Lemonade from Lemons

I had a custom order that didn't work out. A good customer sent me a photo and asked if I could replicate it to make 3 rosaries. It was a beautiful oval tourmaline, sterling silver wirewrapped rosary. It had a remarkable light blue cameo center. I'd never seen anything like it. So, I gathered resources and offered an estimate, which he accepted. But after I had all the parts on hand, most of the tourmaline beads, which are a fairly uniform oval, predictably (for nuggets) wouldn't accept even 24 gauge wire. I'm in some serious pain at this point. I was unhappy about having to use that fine of a wire in the first place because with wirewrapping, it can get brittle and snap too easily to suit me. So I explained to my customer, who understood I think, and refunded his deposit. A long story short is that I have 5 strands of tourmaline on hand I wouldn't ordinarily have. I love, love, love tourmaline, but it's too pricey for my plans. Ouch, in other words. The rosary parts aren't my favorites, but they are nice and will be used eventually. I'm not one to make returns, so I see a lot of tourmaline nuggets in my future. I really prefer to design a rosary myself because I'm so picky about all kinds of little details and also because of surprise problems like this, but custom orders are important,too. I really didn't like having to disappoint a good customer. Anyway, here we go...photos above are of the first two of a boatload. Posting for sale soon. Blessings, everyone. Debbie

February's Special Birthstone - Amethyst

Amethyst is the stone of the Apostle St. Matthias, the Guardian Angel Adnachiel, and the beautiful birthstone of February. 


The amethyst is a violet extravagance. For many thousands of years, the amethyst has been the most striking representative of the large quartz family and a jewel coveted by princes both ecclesiastical and secular. Moses described it as a symbol of the Spirit of God in the official robes of the High Priest of the Jews, and the Russian Empress Catherine the Great sent thousands of miners into the Ural mountains to look for it. In ancient times, amethyst was already being engraved and cut into sculptured forms. In earlier times, people liked to drink wine from amethyst cups, which speaks of the stone's folklore of protection against alcoholism or drunkenness.

There was a time when amethyst was rare, but it has been found in many areas in recent years, and therefore, it's availability is no longer limited. This is the reason many of us remember when amethyst commanded much higher prices, and its expanded availability has enjoyably put it within reach of many more consumers. Deep clear amethysts may be easier to locate, but certainly they remain one of the most coveted gemstones, from mineral specimens to faceted gems to beads.

Lepidolite or "Flower Sugilite"

Semi-precious lepidolite is frequently known as flower sugilite. In reality, it isn't sugilite at all. Sugilite is a completely different stone, although it's also purple in its most desirable quality. Lepidolite's color is violet to pale pink or white and rarely gray or yellow. Its luster is vitreous to pearly and crystals are transparent to translucent. It is 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. Associated minerals are quartz, feldspars, and tourmaline.

Lepidolite is an uncommon mica and has only become available on the mineral market in sufficient quantities in the past decade. Lepidolite forms in granitic masses containing lithium. The typical violet to pink color of lepidolite is characteristic and is the only field test available to identify lepidolite from other micas.

Notable occurrences include Brazil, the Ural Mountains in Russia, several African localities and California in the U.S. Lepidolite belongs to the silicates class in the mica group. Its uses include ornamental stone, ore of lithium, and as a heat insulator in industry. A rock made of granular pink lepidolite and red to pink tourmaline is used as an ornamental stone for carving. Single large plates or "books" of lepidolite can have an appealing violet color and make attractive mineral specimens.

End of Summer

Hi everyone, it's hard to believe but it's almost September. Tomorrow, it's December 25th. School has started again, but the heat hasn't broken. In fact, as I write this, there are 3 tropical systems out there Florida will watch. Just quickly jotting my thoughts. I have no news to report, except my dismay at the passing of time. How can the work weeks go by so slowly, but the months and years just fly? Here's a new bracelet I posted tonight on Etsy. Will get it onto 15promises.net shortly. Onward. Blessings. This is a lepidolite and sterling silver bracelet with a Jerusalem cross and Swarovski crystal dangles for length adjustment. Nothing fancy, just nice.

Lapis Lazuli Gemstones

Since I used lapis lazuli in this month's giveaway rosary, I thought I'd offer a bit of information about it. First, it is one of my favorite gemstones, as it is for many people. It's an easy stone to love because of its cobalt blue color, but also, good quality lapis has pyrite inclusions, giving it random gold shadings. In ancient times, sapphire was frequently translated as lapis lazuli.

The name lapis lazuli comes from the Persian word lazhward meaning blue, in allusion to its color. In ancient times, lapis lazuli was known as sapphirus, which is today's name for the blue corundum variety sapphire. Lapis lazuli has been highly valued for many thousands of years. The most famous locality for fine quality lapis lazuli is the same ancient deposit high in the mountains of Afghanistan where it was originally mined at least 6,000 years ago. It was used by the ancient Egyptians in many religious ceremonies, and was often used as an inscription stone for various passages from the Book of the Dead. Lapis lazuli was one of the stones in Aaron's Breastplate, described in the Bible (Exodus). Up until the 19th century, lapis lazuli was ground up and mixed with oil to produce the deep blue-green pigment known as ultramarine which meant literally beyond the sea, as the lapis lazuli was brought from far away by ship.