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Bluegemz’s Gem and Jewelry Musings.

stracci2000

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I know I’ll have to go if I can. I bought some small opals, and a rose quartz stone...and of course, I feel good about having indirectly purchased from them ( the brooch was a surprise gift) because they struck me as true, old school artisans following a love of jewelry and stones matching individuality of their things.

I fear that many of such artisans might be slowly disappearing as, in general, on a mass scale, people chose more mass produced things and/or popularized looks. So, I feel best about jewelry purchases when supporting such people because how tiresome/Impersonal would things be without their contribution to the world?
I always say "Support your local artists". I really wish more folks would think this way.
If you can get something done locally, and give work to local artists, you are helping funds stay in your community. It's a win/win!
And it's so easy here in NM. We have such a vibrant art scene. There are so many people doing jewelry, painting, glass, pottery, music, fiber art, photography, printmaking..........the list goes on and on.
 

Bluegemz

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I saw this today at TGT. How sweet is this! Such an adorable little crystal and nice color. I can imagine it in a gold cage ring. Too bad it’s reserved already.
 

Bluegemz

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I ordered this star ruby from like troope, 4.81 carats. It has been on my mind for a while now lol. It has a 2 week return period, comes with lab report. I hope it’s as lovely in person!! Though red is not my favorite color in gems on me, I do think reds are beautiful. A star ruby is different for me because of the fact that it’s a star! I’ve wanted to collect one for quite some time now.
 
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ChaiK

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:love::love::love::love::love: Those are lovely!
 

Bluegemz

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:love::love::love::love::love: Those are lovely!
Aren’t they? So magical and cool!

I tend to wear the stars I have together, so I can imagine myself one day looking like some version of this lol. I don’t care if people think it’s crazy or ‘too much’!

Sometimes we need a place of overflowing lusciousness in life, because in many facets of life it’s the opposite. And since star love runs deep....
 
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prs

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I ordered this star ruby from like troope, 4.81 carats. It has been on my mind for a while now lol. It has a 2 week return period, comes with lab report. I hope it’s as lovely in person!! Though red is not my favorite color in gems on me, I do think reds are beautiful. A star ruby is different for me because of the fact that it’s a star! I’ve wanted to collect one for quite some time now.
If that color is real, it is a very special star stone!
 

Bluegemz

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If that color is real, it is a very special star stone!
Thank you! I hope so...seller posted 3 videos under different lighting, incandescent, daylight and flashlight, and took I phone pics without filters, as one would hope..fingers crossed. The color looked great in all of those. This will be my first star ruby after 3 star sapphire rings. I’m a star stone lover! I guess I just can’t get enough of them. It truly is an addiction!
It is less translucent then the other stars which I have, but for a nice star ruby, I consider it a lucky thing because they are very hard to find these days in nice color, size etc.
 

Bluegemz

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Star ring collection so far....one can see a clear place for a red star stone! Strangely, I have been in love with stars since childhood, and had been looking to buy them for decades. But, these all came in the past year and a half.
Star stones always make me think of higher awareness, spirit, being beyond existing. They make me stay open to that somehow.
 
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Bluegemz

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Other star sapphires which I have collected... the first picture is of a lot of tiny ones.. the 2 larger ones in that picture are not mine.

The larger lavender star was a gift for my oldest girl. I really should take a better picture of it, because it has a full, strong, 6 legged star, though it doesn’t fully show in the picture. And, the cluster is an adaptation of a design that my youngest made, and the yellow star was an extremely kind gift to make her design wish come true! She chose the others and organized them in this way.
 
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MissyBeaucoup

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It’s beautiful that you’re sharing this star energy with your daughters. I love the pendant your youngest designed. The play of light is delightful!
 

Bluegemz

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It’s beautiful that you’re sharing this star energy with your daughters. I love the pendant your youngest designed. The play of light is delightful!
It’s such a pleasure to be able to share the stone love. I will pass on the compliment to her regarding the cluster pendant. I know She will be very proud!
 

mellowyellowgirl

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@Bluegemz that star you ordered looks like a lolly!!!! So bright!!!! Can't wait to see your pics of it!
 

Bluegemz

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@Bluegemz that star you ordered looks like a lolly!!!! So bright!!!! Can't wait to see your pics of it!
I keep thinking that too! Like one of those red cough lozenges. Will post plenty of pics when it gets here. Waiting is agonizing but something great to look forward to throughout the week.
 

Bluegemz

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So I’ve been waiting patiently for my star ruby to arrive...I’ve heard discouraging things about how long it can take. It’s been a month already and is apparently in a port in San Fran but hasn’t entered into US post yet. I hope it’s not lost, but trying to keep faith. I’m not worried about getting my money back if it’s lost, but would be just heartbroken because I loved the stone,( pics of it anyway.)

So, all of this waiting has strangely put a damper on buying any other gems....like being in a state of suspension until it is resolved. So, I’ve been doing a lot of gem hunting in my area, which has been fun. I specifically have been looking for lepidolite, which is a mica with lithium....but in rarer forms is called gem lithium silica, and is suspended in finer quartz, such as this example. It’s known as a ‘depression’ stone because of the lithium. I’ve found some specimens and have been trying my hand at cabbing them. Will post some pics as I work on it.
 
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LemonMoonLex

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336BC6DE-1447-4E88-B81E-350B887A7599.jpeg
So I’ve been waiting patiently for my star ruby to arrive...I’ve heard discouraging things about how long it can take. It’s been a month already and is apparently in a port in San Fran but hasn’t entered into US post yet. I hope it’s not lost, but trying to keep faith. I’m not worried about getting my money back if it’s lost, but would be just heartbroken because I loved the stone,( pics of it anyway.)

So, all of this waiting has strangely put a damper on buying any other gems....like being in a state of suspension until it is resolved. So, I’ve been doing a lot of gem hunting in my area, which has been fun. I specifically have been looking for lepidolite, which is a mica with lithium....but in rarer forms is called gem lithium silica, and is suspended in finer quartz, such as this example. It’s known as a ‘depression’ stone because of the lithium. I’ve found some specimens and have been trying my hand at cabbing them. Will post some pics as I work on it.

Besides the damper put on your beautifully bright star ruby by the post service...everything about this post..umm...YES please!!
I myself plan to get into silversmithing and then eventually gold but im waiting until graduation and were ready to have more children so I can settle and find some time to begin my journey!
I also love love lepidolite and think its true to its makeup in that it does calm mild blues (:
Cant wait to see your creations!
 

Bluegemz

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Besides the damper put on your beautifully bright star ruby by the post service...everything about this post..umm...YES please!!
I myself plan to get into silversmithing and then eventually gold but im waiting until graduation and were ready to have more children so I can settle and find some time to begin my journey!
I also love love lepidolite and think its true to its makeup in that it does calm mild blues (:
Cant wait to see your creations!
I’ve wanted to get into gold smithing and some basic lapidary work too! It’s can be hard to find time, but it’s great to try to make things with one’s own hands. Often, I imagine things which I’d love to be able to execute myself without having to translate the idea to someone else. This step was pretty easy as I already had some of the equipment and purchased a couple more polishing wheels and some other things. It’s still a really simple operation!!

Ok here is my first cab but it still needs some work. I think this piece has some really gemmy parts. I don’t mind the fractures since this material typically has many of them. Polish may not get much more than this....

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Bluegemz

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So I am quite happy with this little piece! I can see setting it with a very thin gold setting. I’m the type to set stones which I find especially, so I’m getting inspired. I really think this general setting idea is cool with gold and lepidolite.
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stracci2000

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Yay @Bluegemz! Glad to see you are getting into making your own pieces.
Like you said- "Often, I imagine things which I’d love to be able to execute myself without having to translate the idea to someone else." Exactly!

You know what you want. When you know how to make it happen, the sky's the limit!
 

MissyBeaucoup

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I’m so excited about your new venture, @Bluegemz !

You have a great eye that you have developed through your love of interesting jewelry. I can’t wait to see more examples of what you come up with!
 

Bluegemz

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I FINALLY recieved the star ruby after an agonizing 5-6 weeks! I had almost given up hope and felt that maybe that it wasn’t meant to be after all...and then it arrived!

One quick outdoor and indoor picture. Neither show the star all that well. It’s a fine one, but complete. It is neither opaque, nor completely translucent, but has a nice texture, in between them. I’m really very happy with it. Color wise, it’s a rich red, sometimes looking like a pomegranate seed in the shade and lovely red in sun light. The shape is just slightly uneven, but not in a distracting way...more like an organic seed.

I’ve always wanted a star ruby and so I’m delighted to have this one! It definitely has a personality.
 
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prs

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That is a gloriously rich red, I didn't know they could come in so red a color!
 

Bluegemz

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That is a gloriously rich red, I didn't know they could come in so red a color!
I’m very pleased with the color because of its redness! . Ideally, just a slightly stronger star would be my ideal, but I’m keeping it because of the color.Though, in the shade, it’s seems to shift to a pomegranate red. I’ll take more pics this weekend...it’s hard to capture the color well.
 

leslie1956

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I also really like the vivid true red color of your star ruby :) I find this shade of red more attractive than the darker red usually seen with these stones.
 

Bluegemz

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I also really like the vivid true red color of your star ruby :) I find this shade of red more attractive than the darker red usually seen with these stones.
Thank you! I also find it more attractive. Star rubies with rich colors have been really hard to find for me...though I’m attracted to almost all star stones regardless!
 

Bluegemz

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Though I’m a blue girl, I feel these days a distict need for red in my life to mix in with the blue and lavender. I have very few red stones...a ruby ring, ruby earrings, some Native American pieces with red coral, some reddish spinel beads, and an Indian necklace... I feel a strong need for the strength, passion and embodied love which I become aware of more with red, especially rubies!
With red, I think blood, body and heart...with blue and lavender, I think intellect, spirit, eternity and galaxy.
 
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stracci2000

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So pretty!
I can't wait to see how you set it!
 

mellowyellowgirl

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That colour is absolutely gorgeous! Just like a piece of bright red candy!

You have a great eye!
 

LemonMoonLex

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Oh I'm so glad that she finally arrived!
Please keep the photos coming when you find time, she is lovely and makes such a nice impression that I can't wait to see all of the different sides and dimensions to her ❤

What a luscious raspberry color and such a nice size too!
Lucky lucky you!
 
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