Rock Review: Cherry Creek Jasper

This week in the Rock Review, we’ll examine a stone that looks more like it could be a painting! Cherry Creek Jasper is known for its vibrant natural tones that form together creating a result that often looks like an abstract painting of a natural landscape. It has a wide range of color variation in the stone ranging from mustard to an apple red that even sometimes contains hints of an aqua tone or forest green. It’s trademark feature is lines of brown and dark gray that appear throughout this variegation of colors, taking on the appearance of trees or twigs.

Currently, this stone hails from China and is available in the U.S. in limited quantity. Cherry Creek Jasper is also known by a few other names such as Red Creek Stone and Red River Jasper. In realty, there is some debate regarding the stone’s qualification as a true Jasper because it differs on Moh’s scale of hardness from traditional Jasper. Cherry Creek Jasper scores a 6, while traditional Jaspers scores 7. It’s more likely that Cherry Creek Jasper is a type of silicified calcium-based stone such as dolomite. As Shakespeare commented “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, and this is exactly our opinion of Cherry Creek Jasper. It’s striking colors and unique patterns make it a delight for jewelers to work with and a joy for customers to own.

Check out some Cherry Creek Jasper currently available in our shop below!

We Are Making The Change to Argentium Silver

In today’s review, we will take a slight turn away from discussing gemstones and minerals, to bring to you some exciting news from the realm of metals! After all, metal’s do come from Ore, so that means it qualifies for a rock review, right?

We have been busy researching a type of silver that is growing in popularity, Argentium Silver. This new alloy of silver has metal smiths everywhere excited get their hands on some and try it out because of the great advantages it provides for artists and customers alike. Argentium Silver is an alloy of silver that combines silver, copper and germanium to produce a result that has many benefits over traditional Sterling Silver. Currently, it is being mined exclusively in North America. It’s name was taken from silver’s original name, which was Argentium (Ag on the periodic table). It is brighter in color than white gold or platinum, almost taking a white tone rather than gray, and is purer than sterling at 93% fine silver. One of the distinct advantages it provides to metal workers is that it has little to no risk of fire scale or scaring left by flames on traditional Sterling Silver. Jewelry lovers are equally excited that it’s a low maintenance tarnish resistant metal. It can even be cleaned with “around the house” items such as cotton towels, tap water and dish soap. It also can achieve double hardness through additional firing, making it a durable material that will last for many years. Because it is more difficult to cast, Argentium is being used via fabrication most commonly through family jewelers and artisan shops rather than large jewelry manufacturing operations.

From a business perspective, the unique qualities of Argentium Silver allow those in the handmade industry to reduce labor, processing costs, and environmental impact created by working with traditional Sterling Silver. This is accomplished through eliminating extra processing work and chemicals that are needed specifically in Sterling Silver metal working. Altogether, this means that artisans are able to offer a superior quality silver without raising the overall cost of jewelry for customers. The best news about Argentium Silver for our readers and customers is that Layne Designs is going to begin producing pieces in this new and exciting alloy so that others are able to enjoy the wonderful benefits this metal has offer as well. Please come visit the Layne Designs Etsy site in the near future to view some new pieces in Argentium Silver!

Trend Watch: Druzy, Druzy Everywhere

By: Erica Delp

In today’s segment, we’ll examine Druzy! It seems like it’s been popping up everywhere lately. And why not? It’s a great way to add some shimmer to your summer outfits, whether you are stepping out in the day or night time. Since it often has an asymmetrical shape and of course a raw crystal surface it easily lends itself to bohemian and airy looks that define a summer wardrobe for most women. What a perfect way to bring some uniqueness and personality to your favorite outfits.

But what is a Druzy? Are all Druzy’s created equal? How can you make sure that you’re purchasing a quality piece of jewelry that will last? A deposit of Druzy crystals can occur on a great variety of already developed gemstones as geologic activity forces rocks to the earth’s surface where they can come into contact with other minerals and water. This mineral laden water flowing over the surface of the gemstones leaves beautiful unique deposits of crystals over time that can be extracted and fashioned into beautiful jewelry. Since Druzy is a crystal deposit that can occur on a wide variety of stones, it therefore can greatly differ in value depending on the worth of the base gemstone and the quality of the crystals. Druzy is commonly found in Quartz and Agate. It also can be found in Garnet, Hematite and Pyrite just to name a few others. Although Druzy crystals are hard, it is important to remember also that they are vulnerable to abrasion. Therefore, when selecting a piece of jewelry, a pendant or set of earrings will tend to have greater longevity than bracelets and rings. Unless of course, the later pieces have additional sheltering through their setting or will be worn delicately or infrequently.

Knowing these simple guidelines will help you to choose a piece of jewelry that will be so much more than a summer fling as you fall in love with it again and again each time you wear it! Check out some great Druzy creations for purchase from Layne Designs below.

Rock Reveiw; Amazonite

Just in time for spring and new beginnings, today’s rock review features the vibrant, yet soothing Amazonite, known as the hope stone. This pretty translucent gem comes from the Feldspar family and ranges in color from aqua to light green and can often be mottled, including milky shades of brown and white as well. Many Amazonite stones also have what is known as a Schiller effect, or iridescence, due to the presence of Feldspar and Albite that are arranged in very close layers. It receives between a five and six on Mohs scale of hardness. Amazonite can be found many mountainous regions in the world, including the United States, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Russia, Australia, and Namibia.

It is uncertain how amazonite received its name. Some sources say it was originally found in the Amazon River and was thus named accordingly. Others attribute its name to the legendary Amazon women warriors, since the stone is thought to inspire confidence, courage, hope and self worth. The stone was especially popular among the ancient Egyptians specifically for these qualities. Today, people around the world are still enjoying this inspirational stone and likely will for many more years to come due to its unique beauty and consistent availability.

A Journey of Making: How I fell in Love with the Handmade

Dear friends, I would like to introduce to you my friend and shop assistant Erica Delp, who has joined the blog writing team for Layne Designs. She will be sharing lots of fun stuff both technical and creative. -LF

by Erica Delp

Even before I began developing my talents as an artist, I was always enamored with handmade work. Each piece I came across seemed almost like a unique being with its’ own fingerprint and personality. Over the years, I have collected many handmade treasures and have lovingly placed them around me at home, at work and even on myself because seeing and touching them brings me so much joy. I let my imagination capture me as I think of the people that made them, the years of their life they have devoted to their craft, what their process is, and how they dream up their creations. I am astonished that human beings are capable of producing such beauty and I feel incredibly lucky to have even a small piece of this.

Now that I am producing my own art and have a “behind the scene” perspective, my respect for the handmade industry has increased significantly. Each piece that I produce is not only an idea born in my mind, but also the combination of knowledge, practiced skills and the physical efforts of my body to flesh it out and bring it to life. As my hands work to mold and shape the metal, I get the poetic notion that the work begins to claim its’ own identity and I wonder if I am making the art or if it is making itself. I think in the end, it’s a little bit of both things that are happening. When I leave the studio, often my fingers are sore, my eyes are weary and my mind is tired. But there is no better feeling in the world than when I hold one of my new creations and think about that I can now bring beauty and inspiration to someone else’s life just as so many others have done for me.

My first pendant!

Rock Review: Uvarovite

In today’s rock review, we shine the spotlight on one of the rarer members of the Garnet family, the sparkling Uvarovite. Uvarovite has been known to the world since 1832 when it was discovered by Germain Henry Hess, a doctor and chemist who also pursued an interest in geology in his spare time. He chose to name it after Count Sergei Semenovitch Uvarov, a Russian statesman who also had a love for minerals and rocks.

The presence of Chromium accounts for it’s consistent Kelly green color which makes it very sought after by gem lovers who are looking for a true green with little variance. Occurring mainly in clusters of fine sized crystals, you’ll most often see this gem as druzy rather than a cut gemstone. It’s luster is Vitreous, meaning that the stone bears a clear and glassy appearance.

It is a 6.5-7 on Moh’s Scale of Hardness and therefore is durable; however, it is important to remember that as a druzy, special care is needed in its cleaning and maintenance so that the crystal deposits remain undamaged. Be sure to use only mild cleaners and avoid bringing chemicals in contact with the gems. You’ll get the most out wear out of Uvarovite, or any druzy for that matter, as a pendant, brooch, pair of earrings and other pieces that are less likely to incur abrasion.

This stone is mainly found in Spain, Russia and Canada, but also has made an appearance in a few other countries, such as Finland, Norway, South Africa and even in California. With luck, this stone will continue to be found in our jewelry boxes and on our persons as well for many more years to come!

Rock Review: Aquamarine

From the Latin, aqua (water) and mare (sea) This gem is named for it's water-like color. The gem appears in a range of colors, from just slightly blue to a brilliant sky blue. They are relatively tough gems, measuring an 8 out of 10 on the Moh's scale of hardness. This makes them especially suitable for jewelry. Wear your aquamarine with confidence, but be sure to clean it often, especially from behind the setting. These brilliant gems loose their sparkle quickly when smeared with dry skin, lotion and other particles.

Aquamarine comes from the same mineral family as emerald. Even thought they are so drastically different, they are both Beryl. Unlike emeralds, however, aqaumarine has a generally clear consistency with very few inclusions. This special trait made the aquamarine an excellent medium for Bernd Munsteiner, a stone cutting pioneer who invented the fantasy cut gemstone. Despite initial criticism in the 1960's, Munsteiner continued to sculpt gem into shapes that dramatically broke away from the standard formula of the past, like the one pictured above. The aquamarine was a favorite medium for him because of it's clarity. The fantasy cut lacks the light refraction of a standard cut gem, making any nasty inclusions easier to see.

(more info about Munsteiner here: http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/atelier_munsteiner.html)

Aquamarine has been worn for ages as jewelry. Among other things, it is thought to encourage long and happy marriages to women who wear it. Oh, and happy birthday to the March Babies out there. What a great birthstone!