The color of sugilite ranges from pale lavender to a deep purple.  Pure purple–with no impurities–and translucent, is the most valued and is considered gem grade.  Gem grade is the most expensive and the most rare.  Gem grade sugilite is also known under the trade names of “Royal Lavulite” and “Royal Azel.”

Sugilite is relatively rare and relatively new.  It was found first in Japan in intrusive igneous rock in 1944 by Ken-ichi Sugi and named for him.  A large deposit was discovered in South Africa in 1975 in a metamorphosed manganese deposit.  Four years later, another deposit was found 3200 ft below the original.  It has also been reported from Canada, India, Italy, and Australia.  

The chemical formula of sugilite is KNa₂(Fe,Mn,Al)₂Li₃Si₁₂O₃₀.  It has a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale.

Like so many other minerals, sugilite often contains black matrix.  That’s true of my stash of sugilite rough.  Not gem grade, but beautiful nonetheless.  Actually, I think that the strings of black matrix give it character. 

Here are some photos of jewelry that I’ve made featuring sugilite cabochons that I’ve cut:

Sterling silver woven wire necklace with clasp featuring a sugilite cabochon.

Sterling silver pin with sugilite cabochon and cobaltocalcite drusy.

Pure chrysocolla is quite soft — 2.5 to 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.  If more quartz is present, then the hardness increases, making it possible to cut stones and beads for jewelry.  Chrysocolla is typically cryptocrystalline.  Often, beads and commercial cabochons are stabilized.

Chrysocolla, azurite, malachite, and turquoise all form from the weathering of copper deposits.  Chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate with the formula (Cu,Al)₂H₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄^.nH₂0.  Azurite and malachite are copper carbonates.  Turquoise is a copper phosphate.

Chrysocolla is found all over the world in association with copper deposits.  In the US, localities exist in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.  Outside the US, chrysocolla can be found in Russia, Slovakia, Israel, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Mexico, Chile, and Australia.  It is usually found as a crust, filling veins, or as a botyroidal mass.  Chrysocolla is a secondary mineral and often replaces earlier forming secondary minerals.

Chrysocolla is considered to be gem grade when it is translucent and a single color.  Personally, I like the opaque chrysocolla with all its “impurities.”  I have purchased small amounts of chrysocolla rough at local gem shows from San Juan Gems.  I purchased a large amount of rough from Village Silversmiths.

I cut and polish the rough to make cabochons to include in my jewelry.  Here’s photos of some of my pieces with chrysocolla cabs as the focal point.  See my Etsy shop for more photos.

• Use all the tags available to you
• Use all five photo slots for each piece
• Add more views, angles, and closeups of the pieces
• Put Canada as a separate shipping destination
• Add more in the description about how things were made
• Point them to my profile in my shop announcement
• Use the title area under the banner for something more than repeating the shop’s name
• Add photos of jewelry to the shop banner
• Crop images to make them square rather than, or in addition to, using the black spacers

Here’s some other stuff that came up:

• Promote off Etsy — blogs, flickr, myspace, post business cards on bulletin boards, twitter
• See the “pimp your shop” article in the shop makeover series in the Storque
• See the listing checklist in The Storque
• See the Seller Handbook in The Storque
• See the article on props and how to style photos in The Storque
• See the article on the art of pricing in The Storque 

I hope this info will be useful to those of you who, like me, are new to selling on Etsy.

I think it was Cynthia Eid who said, “the more carnuba in the wax, the better.”  I set out to find a wax with a high carnauba content.  I searched the Web and learned about carnauba.  In its natural state, it’s as hard as a rock.  It’s usually sold as a paste wax mixed with something else.  Lesser quality paste waxes that have carnauba in it are more like a lotion.  That’s what you find in your local auto store.

It wasn’t until I found some other forums — about cars — that I got the answer on where to find a good carnauba wax at a good price.  Your local Harley-Davidson store is where to go!  You can get the same exact wax that’s sold for luxury cars at half the price.  The product is S-100 Carnauba Wax.  When I bought it last year, it was $15 for 6 oz.  Here’s what it looks like so you won’t feel as goofy as I did in the Harley store not knowing what I was looking for.

S-100 Carnauba Wax

I used it today to seal Silver Black in the grooves of a pendant I was finishing up.  I cut the quarter-size Chrysocolla stone.

Chrysocolla Pendant

Speaking of motorcycles, if you are over 40 and haven’t yet seen the movie Wild Hogs, check it out!