Assembling, Part 1

I keep trying to come up with some method for creating necklaces... okay, so "method" and "creative" don't always work so well together; perhaps it could be better described as a productive tension. Anyway, I've had this ammonite since last winter and yesterday my lovely friend Conne drilled it for me, so now it's ready for a necklace. I immediately thought of some amber I've had for a while, and then -- oh, labradorite! Tsavorite (an earthy green) garnet! Bronzite! And some earthy-green pearls I got from Conne a few months ago!

I can feel I'm not in production mode at the moment, so I'll just play. I'm wondering whether to use silver or gold; I do want to wire-wrap the ammonite a bit to enhance (but not overpower) its natural beauty, but otherwise the piece will probably be fairly organic, with only slight metal accents. More pictures as this piece comes together.

Presenting: Sonora Sunrise {sold!}

Anyone who loves gemstones will surely swoon over one of the industry's latest introductions, "Sonora Sunrise," a shockingly beautiful blend of chrysocolla and cuprite out of, you guessed it, Sonora, Mexico. I first laid eyes on this heavenly blend of firey red and electric teal at the workshop of Dean Crane and Conne Gibson, who had picked up a good bit of rough at February's Tucson gem show. Living a mere mile or so from these gifted AND friendly lapidarists, I wander into their shop every so often and never leave empty-handed. Or anything less than happily overwhelmed with gemstoney goodness. Sonora Sunrise is slowly making its way into high-end jewelry such as bolas, pendants, and brooches, but of what I've seen so far, Dean and Conne's large slide pendants and cabs most dramatically showcase this stone's beauty. They sell their pendants so quickly at shows that they can't even get pictures of them.


The night after I bought the piece in that necklace, I actually dreamed about the stone so, of course, I had to have more. I have a larger one for a necklace for my mom (she bought the stone, in the picture to the right, before it was even finished) and a midsize piece that will become a necklace for my travel showcase (along with the piece above) for shopping around to galleries. Dean and Conne said they totally sold out of their Sonora Sunrise pendants at the recent Bead & Button show but will be getting more rough soon, and not a moment too soon because I MUST have more. I have four or five pieces on my workbench now, and several more in production, so I'll be adding to the currently slim online inventory of finished Sonora Sunrise soon. I'll post more pictures of this beautiful stone soon.