http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary Lapidary blog Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:23:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My wife Rain and my cousin recently met with Janet and George Sechler, owners of Oasis Prospecting, in their Washington home.  Their visit was twofold:  Rain is creating a new Royal Sahara Jasper website for the Sechlers (who discovered RSJ), and was showing them the ins and outs of adding items ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=20 Wow, have you seen the new Sonora Sunrise?  Fresh from this year’s shows, this vivid chrysocolla / cuprite blend is the most eye catching material, ever!  It has striking blood red and greenish blue colors, and it cuts astonishing cabochons that are perfect for today’s fine designer jewelry.  Takes a surprisingly ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=16 Last week, someone sent me a link to an eBay auction. There, I saw that skyesgems was using, word-for-word, text copied from an old page of my website, which I had written to describe one of my Tahoma jasper cabs offered for sale. Wow, that was really upsetting to find… ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=14 Lately, my lovely and talented wife Rain has had to deal with some very frustrated customers, many of which have complained about not getting the stones they wanted.  I, too, often read comments that ‘Everything is always ‘SOLD‘!  So I’d like to take a moment to soothe some of that disappointment, while explaining our position.  First ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=12 Montana dendritic moss agate (Yellowstone agate) is a great favorite around here, and both Rain and I love to cab it, carve it, and knap it into arrowheads and spearpoints.  We can never get enough of it.  So, toward that end, I often travel around Montana, stopping at all the rockshops.  And ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=10 Wow.  Last weekend’s gem show was awesome!!  It brought me a boatload of new goodies to work with, and that has had me oh so eager to pass the days away happily cabbing up a storm.  Might as well, since it’s been snowing here, as it is this very moment, every ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=8 Last month, someone sent me a link to the designing divas blogspot, where I was nonplussed by the following:  “I love cabochons!  They’re so unique. They’re organic. They’re part of the natural world—created in nature with no human involvement. The colors speak to my earthy side. The textures are awe-inspiring. Did I tell you ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=6 My 14 year old son, Christopher, recently brought to my attention someone offering red horn coral, touting it as coming from only one place in the world.  While that much is certainly true enough, the one place they (repeatedly) mentioned DOESN’T EXIST!  Chris claimed that red horn coral hails from the ... http://samsilverhawk.com/lapidary/?p=3