rose – The Gemstone Project

The Hermit from the Pacific Northwest

Posted on March 20, 2017March 3, 2017 by grayspinel

When we moved from California, we really had no idea what we were getting into. The first months after moving to Washington included massive wildfires, a broken limb, hitting two deer in quick succession, and plenty of other trials and tribulations.

Don’t worry, I was stopped.

Roses at the Post Office.

But it also included incredible sunsets the colors of padparascha sapphires and Vietnamese spinels, fields of yellow gold wheat as far as the eye could see in the fall, fields of brilliant green springtime wheat, and then the sparkly white of a frozen snow-covered tundra.

I don’t miss the call of California. I don’t miss the palm trees (they are so much work!), the swimming pools. I don’t miss the heat. I don’t miss the traffic. I don’t miss the helicopters hovering overhead nightly. And shockingly I don’t miss the high heels or the fashion or the shopping.

I love digging my hands in the dirt and growing my own produce. I love that when I drive five minutes in one direction and I’m surrounded by empty space. I love going to the Post Office where everyone knows my name. I love the stillness of the air right after it snows. I love the wide blue skies. I love the rolling hills. I love the pine trees. And again, I love those sunsets.

I realize that the major jewelry centers are in New York and Los Angeles. Maybe some day I will move back to a big city, and be happy to be among the bustle and the glamour, but for now I’m delighted to spend my time alone with my dogs and my family, breathing in the clean air and enjoying all four seasons, and living more simply than I did before.

Besides, living here means more opportunity to travel to big cities!

Tabloids and Jewelry

Posted on July 28, 2015 by grayspinel

Unless you live under a rock, you have heard that The Bachelorette (Kaitlyn Bristowe) was proposed to and accepted her proposal last night (from Shawn Booth). Congratulations to the happy couple – I hope that you beat the odds!

I’m going to go on a mini rant for a minute:

One of the problems with tabloid magazines talking about jewelry is that they never report how many carats the setting is vs. how many carats the center stone is. All of the tabloids are reporting that Kaitlyn’s ring is 3.5cts. Now, knowing what I know, her particular setting probably has about a carat or so of diamonds on the setting itself, not counting the center stone.

So it could be 2.5ct center stone with a carat of little diamonds (often called melee or pave) for a total of 3.5 carats, or it could be a 3.5ct center with a carat of little diamonds for a total of 4.5 carats. I’m guessing, that it’s actually a 3.5 total carat weight, with a 2.5ct or so center.

Any tabloid reporting on jewelry is essentially worthless when no one actually defines where the carat weight is coming from! And it makes me crazy. I guarantee you that someone at Neil Lane knows exactly what the carat weight of the center and the setting is.

My issue is that this is giving the public unrealistic ideas of anything about jewelry! Unfortunately with this kind of misinformation that’s out there, it further confuses the public and no one benefits from unrealistic expectations when it comes to jewelry.

And this is only applicable when the tabloids get the information about the jewelry right. Don’t get me started on that topic. At least People had a Neil Lane press release to rely on, is all I’m going to say on that particular topic.

Sidenote: Why does Neil Lane insist on using those over photoshopped images of his jewelry? They end up looking more like a lifeless drawing than something that is full of sparkle and fire!

Photo courtesy of People magazine, Neil Lane stock photo.

Gem Blast: Fancy Pinkish Brown Diamond

Posted on April 16, 2015March 31, 2015 by grayspinel

I remember years ago reading Pricescope.com and watching as a poster went searching for a brownish-pinkish-orangeish diamond – she told the jeweler that she was searching for “bandaid colored”. And that’s exactly what I thought of when I laid eyes on this diamond.

This diamond is .58cts, so not exactly big, but it packs a lot of punch for a little guy.

In some lighting situations the color shifts to a more cognac color:

It’s almost the exact same color as this pendant I have that’s 10kt rose gold (shout out to my husband who bought it for me – it’s the best thing I have for testing out how a stone would look against rose gold!)

I mean, look at that! It looks like it belongs there!

With some lower colored/champagne diamond melee:

This are a couple of the ideas I was playing with in my head for it, giving it a bezel to give it a oomph in the size department:

In rose gold, of course!

A bit short on the content today, and very picture heavy – lots of things are in the works over here at Casa de TGP, so stay tuned!

Feature: willajunejewelry

Posted on November 7, 2014November 7, 2014 by grayspinel

As promised, I have an exclusive feature on Erin of willajunejewelry. If you haven’t bought all of your holiday presents yet, I highly suggest you pay close attention to this post! (And pay special consideration to the contents of it, because there is something in it for you!) Most of the pieces seen in this post are for sale.

Fluorite cabochon ring

I have had the great pleasure of knowing Erin since before willajunejewelry was even conceptualized. She has been a friend of mine since 2007 when she became a colleague of my husband’s.

Something that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a jewelry designer/maker, is that she has a Masters degree in Sociology/Criminology. Cool, right? Her Masters thesis examined female criminals and, specifically, the role that children can play in stopping a criminal career.

Broken Arrow Turquoise Ring (this one has already been sold)

Erin started willajunejewelry in 2009, while working on her Masters degree. She had already been taking various jewelry fabrication classes in a variety of mediums as a way to express her creativity and as a stress outlet. Willajunejewelry was inspired by her grandmother, who was a rockhound and gemstone buyer and had huge impact on Erin and was the namesake for her business.

Shakespeare Quote Necklace

Erin is one of a very select few of my friends and family members that actually knows just how passionate I am about jewelry and gemstones. I figure at some point I will have to let others in on that secret. As a result, she’s my favorite gemstone shopping partner and is incredibly patient and never pressures me to hurry up!

Oval Apatite Cabochon Ring

Another fun fact about Erin is that she loves shoes. We have bonded many times over shoes, especially of the high heeled variety, and that will continue until we are old and gray. Hah!

I personally own several pieces of jewelry that Erin has made, both customized items as well as items I fell in love with that were in her shop (or on her Facebook page) but I will put them in a future post, since I’d rather let her photos shine!

Garnet Cabochon Flower Necklace

She primarily works in Precious Metal Clay, which is a really cool product that has so many uses and applications. She also does wire wrapping, beading, traditional metalsmithing and is constantly experimenting with new techniques and finishes.

She does some amazing custom projects and is always excited for new ideas and challenges.

Bi-colored Tourmaline cabochon ring

Lately, it seems as though Erin’s popularity and achievements have just exploded. In September she took home second place in the Metal Clay division of the New Mexico Jewelers Association All that Glitters competition. She has also just completed teaching her first Craft Entrepreneurship Program class on the topic of setting up and selling on etsy (link here, and a sample of her student’s work here). She also applied for Greek licensing to make jewelry for sororities, as she was in a sorority herself. She has been granted licensing for six sororities so far, and I am sure more will soon follow suit.

Gold Sheen Obsidian with lab Rubies, 2nd place winner in the Metal Clay division of the NMJA ATG competition. This is on display at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science until the end of November, which is when it will be going up for sale.

Now, how to get in touch with Erin and have her make you something amazing! Luckily she has a big social media presence so you can find her at any one of the following places:

willajunejewelry etsy
willajunejewelry website
willajunejewelry instagram
willajunejewelry twitter
willajunejewelry facebook

Gold Druzy Quartz Necklace

So, the best part about this post is that Erin is offering my readers an exclusive coupon code for 15% off for her etsy store: “THEGEMSTONEPROJECT”
This coupon will be good through the end of the year, so please take advantage of this offer!

Disclaimer: The above images belong to Erin of willajunejewelry and I am publishing them with her permission! These particular images were chosen by Erin because they are some of her favorite pieces.