REBOOT. Rock Appreciation Day.

To get back into the groove of these I'm reposting an old Rock Appreciation Day from 2013. As these are all older images please excuse the image quality and old trademark.

For each 1st of the month a different stone or gemstone type will be highlighted and given information on. Jewelry examples using that month's stone will be featured along with current for sale pieces using the stone. As a general disclaimer, I am no lapidary (stone) artist nor gemologist. All information I post here is researched by myself and sources for stone/mineral information can be given upon request. 

For Rock Appreciation Day this month we have:  

King's Manassa Mine Turquoise

Manassa mine turquoise has also been called King’s Manassa turquoise, King’s turquoise, and was originally called the Lick Skillet mine. It is located in South Central Colorado near Manassa. The Manassa mine is reputed to be the oldest turquoise mining deposit in Colorado, and was speculated to have been mined by the Anasazi Pueblo peoples. The mine was “rediscovered”, or founded, by Israel Perviose King when he was searching for gold in 1894. He filed claim on it the next year. The mine has stayed with the King family and is now with his grandson Bill King.

The turquoise from this mine is some of my favourite. It is known for it’s deep greens with host rock rhyolite golden brown matrix, but can produce turquoise in a range of colours.

The turquoise can come in solid colour, bi-coloured, or with host rock webbing. It pairs beautifully with gold and some of the most saturated dark greens are among the most collectible. I love that turquoise from this one area has been used for over 1,000 years and is still seen as a prized and treasured finite commodity.

Below are photos of pieces used with Manassa turquoise that have been sold or claimed.

That's all folks!

If you have any suggestions for a stone or gem to be highlighted for next month please comment below!

New Items!

These new items will be hitting the shop throughout the day and night

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^size 9 Royston ribbon turquoise stacker in blackened silver.

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^size 6.75 Blue Gem turquoise in gold fill and blackened silver.

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^size 7.5 iolite gemstone Arrowvane ring with band detailing.

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* Spheres and Tides ring, featuring Castle Dome and Manassa turquoise, will fit sizes 6.5-7.

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^size 8 rustic ruby in zoisite stacker.

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^size 6.5 Royston Ribbon turquoise with cut out bezel detailing and extra stacker.

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^size 7.5 Kingman blue turquoise and dark silver stacker.

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^size 7.5 CAVE STACK, featuring old stock Number 8 mine turquoise in gold fill, and dark silver.

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^necklace with Blue Boy variscite, gold fill, and dark silver. 20" chain.

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^White Buffalo Arrowvane earrings, 1.5" tall in total.

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That's it folks! Check back in the shop and be sure to use the COUPON CODE for 15% off of your orders over $25!

xxStrayArrow

PREVIEW NIGHT plus Rock Appreciation Day!

Below are some of the jewels that will be going into the shop on Wednesday and Thursday...

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be sure to enter in the discount code if you make a purchase in the shop from now until Monday the 8th at Midnight!

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ROCK APPRECIATION DAY:

For this month, I could only chose one stone. I'll be highlighting Castle Dome Mine Turquoise, as its become a staple for my Mini Cave Lady Rings! I thought about doing black pyrite for a second stone, but don't have enough jewelry pieces to use as examples. I'll have to plot and cook up something big for August!

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Castle Dome turquoise is quite rare as it is a closed mine. Depicting bright light blues as it's signature, it is located near Globe, Arizona. Castle Dome is also referred to as Pinto Valley Mine turquoise, and it is similar to it's close neighbor the Sleeping Beauty Mine. Natural material of this is hard to get as most of the rough from when the mine was closed was stabilized and/or used for beads. It started, like many other turquoise mines, as a copper mine. Because of the mining methods used initially (aka blasting. yikes), many of the veins and structures of the turquoise later uncovered were extremely fractured. There wasn't much solid rough available for lapidary artists to cut.

Personally, I'm not particular to 'plain blues' in turquoise. This mine in particular, (and its similarly hued cousin the Blue Moon mine) has grown on me. There are very subtle hues in a lot of the Castle Dome mine turquoise that you don't find in your standard robin's egg blue or Sleeping Beauty mine turquoise. It has light "watermark" patterns, that aren't webbed or water webs. I adore pairing it with darkened silver, as it gives it contrast to highlight the stone. It also makes for a macabre pairing, and always reminds me of the bottom of pools.

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I'll be using more of this turquoise in fresh designs soon. What's pictured is all I have left!

xx Stray Arrow