Just in time for those last minute Christmas purchases, these handmade, designer Turquose pendants are ready for sale!!!   http://www.wrappedtogo.net/Turquoise3.html

ruby-in-zoisite heart pendant

Two are very lovely faceted gemstones, and one is an untraditional, marquee cut cabochon ( not faceted)

All are quite fabulous and wrapped in 14k gold filled wire.

These beauties are available on my we-store:  www.wrappedtogo.net

This rock is composed of many different minerals,
 which vary from sample to sample. It is found in nodules
and you have no idea what it is going to look like until you break them open.
It is found in the west desert of Utah,
near Spor Mountain, in a small area where they mine for beryllium.

 It is very rare, both because it comes from such a small geographic area
 and because much of it ends up in the ore crusher and gets destroyed.  Now, due to National security reasons, rockhounds are no longer allowed to collect this material.

 Some say the name tiffany stone came about because the
slab slices cut from the nodules reminded the miners of tiffany glass lamp shades.
 Others say the name tiffany stone came about
because of a miner that used to pick up the nodules for his daughter Tiffany.
In either case, it is a name that people recognize in association with the nodules.

Tiffany Stone can be a soft to hard opalized stone that forms in very small to very large (100+ pound)
“mineralized nodules”, composed predominantly of opalized fluorite (blues, purples and whites),
 often with many other minerals such as quartz, chalcedony, dolomite, rhodonite, manganese oxides (blacks),
 bertrandite, beryl, solid white or translucent-yellowish opal, and other surprises included.
The best pieces for cabs are the opalized pieces, which cut well and take a beautiful polish.

Some other tidbits about tiffany stone -

~ Tiffany Stone formed from water circulating underground,
eventually penetrating nearby volcanic tuff layers
and precipitating out as fluorite-rich siliceous nodules.
 The nodules consist mainly of quartz, chalcedony, agate and opal,
but the waters also contain numerous other elements
hat were picked-up as the water passed through other rock within the area.
 Only 75% of the siliceous nodules contain fluorite,
and the nodules that do contain it vary considerably in total fluorite content.
 The color of the fluorite varies from a light blue to a deep reddish-violet color to pink and red.

Slicing open the nodule often shows a wide variety of aesthetic and colorful patterns.

~ Mineralized nodules are locally abundant
in beryllium ore and represent altered clasts (fragments)
of carbonate rock. Other clasts, of quartzite, limestone, and volcanic rocks
, are little altered. Carbonate clasts show the alteration
sequence dolomite-calcite-chalcedonic quartz/opal-fluorite.
 Some of the nodules have a very nice concentric structure,
with an interior of calcite, an intermediate shell of gray to black chalcedony,
and an outer, white to purplish layer of opalized fluorite.

~ Bertrandite is a colorless, white, yellow, or light pink mineral that contains beryllium
and is what the mine is seeking as a raw ore. The beryllium processed from the bertrnadite
is used in the production of missile nose cones (it does not heat up at high speeds)
 and other high-tech metallurgical uses. Some say the beryllium is concentrated in the fluorite
 (probably how the purple rock became known as bertrnadite),
as microscopic inclusions of the bertrandite crystals,
with generally not more than 1% bertrandite present.
 Others say the bertrnadite is found in the soil and the nodules
are just dug up as the bertrandite is dug up. My guess is that both are true.

~ In either case, while mining for the bertrandite,
the tiffany stone nodules are dug up and end up in the overburden
(mining leftovers) and/or go through the ore crusher, to extract the
 1% to 2% beryllium contained in the opal tuff.
The end result is that not only are Tiffany Stone nodules
 rare because of their limited geographic location,
they are made even more rare (and consequently expensive)
because so few of them ever “escape”.

Please visit my web-store to view or purchase more examples of this marvelous stone :0)  www.wrappedtogo.net

Well maintained Miata, 186,000 miles. Car purchased with 3,000 miles on it. Uses regular gas, avg 28 mpg.

At 10,000 miles, engine, tranny and rear end were switched over to synthetic oil. Engine oil changed every 5,000 miles. Engine in excellent condition. Radiator flushed regularly. New ignition coil and wires installed last summer. Iridium plugs. Hi power Sylvania headlights. Equiped with Michelin Pilot® Exalto® A/S tires. Koni shocks.  Have maintenance records.

Has 5 speed maual transmission, electric side view mirrors, Cruise control and stereo head-rest speakers. AM/FM CD player. Interior is in A+ condition.

Car comes with 4 Blizzak snow tires (on steel rims with hub caps ) and matching hardtop (excellent shape).

Will sell hardtop separate for $700 and snow tires w/wheels for $250.

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio  Plese e-mail jamesr@fuse.net

To purchase some wonderful handmade jewely, please visit:  www.wrappedtogo.net

Just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Fabulous, handmade jewelry creations that will astound your loved ones,(including yourself

Hearts of all sorts are available at my web-store:  www.wrappedtogo.net

Hot off the pliers, brand new jewellery creations just in time for Christmas and other Holiday celebrations!

Just visit my web store to see more wearable works of art to purchase:

www.wrappedtogo.net

Just in time for the holiday season, I have added bunches of yummy jewelry creations to my website, www.wrappedtogo.net   Pendant, bacelets and earrings, affordable prices, and custom orders are welcome!

Rhodochrosite heart wrapped in gold wire pendant

 The history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor’s daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today.

In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century.  Early ones are made of lace and paper.   By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.  Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged.  Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s.

To purchase your Valentine a lovely gift of handmade, one of a kind jewelry, please visit my web-site of  Wrapped to Go!

Citrine heart pendant wrapped in gold wire