Tuesday, July 26, 2011

MY NEW FAVORITE GEMSTONE!


The Uniquely All-American Gem ...
Oregon Sunstone!



Oregon Sunstone is found only in the remote South Central Grasslands

Collectors and jewelry lovers from all over the world are fast becoming aware of this uniquely American gemstone.  This is really, really unusual material. There's nothing like it available anywhere else in the world, and I can't get enough of the unique metallic glitter that comes from the patterns of copper inside of this gem.

And don't get me started on how transparent it is!

Oregon Sunstone and Silver Double Strand Bracelet

Peachy-pink, pale with a lot of schiller, this bracelet has a beautiful soft ethereal look to it.  It's gorgeous . . . it glows! It's next to impossible to capture the beauty of this gemstone with a camera ...
 
Unique to Sunstone from Oregon is the schiller phenomenon, caused by the millions of microscopic copper bits found in each stone. The schiller phenomenon makes the Sunstone appear to glow as if it had it's own internal light source, and creates a beautiful shimmer effect inside the stone.  These gems, also known as 'Red Labradorite', formed in lava flows that cover much of southeastern Oregon. Inside the lava flow is a matrix where the colored sunstones are found.

Spectacular stones in rare Dichroic Green, Reds and Pinks (Sold)

These stones are, when cut, some of the most beautiful gems around!

They are only found in one area of Oregon that is very remote. Colors of the stone vary from clear, champagne, yellow, light pink, salmon, orange, and red to blue-green. Intense red and blue-green are the colors that are most rare. Sometimes, when viewed from different angles, as many as three colors will show within one stone.  It's a luminous gemstone with fine grained coppery shiller which allows for transparency in the stone yet still produces the phenomenon of aventurescence or "glitter".   Some are bichroic and dichroic color-change stones - which produce different colors under different lights and at different angles.

 
See this bracelet at jQ jewelry designs on Etsy

Oregon Sunstone  is not enhanced in any way like many other gemstones. There is no use of chemicals, irradiation, heat-treating, or oiling of any kind. What you get is exactly as the stone exists in nature, simply beautiful. 

Sunstone is the official Oregon State Gemstone. It is also an ancient gem and has been discovered in Viking burial mounds. The Vikings thought it was a talisman for navigation.


Petite nuggets paired with large sterling silver earwires

In the rugged high desert of south central Oregon, embedded in ancient volcanic lava under the sage brush and grass . . .


 
 
. . . lies Oregon Sunstone
 
 
 




 



I love working with nuggets drilled in both directions, and this is the finest Oregon Sunstone
I've had the pleasure of seeing ... all the gorgeous rare colors. It's unlikely I'll be working with the strand you see above anytime soon ۞ bargain-priced at only $795!!!



I'm always on the lookout for interesting material While this example is not top of the line, I
love the speckled stones. Very unique and I've never run across anything like it before.


Oregon Sunstone ... An All-American Beauty









26 comments:

ElfRenee said...

Oooh, very beautiful!! I love it!! And great information, too!

CalliopeCreations said...

These are wonderful. You had told me about them earlier so I went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show last Winter and whipped out my information and impressed a bunch of gem sellers. LOL

I do love them, too.

Linda B said...

Beautiful stones. Thanks.

Unknown said...

uniquecozytreasures- JQ those stones are magnificiant! I've never seen them before. Thanks for sharing their story with us.

Jessica of Verve! said...

I love the colors of that stone. Neat post!

Prodigy Crafts said...

amazing! I've never heard of these stones...

Bella the Bead said...

WOW! The colors are spectacular - and you've made some beautiful pieces!

Dee said...

Well now you've done it - I think I need these stones!

2justByou said...

I really like the color. Thanks for sharing the great info. =)
~Kim

nangatesdesigns said...

The stones are beautiful! I love the top bracelet!! Thank you for sharing this interesting information.

Kim AKA RabbitDogPrints said...

The color is amazing!

Charlene said...

Jill - that is beautiful! I see why you love it so much. Thanks for sharing.

delightfulprints said...

Beautiful!

Romantic.Treasures said...

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! I can see how those would become your new favorite.
-RomanticThoughts

Tabitha said...

These are simply stunning!

BijiBijoux said...

Thanks for sharing sparkly gemstone and gorgeous bracelet:)

Unknown said...

Those are absolutely gorgeous! Great photography too! I love that multi-colored strand.

Unknown said...

They are truly beautiful unique gemstones. Lots of facts I didn't know.

Krisztina Clifton said...

Those are all so beautiful. I love the pale-colored gemstones.

petitehermine said...

Those stones are gorgeous! As a lover of gemstones, I say MOAR! :)

Cindy said...

Sincerely, they are the loveliest stones I think I ever saw. What a perfect mixture of sparkle and earthy...Thanks for sharing!!

Unknown said...

WOW! I love it! They are so beautiful, I've never seen them before.

The Royal Family 2 said...

wow some of those are breathtaking!

theroyalfamily
MadeJust4You
Brandy

Jessica said...

Breathtaking! I have never seen that gemstone before - thank you for sharing!

magdamagda said...

Really amazing! I know practically nothing about gemstones, thanks for the journey, I really enjoyed it, that's a fabulous stone!

Lori Bergmann said...

Oooh, This is the first time I've heard of this gorgeous stone and I drooled over the entire article! Thanks so much for sharing and I hope someday I'll have a chance to work with this too! *Ü*

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