My Personal Collection of Stones/Jewelry

Some miscellaneous jewelry/gems I own. Sorry this page takes so long to load. :þ
A big rough opal I got from Josh "Rap" when I visited him.

This is what it looked like afterward.

A big rough chrysoprase I bought while I was at Rap's place in California. I cut it into a pear-shaped cabochon and set it in a necklace, then when I could get it to sit still in it's setting, I put it on the shelf and didn't think about it for a long time. I re-cut the stone into several cabochons, one went into a silver ring. The ring is the largest ring I've ever made, and the stone looks particularly nice in it. :)The other two cabochons are waiting for inspiration. My art teacher was mad when I made the ring because he's tired of me making rings that start with an "I" pattern (a way of making fabricated silver rings). It was at that moment that I realized I had outgrown the class, because he was holding me back. Oh well. :) I plan on attending one at the local college where they won't put a damper on my jewelry ideas.

Some rings of mine...

And more yet.

My replica of the 45.52-carat fancy dark grayish-blue Hope Diamond. This replica cost about $55. That was in 1991, though. Today, the Smithsonian Catalogue wants about $80 for the piece -- and nothing changed about the piece. In my replica, the center stone is glass, I believe. The stones on the side are plastic rhinestones glued into sockets. I did, however, see a MUCH better replica for sale in Portland at the Pioneer Mall. It was $80, just like the ones the Smithsonian sells through the mail, but the stones around the side were white cubic zirconium (MUCH more diamond-like), and the Hope Diamond in the center was more symmetrical cut with a finer polish.

Bought this at Northern Star in Albany a couple years ago. The shop is located on 1st Avenue. Amethyst is a form of quartz and is the birthstone for February.