At long last I've done something with that ammonite pendant!



It makes me feel like I'm figuring out this new camera - I finally got the purple to show up in some of these pics!

Available for sale in my Etsy store.

Labels: ammonite, andalusite, jewelry, lapidary, necklace

After a bit of deliberation, I decided to use sterling silver for the bail instead of copper. I got the front part of the spiral done and summarily pounded, but figuring out the rest of the bail was a little interesting. I think I had it in about five different configurations before settling on a smaller spiral for the back. (We'll call it "work hardening" and leave it at that, right?)

Spending all that time staring closely at the front of the ammonite made me notice something intriguing: there are hints of purple at the edges of the opalescent section. From everything I've read on the coloration of ammolite (the resulting gemstone fashioned from the opalescent bits of ammonite that are thick enough) the colors are based on the thickness of the material. Red coloration represents the thickest layers and is most common, while purple is at the end of the spectrum, represents the thinnest layers and is much more rare. Most pieces of ammolite that I've seen include red up through about green, but very little blue or purple. I don't quite know how that corresponds to the coating on my ammonite, but the purple has me encouraged, no matter how impossible it is for me to capture on a camera.

So I pretty much had to go with andalusite on this one for starters. I mean, how could I choose anything else?





I'm still debating what else I'm going to incorporate into this. I mean, pearls are a given. (They always are with me - I'm a sucker for pearls.) I have some red rutilated quartz that might be fun, but the color may be a bit too close to the andalusite for it to be effective. My fossil coral stash would be too much of a contrast, though. Decisions!

Labels: ammonite, andalusite, jewelry, lapidary

Has it really been that long?

As I'm writing this I'm realizing that it's been over six years since I was in Edinburgh. It's amazing how you can arrive somewhere and stay just a few days, but feel absolutely at home there. Every now and then I think about what would have happened if I'd acted on that impulse and hadn't gotten on the train back to London. I know, I know, my daughter wouldn't be here and all that, but the rock shops were just amazing.

That's enough tangent for one post, I suppose.

But it all gets me thinking because that means it's been over six years since I picked this up. Namely, one ammonite, about an inch in diameter. It was a nifty find, if not a perfect specimen. There are small opalescent sections toward the center on either side, and the rest of the outside has almost a leafy pattern to it. The outermost chamber is absolutely covered with tiny druzy crystals which I've since discovered are calcite.

It all makes for one decidedly intriguing piece despite its imperfections (namely, a small missing chunk), and I've been debating for the entire six years exactly how to use it. Wire wrapping would be no good - the metal would cover too much of the ammonite, and I'd probably wear off a lot of the opalescent coating in the process. I had pretty much decided to just stash it away and look at it now and then as a specimen.

Today I got looking at it again, and saw that there was an indentation at the center of the formation. It actually matched up on both sides. What the heck, let's start drilling.

I actually did it the right way with this one and did the drilling wet. Lots of brown muddy gunk to clear out of the way, but it did make the job a lot easier. The clamp cooperated and everything, I was quite impressed.

I have yet to decide exactly how I'll use it, but here's the finished product:



Ammonite, woo!

I'm thinking of designing some sort of very basic wire bail that I can use to cover the little missing chunk. Now then... silver or copper?

Labels: ammonite, jewelry, lapidary