Well, this was supposed to be a Happy Fourth of July Rock Extravaganza posting for you, but computer problems made that impossible. So, now that the computer is back up and running: Happy Belated Fourth of July! Enjoy these rock samples. Hope your Fourth was great.
In their August 2017 issue, Rock & Gem Magazine will be running an in-depth article, which I have authored, about ‘the Carver’ agate field. I hope that you take a look at it and let me know what you think. I will be posting the article here at the website later this summer if you do not subscribe to Rock & Gem Magazine. A little about Rock & Gem Magazine: Since 1971, Rock & Gem has been the leading magazine for the lapidary and mineral hobbyist. Not a trade journal and not a scientific dissertation, it speaks to the average rockhound, providing just the right blend of entertainment and satisfying information. Armchair hobbyists and diehard diggers alike will find something to enjoy in each issue. Lifetime hobbyist and Carnegie Award winner Bob Jones heads up a group of experienced and knowledgeable contributors. Bob’s lighthearted style brings readability to in-depth articles on […]
Another new bracelet to add to the collection! This stone is cut from a cross section of a geode found in ‘The Carver’. Petite crystalline center with a ghostly outline surrounding the pure white geode crystals–all surrounded by a virtually transparent glowing golden agate with the outer edge of the geode rind peaking out from under the bezel. This is an extremely unusual stone. Set in heavy sterling silver band handmade by J.L. Carver, numbered (#20), and marked with John L. Carver service mark. The stone is from ‘the Carver’ find, completely natural, cut and polished by hand by J.L. Carver.
Two days of rocking turned up several kinds of moss agates (red, green and yellow), jasper, agatized jasper, and brechiated jasper (yellow, orange, red, green….), plus nodules and agates. Geologist Bill continued to ‘school’ us on the geology of ‘the Carver’. A great time was had by all. Click on the images below to see the detailed versions. Left to right: John Carver, Raymond Boswell, Bill Halepeska, on April rock hunt on ‘the Carver’.
This stone is cut from a cross section of a geode found in ‘The Carver’. It has a petite open crystalline center which leads to the geode’s ‘fill tube’ . The tube is surrounded by pink pastel agate which is then surrounded by an orange band. The tube plunges through the stone giving a sense of depth and three dimensions. The orange is surrounded by a nearly clear colorless band of agate. This stone is set in sterling silver, numbered, and marked with John L. Carver service mark. The band is heavy silver. Stone is from ‘the Carver’ find, completely natural, cut and polished by hand by J. L. Carver. This new bracelet is available in the shop.
Last week I found a large collapsed crystalline pocket which can be seen in part in photos # 825 and #826 of the Gem Show Gallery #6 display. The pocket was amazingly intact and undamaged as you will see when I photo the rest of the pocket material. Hope to get that to you soon.
Last weekend, April 14, 15 16, was the 28th Annual Alpine Gem and Mineral Show in Alpine, TX. The rock club which presents the show asked me to make a display of the rocks from ‘The Carver’ for the show. The display received good reviews and can be seen by you in the new gallery of pictures if you missed the show or if you saw the rocks at the show and want to view them in greater detail. The purpose of the display was not necessarily to show the prettiest rocks, but rather to show the widest possible variation/diversity in terms of color, types of agates, types of geodes and agatized opalized breccia. If you consider, as you review the display, that each rock is markedly different from every other rock, you will get the point I was trying to make with the display. The specimen that I am […]
I went back to the same site that yielded the tailgate rocks in my last posting. These 2 visits yielded the large amethyst geode shown in this slideshow (Rocks #518 to #524), as well as the 2 individual rocks shown below. Other rocks from the tailgate and second visit are in the Cut/Polished Tailgate Rocks Gallery. What I continue to find amazing is the diversity of colors and sagenitic material…..blue, amethyst, yellow, red, and green…….note the lava inclusions in rocks shown in Gallery pictures 505 and 516. I am interested in your thoughts and how the lava shard got inside the nodules. Photos 539, 540, 541 are the same stone as shown from different angles, showing how difficult it is to guess what is inside before cutting! I will post more pictures from this same location when they have been cut and polished. Stay tuned.
This is the first bracelet made since June 2016. The stone is a cross section of a geode from the “Carver”. The geode hollow center (void) is backed with a hand ground starburst from the heel slab of the geode laminated to the primary geode slab. This is the most unique and technically difficult of the first 18 bracelets I have made and offered for sale on this site. This bracelet is for sale in the Shop.
I went rock hunting for 2 hours yesterday. Here is the picture of the rocks I found. More on what I found yesterday when I cut them.
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