These red, pink and orange hued gems evoke passion and excitement – and are sure-fire accessories for sultry summer days.
Read More
Sometimes what you don’t see is as important as what you do. “Negative space” is the explanation for this curious statement.
Read More
Once upon a time, gem cutting was a strict craft bound by centuries of tradition. Then Bernd Munsteiner (b. 1943) invented the fantasy cut.
Read More
The first of a three-part series exploring Oregon’s state gem reports on a July 2013 visit to the Ponderosa mine, a prolific sunstone source surrounded by majestic ponderosas.
Read More
The final part of the "Sunstone Odyssey" series explores the Sunstone Butte mine, a new location for large spectacular green and bicolour gems.
Read More
The "Sunstone Odyssey" series continues with a visit to the Dust Devil mine, a source of rough for many award-winning faceted gems and carvings.
Read More
Chronicles a visit to the high desert of eastern Oregon to examine commercial sources of this natural copper-bearing feldspar.
Read MoreThe Ponderosa mine is now producing commercial quantities of the gem-quality labradorite feldspar known as sunstone.
Read More
In the early 1800s sunstone was a little-known, rare and costly gemstone. It wasn’t until finds in Norway, Siberia, and other parts of the world that sunstone became somewhat more widely recognised, more available and less expensive.
Read More
