Gemstone Posts

The Great Emerald Hunt Begins!

Just a short blog post tonight to let everyone know that Uncle John and I made it to the NC mountains!! It was a long drive. Tomorrow, the great emerald hunt begins! We will be digging holes and looking for (and hopefully finding) emeralds, sapphires, aquamarine, and, if we are really lucky, the rare gemstone Hiddenite. Stay tuned for pictures and more blogging tomorrow (or Sunday, since UGA and South Carolina play tomorrow night). John and I will be camped out somewhere watching the game and hoping for a UGA win!

We will be at the Emerald Hollow Mine bright and early and plan a full day of digging. Hopefully, we will find some good rocks (including the rare and elusive Hiddenite) during the Great Emerald Hunt! If not, we can always sift through some of the buckets for sale. I promise we won’t come home empty handed!! It’s too long of a drive for that…

If any of you readers have been to the Emerald Hollow Mine, what did you find? Did you think it was worth your time and effort? Leave me a comment and let me know! And feel free to send a picture of your finds. I’d like to see them!

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If you want to connect with me, I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. You can also email me at bill@williamlstuart.com.

Fascinating facets!

Faceted jewels are fascinating enhancements made to gemstones. You know the ones: brilliant cut diamonds, emerald cut emeralds, square cut rubies – the list goes on and on. Check out fascinating facets!!

Which stones to facet?

Hard and translucent stones are faceting favorites. Stones such as rubies, sapphires, diamonds, quartz, and emeralds are examples of faceting favorites. Below are a couple of photos of faceted gems we found rockhunting at our favorite spot just outside of Cleveland, GA, Gold ‘n Gems Grubbin.‘ The loose stone is a 2.25 carat emerald (emerald cut) and the other is a 2.5 carat peridot set in a silver ring. Once Lana, my lovely and adorable wife, decides what setting is appropriate for the emerald, I’ll have it set. I gave her the ring for her birthday.

Uncle John (my rockhunting brother) found some nice emeralds on his last hunting trip and he dropped them off with our gemcutter. Hopefully, I can showcase John’s gemstones on a future post! In addition, John and I are headed to North Carolina to hunt emeralds in early October. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of Lana’s jewels and the fascinating facets!!

Which of the stones above is your favorite? Since the emerald was one of my first gem finds, I’m biased. The peridot is gorgeous, though! And just to be clear, they don’t come out of the ground looking like this! I’m curious which you readers prefer.

You can leave me a comment, connect with me on Twitter or Facebook, or send me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to hearing from you! I’m interested in seeing some of your gemstone finds, so feel free to share a photo and let us know where you found them (unless it is your super secret location)!

Cabochons!

In today’s post, I am going to attempt to explain cabochons. The word cabochon comes from Middle French caboche (head) and the technique is usually used on opaque stones vs. transparent stones (which are usually faceted). Another consideration for cabochons (often called cabs) is the hardness of the stone (measured on the Moh’s Hardness scale). Softer stones (less than 7 on the Moh’s scale) scratch easily and may be more suited to cabs instead of facets. The cabbing process hides scratches more than faceting would.

The Basics:

Cabochon creation usually begins with a slab of stone. The slab can vary in thickness depending on the maker’s design or how the cab will be mounted. If the setting is closed, the back may not be highly polished and may be hollowed out to reduce weight. If the cage is open, the back may be as highly polished as the top. Cabs are often oval or elliptical with a domed top. Starred (asteriated) stones like cat’s eye or starred sapphire are cabbed so that the star or the cat’s eye will be highlighted. Faceting the stone would not show the feature.

Slabs:

To make a cabochon, a slab of stone of is cut on a slab saw.

Once the slab is cut, a template is used to trace out the shape of the cab. A diamond blade trim saw is used to cut away the stone until the rough shape of the cabochon is created. After roughing out the shape, various grit shaping wheels grind away to stone to create the domed top. At the end, a highly polished beautiful cabochon is revealed.

While oval cabs are common, they are by no means the only shapes. As evidenced by the templates shown below, there are many different shapes that can be cabs.

Want to make your own cabochons? Many local mineral societies and clubs exist and they can help you get started. I learned the basics at the Georgia Mineral Society and I can’t wait to make another!

In case you didn’t know, the carnelian in The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian, is a cabochon. What is your favorite cabochon stone? Leave me a message and let me know!

One of the more fascinating things about writing a book is that you have to do research on the elements of the plot. Research takes you to locations, historical events, historical figures, mythology, legends, and yes, gemstones. In The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian, the mystical and magical attributes of gemstones provided much of the material for me to formulate the plot and the action.. I learned a lot along the way.

Gemstones!

For instance, I learned staurolite is the official mineral of the state of Georgia. It really does form “fairy crosses” (see photo). The fairy cross in the photo is a St. Andrews cross.

I also discovered sapphires have many wonderful properties. Sapphires are associated with the Wind, Water, and Earth elements. A sapphire enhances defense magic, spirituality, creativity, and discipline. I adapted its defensive magic property into a stone of power. Most people think of blue when they think of sapphires, but sapphires come in many different colors. Blue, green pink, and white just to name a few. A red sapphire is actually a ruby!

Warriors in ancient times carried garnets for protection in battles. They believed the red stone would prevented wounds.

Bloodstones are thought to help with bleeding and healing injuries among their many other properties. Those attributes came in handy in The Gemstones Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian.

Sailors carried aquamarines to save them from drowning and seasickness. I doubt it prevented many drownings, but it may have helped with seasickness (maybe mind over matter).

Lapis Lazuli, a blue stone with gold flecks, is a stone of truth and revelation.

There are many other examples of the mystical and magical meanings behind gemstones. I don’t have enough room to list them all, but as I said at the beginning, research is one of the fascinating and illuminating aspects of writing!

What are your favorite gemstones? What magical or mystical properties do you associate with your gemstones? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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