Featured Stone: Rose Quartz

Hardness:7

Toughness: good

Rose Quartz is a microcrystalline quartz. The mineral's delicate color comes from titanium, iron, and manganese. This gem frequently has internal inclusions that look translucent to opaque. Some stones will even display asterism. The finest quality rose quartz comes from Brazil.

Rose Quartz has been used as a religious object for thousands of years.

It is a symbol of love and beauty

The name quartz comes from the Saxon word querklufterz which meant cross vein ore.

The Istanbul Collection

I have always been fascinated by the designs on persian rugs. The interlocking vines and leaves are so beautiful and delicate. I wanted to create jewelry to celebrate this timeless design.

The pomegranate is a powerful symbol for many cultures.  The Armenians use it to symbolize fertility, abundance and marriage.

Hatayi is a style of motif mainly from the 15th century. They usually represent flowers or plant like design.

A special thanks to Erica Lopez and Natasha Poetre for their awesome photographs! 

The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith

On a miserable January day, I decided to play hooky and spend the day at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. While walking around I heard the faint sound of Jazz in the back ground. As I continued to explore the rooms, the jazz became louder and louder. As I entered the gallery from which the music was playing I was floored, it was a show of the Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith.

Oh the joy in my heart as I moved from case to case. I have always loved to forge wire and create torque necklaces, but this was something different. These were the pieces I always wanted to create but somehow fell short. The designs are so deceptively simple and very complex at the same time. They just seem to float, like a Calder mobile.

I managed to return to the gallery about three more times before it closed in February. I have to resist the urge to pull out my planishing hammers and go to town. My neighbors tend to get a bit touchy about nonstop hammering. Until then, I still have my photos and design ideas.....

Featured Stone: Chalcedony

  

Hardness: 6 1/2 – 7
Toughness: Good

Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline silica aggregate, it is made up of microscopic crystals of quartz and morganite. Chalcedonies vary greatly in color due to its chemical composition. In its simplest form, chalcedony is white to milky grey. The presence of metallic salts give this stone a variety of color. The Chalcedony family includes bloodstone, chrysoprase, jasper, and onyx.
   

•  Chalcedony is named for an ancient Turkish seaport Chalcedon.
•  Greek sailors wore chalcedony to avoid drowning.
•  17th century Europeans believed chalcedony would ward of ghosts.
•  Native American Indians believed chalcedony was a sacred stone.