Home / John Carver

Articles by: John Carver

New from the Carver Agate Field: Is It Jasper? Agate? Jasp-Agate?

New from the Carver Agate Field: Is It Jasper? Agate? Jasp-Agate?

By /February 2, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

These definitions will help us decide! Jasper:  opaque (light does not penetrate); any color of chalcedony which is a micro-crystalline (requires magnification for crystals to be seen) form of quartz. Agate:  a banded translucent (lets light through) chalcedony of any color, most often found in nodules, geodes, or cracks in silicaceous volcanic rocks. Jasp-agate:  a chalcedony with characteristics of both agate and jasper.  The basic component is silica (quartz) which may be either micro or macro crystalline (crystals can be seen without magnification).  It can be opaque, transparent or translucent (sometimes all three appear in the same specimen).  It can be banded like an agate or it can be like a jasper with agate structures which form within cracks or fractures or vugs (small cave-like voids) in jasper. If you would like to see some of the Carver Agate Field jaspers and jasp-agates, take a look at the new JASP-AGATE […]

Read More

Valentine’s Day SALE! 50% Off All Bracelets!

Valentine’s Day SALE! 50% Off All Bracelets!

By /January 28, 2020 /0 comments /Bracelets

Now’s your chance to grab a gorgeous, handmade, unique bracelet for that special someone! Head over to the SHOP and check out the Bracelet Collection, where all bracelets are half-priced. Sale ends February 15. Happy Valentine’s Day!

New Year Powder Blue Fortification Agate Bracelet

New Year Powder Blue Fortification Agate Bracelet

By /January 3, 2020 /0 comments /Bracelets

This bracelet and its powder blue agate stone were created just before Christmas 2019–the only bracelet I made in 2019. It is a great start for 2020 and is gemologically interesting. Though at first, this blue agate may merely seem beautiful and elegant, it is much more, particularly if you like rocks like I do! First, the lower right hand corner of the stone has a half moon shaped blue area of finely banded agate. This fine blue banding displays opalescence, e.g., its blue color and reflectivity subtly changes depending upon the intensity and type of light (natural, incandescent, fluorescent, LED, etc.). Second, the orientation of the stone to the light will change its reflectivity and brightness.  This is very much what you would see with certain types of precious opal.  Third, the fortification agate (named so because it has a shape with angular corners, like looking down from above […]

Read More

YouTube Video: Rock Cutting and Polishing!

YouTube Video: Rock Cutting and Polishing!

By /December 12, 2019 /0 comments /Cut Rocks

I recently posted 7 new picture galleries of over 100 rocks from the ‘deep pit’ found on The Carver. The ‘Deep Pit Agate, Amethyst, Smoky Quartz Geode Gallery’ is divided into 7 separate galleries: 1:  Geodes and Nodules before Cutting 2:  Amethyst Geodes 3:  Citrine Geodes 4:  Banded Blue and Gray Agates and Geodes 5:  Smoky Quartz Geodes 6:  Calcite Geodes 7:  Miscellaneous  These galleries display cut and polished specimens from the ‘deep pit’ and reflect over a year’s worth of work. My YouTube video shows this week’s find of over 15  pounds of new ‘deep pit’ agates and geodes and demonstrates how I cut and polish them in my shop. Be sure to enlarge the video screen for better viewing. Enjoy!     The rock I am holding here is a deep pit agate.

Yellow Agate Gemstone

Yellow Agate Gemstone

By /December 10, 2019 /0 comments /Cut Rocks

I wrote an article for Rock & Gem Magazine, August 2018, which you can check out here at the website, about yellow agates. The article describes in detail that the number of yellow agates found on a very small portion of The Carver was a geological oddity. Pictured here is one of The Carver yellow agates, handcrafted into a gemstone suitable for setting. Yellow agates within the world and family of agates are quite uncommon and yellow agates in jewelry are even more rare.  Enjoy.  

Another Oddball Retrieved from The Carver

Another Oddball Retrieved from The Carver

By /December 10, 2019 /0 comments /Rock Finds

While there are similarities to the two previous oddballs shown in an earlier posting, this little beauty has red, orange and gold needles radiating from the rind toward the tiny geode center. These needle-like structures are often referred to as ‘rutilated quartz’.   What is cool about these ‘needles’ are the color and the symmetrical  nature  of the ‘needles’ surrounding the tiny geode. This is why rock hunting on The Carver is a constant thrill–always something new and interesting geologically!     previous oddballs

Balmorhea Blue from The Carver

Balmorhea Blue from The Carver

By /December 8, 2019 /2 comments /Rock Finds

This ‘deep pit’ blue agate from The Carver is reminiscent of the famous ‘Balmorhea Blue’ agate named for Balmorhea, Texas. Balmorhea is a west Texas town located approximately 60 miles north of Alpine, Texas, where The Carver is located.  Interestingly, Balmorhea, in addition to being famous for its blue agate, is also known as the ‘Venice of Texas’. Located in a near desert environment, a huge spring pours out of the ground and feeds a large swimming pool (which is a part of a state park), Balmorhea Lake, and provides water for canals (which run through the center of town). Balmorhea Blue agate is extremely rare as supplies of it have long ago been almost exhausted.  The ‘Carver blue’ agate appears in many of the ‘deep pit’ nodules/agates, some of which have weighed more than 15 pounds.  This is yet another odd but diverse part of The Carver agate field. […]

Read More

Oops! More Beautiful Rock Specimens!

Oops! More Beautiful Rock Specimens!

By /November 24, 2019 /0 comments /Rock Finds

Fifteen more beautiful rock specimen pics have been added to the Banded Blue and Gray Agate Nodules and Geodes Gallery and the Deep Pit Smoky Quartz Geodes Gallery. The photos shown here are the newest find–just this week. Shown is a beautiful deep blue banded agate geode with multi-colored sagenitic inclusions. The sagenitic inclusions are minerals which crystallized in the pocket (created by a gas bubble in lava) while silica was simultaneously forming the blue bands. This was a relatively large geode, more complex and beautiful than many of the ‘deep pit’ geodes shown in the Deep Pit Galleries. The pit is now mostly explored except for what rain and wind will uncover for me to discover in future explorations. Cattle are also a major factor in making new finds! Go cows!!!  

NEW: “Deep Pit” Amethyst Smoky Quartz Galleries

NEW: “Deep Pit” Amethyst Smoky Quartz Galleries

By /November 4, 2019 /4 comments /Geology

A 2018 discovery on ‘The Carver agate field’ has now been mostly explored. A year of cutting and polishing the agates, amethyst, and smoky quartz geodes from the ‘deep pit’ find is now displayed in these new photo galleries dedicated to this remarkable geological deposit from The Carver. The ‘deep pit’ was a small area approximately 15 x 30 feet within a larger pit that was approximately 500 x 700 feet.  From this larger pit, only the small pit yielded the geodes, agates and mineral specimens shown here. This is a geological oddity about which I have almost completed a more detailed geological report.  This report should be interesting because two highly respected Texas geologists have provided two differing geological opinions as to the  origins of this extremely peculiar geological find. Click on the links below to enjoy these new galleries and ‘stay tuned’ for more geological information about the […]

Read More

Rare Large Jasper Nodule from the Carver Agate Field

Rare Large Jasper Nodule from the Carver Agate Field

By /October 30, 2019 /1 comment /Geology

This posting is more about geology than a pretty specimen. Bear with me as I ‘get into the weeds’ to explain why this is rare and is the subject of this posting. How nodules form Gas bubbles in molten lava sometimes, after hardening, leave a bubble or void in the hardened lava which may fill with a silica solution. The silica often creates banded agates or crystal lined voids in the center of the nodule which are called geodes. What is rare and unusual in this large specimen, is that the nodule formed in the gas bubble is essentially jasper, not agate, quartz, or other crystals.  While The Carver agate field has lots of jaspers, they are almost always formed separate from, and outside of, gas bubbles that have formed in the lava. The process by which jasper would completely fill a large gas bubble is apparently uncommon. I have […]

Read More