realised I can't have two blogs going since I don't have time to write in one! So this one won although it will be for everything now :)

All has been go, go, go here on the farm - we had rain, so things are green although it IS winter so it is a very short green. But its a good start and for us, at least, the drought is over.

I have been trying to get the spring/summer collection ready as my spring showings start in just under a month. Lots of new pieces featuring pearls, turquoise, fluorite, prehnite, rose quartz, pyrite, obsidian, garnet, coral, muscovite, tourmaline, aquamarine, malachite, lava, moss agate, and a lovely piece with lapis (see above). And of course since I can't resist it a couple of pieces in carnelian and agate/chalcedony/jasper of various types. I still have boxes of stones to make up (yes, been VERY naughty, but I just can't resist those gems!) - finding the time is the hardest part!

Now about the pictured piece.... isn't it just divine? In an earthy, goddess way of course! I have always had an attraction for lapis lazuli and this focal 'slab' has the desirable blue colour with lots of gold flecks of pyrite throughout. It really has an ancient feel so I have matched it to more lapis lazuli and lots of 12ct gold fill balls. Now don't you think an Egyptian queen would have liked it? Given the Egyptian and goddess connotations, it has been named after the ancient Egyptian personfication of the skies and heavens - "Nut".

Lapis Lazuli is actually composed of several minerals and has been used since prehistoric times for jewellery. Well known mining sites include Afghanistan, Russia, Chile, Angola, Myanmar, Canada, Pakistan and USA. The name is Arabic and Latin for "blue stone". Lapis was the source of the colour 'ultramarine' in medieval times (very expensive for paint!) and a powdered form of lapis was reportedly used by Cleopatra as an eyeshadow!

Metaphysically, Lapis has a powerful effect - stimulating enlightenment and enhancing psychic abilities, personal and spiritual power. It releases stress bring peace and serenity as well as honesty and compassion. In healing, Lapis allieviates migraines and headaches, overcomes depression and benefits the respiratory and nervous system, cleansing organs, blood and boosts the immune system. Improves hearing and assists with vertigo. For best metaphysical results it is best to be worn at the throat.

Angelite

There are so many new stones on the market it is often hard to know what you are going to get! As a gemmologist who studied decades ago (eek, that makes me feel old!!) a lot of these stones just weren't around, or if they were, were relegated to the geology sphere or maybe the lapidary area.

Angelite is one of those stones. Although its been around, it has only become a more easily obtainable stone for jewellery makers in the last few years. It is more readily known as Celestite or Celestine and mineralogically is known as Anhydrite. Available under these names, it is found in colourless to blue. Angelite itself is usually blue, perhaps with some white.

One of the reasons these stones were not commercially available is because their hardness isn't well, very HARD! Angelite is no different being a hardness of 3.5 (a diamond is 10, sapphires are 9, topaz 8 and quartz 7). The hardness of a stone, when you are making jewellery, does have an impact on what you are going to do with it. You either need to put it in a protective setting where it will be supported and less likely to obtain knocks. Or, you put it on full display but limit where it will be worn. I like to take the latter route, as my jewellery really has an emphasis on the stones. So, in this case I would relegate it to earrings or a necklace. A bracelet would be asking for breakages, as would a ring. Interestingly, a lot of jewellery makers really don't take the hardness into consideration and I must wonder how many returns for breakages they get!

I obtained a lovely strand of round angelite in a huge 10mm size and they are beautiful. You can almost see how soft they are though, so I decided to make earrings, at least initially!

Blue is also an interesting colour - particularly pale blue. Really shiny silver doesn't particularly go well, so I tried oxidised Bali silver and it looks incredibly effective. I topped the angelite off with a natural lavender-toned freshwater pearl and the whole effect is very old-world. What do you think?

Angelite comes from many parts of the world including Britain, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Poland and Libya.

Metaphysically speaking, this stone represents peace and brotherhood and as its name suggests, enhances contact with the angelic realm. It helps you to speak the truth, be compassionate and accepting and creates a feeling of peace and tranquility. It is soothing to the physical body and helps with tissue repair, blood vessels, fluid balance, weight control, sunburn, lungs and arms.

Labradorite

Ahhh, a busy day of jewellery making! Very satisfying :) And writing here two days in a row. Unheard of!!

I wanted to share this gorgeous faceted labradorite that I recently obtained. Full pic can be seen HERE. Although to initial appearances it is quite a steely grey, each and every piece has a beautiful flash of orange/yellow/green as it moves or is turned and just makes it irresitable. You can just see a faint flash in the above picture - it is much brighter in real life. It can be quite a difficult stone to match with other gemstones and I found with these large faceted flat nuggets silver went the best! What do you think?

Labradorite is named after the location it was found in Canada (Labrador), although it is also found (among others) in Australia, Madagascar, Mexico, Russia and the United States. It is a plagioclase feldspar (there are MASSES of feldspars out there!) and the lovely flash I noted in the above pieces, is specifically called labradorescence which comes in bright, rather metallic tints, mostly in the blue-green range. This schiller/colour play/flash is caused by the light bouncing off the internal structure of the stone (I could get all technical on you, but I'll refrain LOL).

It also comes in quite a dark background colour as well as colourless and with a brownish tint. The darker stones are often cut en cabachon to display the labradorescence the best. It is a relatively hard stone with a hardness of around 6 to 6.5.

Have you ever heard of Spectrolite? Well it is really labradorite from Finland that displays a particularly effective labradorescence.

OK, now to the metaphysical side of things....this stone does ALOT. No wonder I like it! :) To summarise....

Labradorite is considered a highly mystical stone. "A bringer of light" it protects the aura and raises the consciousness. It stimulates intuition and psychic gifts including a sense of knowing what is right. It calms overactive minds and energises the imagination, it banishes fears and insecurities and strengthens trust in both yourself and the universe. It works well on dispelling illusions and is a useful companion through change imparting strength and perseverence. For healing it treats problems with the eyes, brain, stress, metabolism, colds, gout, rheumatism, hormones and blood pressure. To use - wear over the higher heart chakra (upper chest).

Well... there you go... you learn something new everyday!