Filigree is a technique that works very well with freeform stones, and quite frankly, I get bored to death trying to design around standard, symmetrical shapes. Over the years, especially since coming back to the USA from Norway, I’ve been picking up a lot of good lapidary materials on eBay and estate sales. I focus on old stock and rarer materials. If someone wants common stones, I can’t compete with India on those, so what’s the point? I’ve been collecting a lot of old stock Arizona copper materials such as Chrysocolla, Gem Silica, Turquoise, and Shattuckite. I’ve also gotten a fair amount of old Lucin variscite, as well as vintage materials such as Australian dendritic opal, Honduran matrix opal, old stock agates, jades, rhodochrosite, and countless other materials. Over the years, I’ve cut a lot of stones for my own jewelry, but in the last few years, I’ve been cutting stones and auctioning them on Facebook, in the group Jeannius Gems!, and other cabochon groups. I plan to put some of my rarer, higher-grade stones up here, as well as do my auctions on Facebook. I just have too many stones to set and I keep cutting more! If you’re looking for something special, feel free to holler my way and see if I have it or not!

I’ve recently acquired a stash of both natural and stabilized Bisbee turquoise. Contact me for availability and pricing.

examples of my stabilized Bisbee turquoise.
more Bisbee… some natural and some self-stabilized. will be using a lot of these in finished jewelry.

Until I get stones posted here, please check out my auction group, http://www.fb.com/groups/jeanniusgems where you can browse prior auctions to get a feel for the kinds of stones I cut.