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Friday, September 30, 2011

Jasper in all your favorite fall colors!

When I was at the gem show, I kind of fell in love with this Red Creek Jasper.  I don't believe I'd seen it before. There are so many different kinds of jasper, I thought it might be nice to do this month's JCUIN post and collection on jasper.  Jasper is a form of Chalcedony, which is made of silica.  It is always opaque and comes in almost any color, but usually warm colors: browns, reds, yellows, etc.  The different varieties could be named after the area they come from , the country, appearance, etc.  The variations seem endless.  Here are a few different types.  Click on the picture to go to the actual listing for the piece.

First up is Ocean Jasper.  Here is a really nice example:
Ocean Jasper Rectangle Gemstone Copper Wire Wrapped Bracelet
The picture above is a beautiful rectangular Ocean Jasper bead that Marian at M Davis Designs has made into a copper wire-wrapped bracelet.  That's a wonderful color combination by the way.

A totally different look from the Ocean Jasper is Brown Picture Jasper, shown here in a pendant made by Strega Jewelry:
Brown Picture Jasper Desert Sun  Necklace
She has used 14K gold filled wire and added interest with a small burnt orange Mexican opal.

Here is a very pretty jasper called "Blue Sky Jasper" that has been made into a bracelet by Emily of Southern Emma's Boutique:

Blue Sky Jasper
I think the blues and browns make a nice, comforting color combination.

Here is a beautiful pendant that is a kind I'm not familiar with. I've heard of picture jasper, but this is called "Owyhee Picture Jasper" shown here in a  "Rectangular Puff Pendant":


AFRICAN TSAVORITE GARNET & SEA GLASS NECKLACE


I just love this pendant!  You can find this necklace at Axcessorize Plus.

Jasper also can be found in green.  Can you guess the name of this jasper?

Green stone and copper bead earrings, snakeskin jasper jewelry

If you guessed "Snakeskin", you're correct.  I love the snakeskin pattern.  You can find these earrings at Daly Craft Works.

Here is another type of jasper that is different from the norm:

Sesame Jasper Three Piece necklace bracelet and earrings set

this is Sesame Jasper, shown here in a necklace (with matching earrings) by the three sisters of Buttermilk Sky Designs.  As you can plainly see, Sesame Jasper looks awesome with black!

Another similar type of jasper is Sesame Jasper:

GET SPOTTED Statement Necklace

You can find this "Get Spotted" statement necklace at Libby & Liam.

Here is a cute necklace made by Nature's Gems:

Jasper Flower Necklace

The type of jasper is not listed, but if I had to guess I'd say it might be zebra jasper.  Here is some Zebra Jasper in black and white by Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs:

Chunky Snow Quartz Zebra Jasper Gemstone Necklace Handmade OOAK

Here are some earrings that feature a gorgeous pair of Leopard Jasper beads:

Spiral Hands Earrings, Leopard Jasper, Rose Crystals, Copper Wires

Leopard Jasper is one of my favorites.  You can find these earrings in the shop of Pretty Gonzo.  And Gonzo is really pretty -- check him out in the bio page.

Not too far removed from the browns of the Leopard Jasper is the Red Creek Jasper that I fell in love with at the gem show:

Red creek jasper earrings, sterling post

The cabochons and the roundelle beads are both Red Creek Jasper, so you can see the variation in the colors.
These sterling post earrings can be found in my shop, Shanghai Tai.

Lastly, Scorpio Stones is not in our guild, but she has a kind of jasper I haven't seen before, that she calls "Insect Jasper".  Here's a picture:


I found this on her facebook page, where according to Maryann Sieler, this is also known as  Crinoid Marble.  It comes from the China Seas area (which is actually four seas), and is made up of fossilized plant material.  Jasper or marble, either way, that is one cool cabochon.http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/naturesgems/3271363/jasper_flower_necklace/handmade/jewelry/necklaces/gemstone

Well, I am no where near running out of kinds of jasper to talk about -- but I am out of time.  If you have an item with a different type of jasper than what is listed here, feel feel to add a link, and a picture if you can. (I don't know if you can or not!)  Anyway, I think I will make some more jasper jewelry this weekend.

3 comments:

  1. I so love jasper - so many types, all of them just beautiful! Great article that illustrates that wonderful variety.

    Also, thank you for including my spiral hands earrings along with such fantastic handmade creations. :)

    Best, Mary at PrettyGonzo

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  2. Great post, Roxanne - very interesting! Jasper is such a wonderful stone that runs the full gamut of colors and patterns. You showed that very well here! An unrealistic goal I've set for myself is to design something with every type of jasper that is found :) But they keep finding new and fantastic ones all the time. Like the red creek jasper you said is one of your faves. Anyway, thank you so much for including my necklace made with snow quartz and Mexican zebra jasper here. I appreciate it! Peace and joy . . . Catherine @ShadowDogDesigns

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  3. I love jasper. I know what you mean about the Red Creek jasper. I saw some for the first time several months ago and just had to buy some. It's such a beautiful stone with such a wide variety of colors. Thanks for posting this and sharing all the great jewelry from JCUIN. And thanks for including my snakeskin jasper earrings! - Megan from DalyCraftworks

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