Newsletter

 

Specializing in fine jewelry & gemstones … classic, custom, and unique!

 

 “November 2008 Newsletter”

 

Holiday Shows

 

We have scheduled a show here in Kirkland on Sunday Dec 14, from Noon to 6pm.   See next month’s newsletter for further details.

 

Private Appointments

 

We are also available to do one-on-one private appointments every day of the week, for you to make your selections from all of my lines of jewelry (fine, estate, hand-crafted).

 

Art Nouveau Jewelry Exhibit     

 

During the past two weeks, I traveled to Boston, NYC, and St. Louis.  In Boston, my daughter and I saw the special exhibit, “Imperishable Beauty”, on Art Nouveau Jewelry at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.  There was more than 120 pieces of jewelry on display from this period.  The pieces were just stunning examples! 

 

Art Nouveau style occurred from the late 1800’s in to the early 1900’s and is characterized by motifs of flora (orchids, lilies) and fauna (dragonflies, butterflies) of the natural world and the sensuality of the female form. This new aesthetic was, in large measure, a reaction against nineteenth century historicism, industrialization, and the “tyranny of the diamond,” and these Art Nouveau artists chose to interpret nature rather than imitate it.

René Lalique (1860–1945) was the most renowned Art Nouveau artist, whose one-of-a-kind pieces were often large and made of unusual and inexpensive materials such as horn, enamel, and glass. Art Nouveau designers/jewelers also employed a pastel color palette much like the Impressionists. Color was, for the most part, achieved through the use of enamel, and plique à jour (open to light) enameling added a delicacy and level of technical sophistication not previously seen in jewelry.  If you have ever been to Paris, the big signs above the METRO were done in the Art Nouveau style.

                      

 

While in NYC, we visited the American Museum of Natural History.  Here we saw (along with the dinosaurs) the gem and rock exhibit.  We saw several animal figurines that had been carved from carnelian, agate, jade, and ivory by Faberge’s in the late 1800’s.   There was also the Star of India (pictured above).  It weighs 563 carats and is the largest and most famous star sapphire in the world. Formed some 2 billion years ago, it was discovered, more than 300 years ago, in Sri Lanka, where excellent sapphires are still to be found in deposits of sand and gravel left by ancient rivers. Industrialist and financier J. P. Morgan presented the sapphire to the Museum in 1900. Today, the Star of India is one of the most renowned objects in all of the Museum's collections.

 

 

Gemstones of the USA

 

Many people don’t realize how many different gemstones can be found in the United States.  So, I thought I’d do a story each month on a few of the states, until I get through them all.  This month I will do the following western states:  Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Utah.

 

Note, though, that not all states have official state gemstones or rocks.  If you have any questions about a particular gem or rock or believe I should have included some other stones, please let me know.

 

Alaska:              Jade is the official state gemstone of Alaska.

 

Most deposits of Alaskan Jade (nephrite) are found near the Kobuk River and Jade Mountain, out on the Seward Peninsula.  Artifacts hundreds of years old have been found in these areas.  The quality of Alaskan nephrite is highly variable; the finest material is usually found in smooth, stream-rolled boulders.  Many of the boulders are covered by a thin rind of brown material, a result of weathering, which must be removed to reveal the unaltered green nephrite beneath.

 

Colorless quartz (aka rock crystal) and garnet are found in Alaska as well.

 

 

Washington:   Agate, in the form of Petrified Wood, is the official state gemstone.

 

Petrified wood is the official gemstone of Washington State. The geological history of our state has encompassed many great changes, one of them being the many lava flows from volcanic fissures. Centuries ago, the interior of Washington was swampy and mild with many trees such as cypress, oak, elm and gingko growing in wet areas. Layers of logs were preserved with each new lava flow, and as the layers grew deeper, many of the logs became waterlogged and lay protected in deep water. Over time, water continued to seep through the lava and permeate the wood with silica. Eventually, the wood fiber was completely replaced by silica thus petrifying many logs. The petrified wood is perfect in form and detail to the original wood.

 

Oregon:       Sunstone is the official state gemstone for Oregon.  

 

The state rock is the Thunder Egg.

 

Sunstone is a form of feldspar, typically coppery-orange in color with glittery metallic flecks inside.  

The thunder egg is a geode containing minerals of many different colors and crystals.  These are popular to cut and polish to reveal the beautiful designs inside.

 

There are several areas in Oregon where one can go and, for a fee, dig up these beautiful specimens.

 

One can also find fire opal (orange opal), agate (striped quartz), and obsidian (natural glass from lava) in Oregon.

California:       Benitoite is the official state gemstone of California. 

            Serpentine is the state rock (green).

 

Benitoite is a somewhat obscure, but wonderful gemstone mineral that was only discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. Benitoite was discovered in 1906 near the headwaters of the San Benito River, in San Benito County, California. It has a sapphire blue color and was first thought to be a variety of sapphire and the dispersion of a diamond.  This is the only location in the world that it is found.

 

Occasionally, gemstone dealers will try to pass serpentine off as jade since it is a green non-translucent stone. Serpentine is a much softer stone and scratches easily.

 

Many other varieties of rocks can be found in California as well:  agate, diamond, citrine, tourmaline, kunzite, chrysoprase, morganite, jadeite, jasper, quartz, and turquoise.

Some of the highest grade tourmaline in the world has been mined in California.

 

Idaho:           Star Garnet is the official state gemstone of Idaho.   (polished and rough)

 

Star garnet commonly has a 4-ray star.    When it has a 6-ray star, it is considered more precious than either star rubies or star sapphires.

 

There is a lot of beautiful opal in Idaho as well.  However, it comes in very thin veins and typically has to be marketed as a triplet opal (i.e., an onyx base, layer of opal, colorless top layer). 

 

One can also find agate, obsidian, and sapphire in Idaho.

 

Utah:            Topaz is the official state gemstone.            The state rock is Coal.

 

Small perfect crystals of the semi-precious stone topaz can be found.  Many come out of the ground as a pretty sherry color but eventually turn clear upon exposure to the sunlight’s natural radiation.

 

Rock hounds can also find garnet, petrified wood, jasper, obsidian, and the rare gemstone known as “red beryl” or “red emerald”.    Originally, the mineral was named bixbite, but now red beryl is the most accepted designation.   It is estimated to be worth 1,000 times more than gold and is so rare that one red beryl crystal is found for every 150,000 diamonds.

 

Time to Pre-Order Your Holiday Earrings

 

I have created a couple of designs for earrings for the holiday season.  These are made of Swarovski crystals and pearls using 14K yellow gold-filled ear wires or posts (pictured below).  The snowmen and the shorter trees are $22.50 a pair and the taller trees are $27.50 (tax not included).   You have the option of choosing whether you’d like the earrings to hang from ear wires or posts.  For example, if you wanted the snow men on posts instead of wires, I can do that, with no difference in price.   Orders will be delivered no later than December 1.  Without the wires or posts, the snowmen and short trees are 1” long and the long trees are 1¼” long.

 

                                  

 

Enjoy your thanksgiving with family and friends, and hope to see you in December.  Remember, we are open for business seven days a week, right up to Christmas Eve.

 

  “Happy Thanksgiving to All ” 

 

 

Coralyn Whitney & Dwight Gadd

Jewelry Designer

GIA Graduate Gemologist

 

Phone:  425-890-3586 or e-mail coralyn@cwwhitneydesign.com

 

VISA, MasterCard, and American Express accepted.

 

   Next show is December 14 from Noon – 6 pm, in Kirkland.         

 

Specializing in fine jewelry & gemstones ...... classic, custom, unique, and fun!