Not all that different but up until now I have confined myself to cabochons and rose cuts. I just thought I’d stock some brilliant cut gemstones as well, just to see how they go. Currently I have amethyst, kyanite, spessartite garnet, kyanite, rhodolite garnet and white topaz in a variety of 4mm, 5mm and 6mm sizes. Look out in the next few days for peridot, iolite, aquamarine and tanzanite.
I have just listed the most fantastic clear blue kyanite. Not that manky, streaky greyish stuff with the merest hint of blue; this is high grade, royal blue, clean material with the most breathtaking glassy lustre. My supplier tells me that he sells alot of this stuff as a sapphire substitute, and I have to say, the colour is very similar indeed. I currently have this in a 4mm and 6mm cabochon and will be listing 4 and 5mm brilliant cut round gemstones in the next couple of days.
Rainbow moonstone is so popular; it seems no-one can resist the magic of the shimmering blue light that dances across the stone. And people always ask me for the same thing; as clean as possible, with a strong blue schiller, so I thought it was high time I started offering some higher grade material. So now, let me present to you; cleaner rainbow moonstone in a 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm cabochon, both standard cabs and rose cut! This has the most spectacular blue schiller, good from all angles. It’s not 100% clean; that would be so expensive I don’t think I’d get many takers, and the smaller sizes are cleaner than the larger sizes, as you would expect, but the blue is so fantastic that sometimes it entirely obscures the clarity of the stone; that is, the blue is all you can see! I hope you like it. I do, very much!
I haven’t blogged for absolutely ages, I know. Very bad of me. The thing is, I’ve had so much new stock in that I’ve struggled to do much more than photograph and list for weeks! But here we are with some of the new. I’ve hugely expanded the variety of 4mm cabochons that I stock. I now have citrine, amethyst, rhodolite, emerald, garnet, sky blue and swiss blue topaz, clean rainbow moonstone, hessonite garnet, peridot, tourmaline and apatite. Look out also for milky and clean aquamarine, London blue topaz, prehnite, iolite and green amethyst, all coming in the next few days.
Don’t feel you have to rush out and buy these; if I get stuck with them, it’s not the end of the world… especially the one second from the left! I have my eye on that one. These are absolutely spectacular freeform labradorite cabochons with intense blue flash. They are so bright and lively; no standing on your head and tilting them just so to make them flash, it is almost impossible to see the stone underneath. Madagascan labradorite, so you have a lovely, pale and transparent stone, glittering with the specks of mica that are so characteristic of this location. You can find them here: http://www.joopygems.com/labradorite-freeform-cabochons/.
In her latter years, my grandmother used to have a whiskey mac every evening before supper. The way she mixed it, this was half a tumbler of whisky topped up with Stones Ginger wine, no ice. Quite amazing that she managed to stagger to the table after downing that, but my mum said that it cheered her up, and that was always a good thing. Plus she was not the kind of woman who liked to be told what to do, so if she wanted to end her day lightly sozzled, no-one was going to tell her she couldn’t. The reason I mention this is because I have some new hessonite garnet in, and this stuff always makes me think of my gran’s whiskey macs; that deep, tawny reddish gold, with a slightly cloudy quality; the fine, swirling inclusions giving the stones a silken lustre, as if they are glowing from within. And don’t tell me that I don’t give you odd and interesting stuff either, because I’ve got this in not just a standard cab, but a rose cut as well!
More new stock! I have some absolutely gorgeous pale indigo rose cut tanzanite; very clean material and full of sparkle. I know that there are some real tanzanite addicts out there, so this is a real treat! Also new in is melanite in 4mm, 6mm and 10mm kind of rose cut. What I mean by ‘kind of rose cut’ is that it is a cut that I see other people routinely describe as rose cut but which is a little less complex than my standard rose cuts. My supplier calls it something like ‘upside down checker’ but I think that would create even more confusion! It’s triangular facets, and they make a rose pattern, but just without the fancy flower that I normally have on my stones. Also have 8mm coming in, but I still have to photograph and list that. Finally, Swiss Blue Topaz in a 4mm rose cut, lovely and vibrant, to go with all these bright colours that are coming in this season.
Finally back in stock! This is beautiful, intense pink rubellite, absolutely gorgeous fuschia coloured droplets. Lovely quality as well; beautifully clear although there are a few inclusions of course, this is tourmaline after all. I have these in a 4mm and a 5mm round, available now at http://www.joopygems.com
Recently purchased; this beautiful dragonfly pendant made by the talented Julia Quinn at Cheeky Lemur . The wings are of opal and the body is set with peridots, and it is such an eye-catching, unusual piece. I bought this pendant for my sister-in-law as she is fond of butterflies and dragonflies and other such winged creatures, plus her birthday is in August and peridots are the birthstone for August, so it was just perfect. I have now sent the pendant, having spent a couple of weeks gazing covetously at it and wishing I could keep it! Julia lives in Normandy and says that she derives inspiration from the lush natural landscape that surrounds her, and I can imagine this creature hovering across a lake or perching on a strand of long grass.
Along with stone-set jewellery, Julia also has a fine line in enamel work as well. I could not resist this purple enamelled pendant for myself as well. Purple is my favourite colour and in this pendant the enamel is laid over silver so the colour really sings. Check out her Etsy shop for a selection of funky and original work.
Finally, some of those new stones I was promising you. These are tiny 4mm checker cut cushion cabochons, and were a special request from Adele at The Nosejob so hopefully you all like them too! I’ve got them in London Blue Topaz, rhodolite garnet, citrine and peridot (as pictured) as well as amethyst and white topaz. I am always surprised at how popular the 4mm rounds are so I am hoping these are as popular as well!
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