Green Moss Agate

Sometimes it is difficult to think of new topics.  I guess I'll just start with what is going on.  We have a batch of Lake Superior agates in the Lot O Tumbler.  The agates are medium size.  I had them in 600 grit and then saw there were still many pits, so I backed it off to 200 grit and will work on having more patience.  "Patience is a virtue worth cultivating" as my Grandmother always said.

We also started posting on Tumblr.....http://pocketrockdesigns.tumblr.com/

This is a picture from February.  Green Moss Agate from India.  Some of this material has lavender chalcedony that is stunning.  I don't know why, but I have always been drawn to moss agate-it soothes me somehow.  The crystal people say that moss agate is healing for the circulatory system and as a diabetic that makes sense to me....

We also have eight freeform lapis cabochons on our Etsy site.  Check them out at https://www.etsy.com/shop/PocketRockDesigns?section_id=13673709

Quote from John McPhee

“With their four-dimensional minds, and in their interdisciplinary ultra verbal way, geologists can wiggle out of almost anything.”
-John McPhee

The newest creation is variscite

The newest creation is variscite.



 

This variscite comes from Lucin, Utah.  Lucin is located in the northwest panhandle corner of Utah.  Originally a railroad town, the Southern Pacific abandoned the line in 1936.  Old-time railroaders settled into the town with their children.  Sadly now, the buildings are all gone and all is left is two concrete phone booths and some fruit cellars.

 

Lucin is a favorite for rock hounds in search of relatively rare green treasure.  Variscite is associated with phosphate deposits.  When grinding this piece, I had to grind off the white phosphate-rich matrix to determine creative direction.  This piece is a relatively monotone green.  Other pieces have contained an interplay of the above color with a darker Kelly green and/or a spider web pattern.

 

Back to Lucin......  There is a famous landscape art piece called the sun tunnels there.  It was created by a female artist in the 1970's and sadly, I forgot her name.....  Oh yeah and a concrete phone booth for the halibut....

 

 

 





 





 

Sampling of our newest stuff

A sampling of some of our newest stuff.  The first picture is Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan.  This piece has a wide band of quartz running through it.  Most of the others were bluer and more pristine, but we like the organic feel of this piece.  Lapis is 5.5 to 6 on the Mohs hardness scale.  I found better results working this through on diamond than tumble polishing.  It appeared that the golden flecks of pyrite wanted to undercut in the tumbler.

The next two belt buckles are new ventures for us and we are pleased as punch at how they turned out.  The first buckle has a 40x30mm African Tiger Eye cabochon and Carol did a good job of capturing the wink or chatoyancy of the stone.  The second buckle has a 40x30mm malachite cabochon.  This material is from Zaire and has a touch of chatoyancy.

I have ground a few kambaba jasper cabs, dinosaur bone cabs, and my favorite-Botswana agate cabs and have put them in 600 grit to tumble polish.  I am trying to same some wear and tear of my finer diamond wheels, so for the harder jaspers and agate material, I am grinding to my satisfaction and then tumble finishing.  If I see pits, scratches, wheel marks, etc., I can grind them off before returning to the next stage.