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We are making an effort to keep up with all the different facets of this "social networking" aspect of our business. And sadly, our blog has been lacking....so from here on out we have a "NEW" commitment to start posting interesting info daily.
Discussions on gemstones and their influence on our daily lifes. Our current projects & stones we are working with. Rockhounding field trips with lots of pictures of where we go & what we find.
We are also going to bring alittle mystic perspective into our daily posts. If you are a believer or not, we think it will be an interesting addition. And those who are making and marketing their jewelry can add another layer of info to their pieces.
So, to our longtime friends who have followed our blog - We're Back. To our new friends - Welcome!
As always, please check out our website for our lastest offerings of Designer Gemstone Cabochons in beautiful & unusual designs and materials. Many types of stone that are not available anywhere else - our "Polished Pebble Exclusives". The Polished Pebble
Showing posts with label Gemstone Rough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gemstone Rough. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, November 9, 2009
Rockhounding Trip to Rainbow Ledge (Ridge) for Beautiful Agate...........The Polished Pebble
As promised, I have pictures & more from our rockhounding trip yesterday 11-8-09 to Rainbow Ledge (Ridge) for some of the well known beautiful agate. Since the location is a couple of hours away, our day started early. And lunches had to be made & packed beforehand, so I was up at 5am.
We left town at 6am. Traveling over the mountains into the desert is aways an interesting drive. I like getting out early. Less traffic & every now & then a spectacular sunrise. And on this trip we saw an eerie sunrise. It was foggy going over the Tehachapi Mountains. And the wisps of fog caused the rising sun to play peek-a-boo thru the different layers. I wish I had stopped & taken a picture, but with the truck traffic it would not have been very safe - so we drove on.
We were traveling to Ridgecrest. Where the Indian Wells Valley Gem and Mineral Society was having their annual show. It was there that we were supposed to meet up & be guided to Rainbow Ledge. The Indian Wells club owns the claim on this area & non members are only allowed to collect at certain times. This was going to be our first time there, so we were excited to actually see the site.
Arriving early, we relaxed outside the show area until we saw people moving around. Once we got inside, we registered for the field trip & were told that the member running the trip would make an anouncement when we needed to gather to go. We checked out the offerings availble from the different vendors. The assortment was great & there were some pieces I would have loved to buy. But, things are too tight right now - so all I could do was look.
It seemed like it was getting pretty late & one of the vendors said that he thought that the trip should be going soon. We looked over at the clubs table & everything for the field trip was gone. We went over & asked & were told they already left! WHAT??? No one made any announcement - I guess the leader just met people outside & thought he had everyone. Luckly, we were able to scramble some directions from some other club members & off we went.
Now, we didn't break any land speed records - but they had about 20 min. on us. We found the right turn off onto the dirt road & went 4 wheeling. I knew that they were not going to be going very fast in with a group. And we could see their dirt trail up ahead. We caught up to them, just as they were reaching the claim. So I guess, no harm no foul.
We left town at 6am. Traveling over the mountains into the desert is aways an interesting drive. I like getting out early. Less traffic & every now & then a spectacular sunrise. And on this trip we saw an eerie sunrise. It was foggy going over the Tehachapi Mountains. And the wisps of fog caused the rising sun to play peek-a-boo thru the different layers. I wish I had stopped & taken a picture, but with the truck traffic it would not have been very safe - so we drove on.
We were traveling to Ridgecrest. Where the Indian Wells Valley Gem and Mineral Society was having their annual show. It was there that we were supposed to meet up & be guided to Rainbow Ledge. The Indian Wells club owns the claim on this area & non members are only allowed to collect at certain times. This was going to be our first time there, so we were excited to actually see the site.
Arriving early, we relaxed outside the show area until we saw people moving around. Once we got inside, we registered for the field trip & were told that the member running the trip would make an anouncement when we needed to gather to go. We checked out the offerings availble from the different vendors. The assortment was great & there were some pieces I would have loved to buy. But, things are too tight right now - so all I could do was look.
It seemed like it was getting pretty late & one of the vendors said that he thought that the trip should be going soon. We looked over at the clubs table & everything for the field trip was gone. We went over & asked & were told they already left! WHAT??? No one made any announcement - I guess the leader just met people outside & thought he had everyone. Luckly, we were able to scramble some directions from some other club members & off we went.
Now, we didn't break any land speed records - but they had about 20 min. on us. We found the right turn off onto the dirt road & went 4 wheeling. I knew that they were not going to be going very fast in with a group. And we could see their dirt trail up ahead. We caught up to them, just as they were reaching the claim. So I guess, no harm no foul.
Up The Hill
Now, I have been to plenty of rock collecting sites. And while many are on flat land, it seems that the best stone is almost always up a mountain or a canyon. And you just have to work your way up to find the best pieces. Rainbow Ledge is that kind of place.
A Long Way To The Top
The weather was perfect. Nice & sunny, with just the slightest breeze. Now, if I could just find the right rocks! My helper on this trip was my youngest, Andy. He was just looking to get out of town for the day, HA. At first he was grumbling about the climbing to get to the rock - but after a while he was enjoying himself. And it was alot easier with him to help carry stuff back to the truck.
"There's got to be some good rocks here."
As you climbed closer to the top, the rock rubble became more of a challenge. And you didn't want to fall on this stuff. It was sharp!
Rock & Stone everywhere
But, the real work was finding good quality pieces with solid structure, not all fractured up. And nice color combos. You couldn't just pickup anything, you really had to look.
The Top!
Andy made it to the top of the mountain. By time to go - I was still not there. No loss, we still brought home lots of pretties. I would have stayed another couple of hours but the field trip leader wanted to get us all out of there...... All in all, it was a great day.
What did we bring home?
And some closeups.......
YUMMY!
My saw will be humming for quite a while of these beauties.....
Remember, ThePolishedPebble.com for your Gemstone Cabochons
Friday, November 6, 2009
Rockhounding trip this weekend!!!!..........The Polished Pebble
We have been keeping our noses to the grindstone here recently. Trying to get stuff cleaned up & put up. And that has left little time for anything other that slabbing stone since I can do that while I work on something else. Also, since the time change - it gets dark way too early.
But Sunday we are making a trip to Ridgecrest for the Indian Wells Valley Gem and Mineral Society's 54th Show. They also have a field trip to their CLAIMED site - "Rainbow Ledge", also known as Rainbow Ridge. The always beautiful & varied jasper & agate by the same name. This is the only time the club allows non members to collect since someone went in there & made a mess with machinery & explosives. That incident nearly cost the club their claim. So now it is closed to other collectors except for this yearly trip.
I have a couple of pieces from the area, but they are pretty fractured. I can work around the fractures for some nice cabs, but I am really excited about not only getting some primo rough. I really want to see the location & maybe some other areas that might just produce some different agate or jasper designs.
An added plus is just getting out. I love to get out a see other places & be able to do some checking of areas around know locations. Sometimes it pays off, others not so much. But hey - the hunt can be just as much fun as finding. Plus, it is not too far from home. If we do find something of interest.
It will be a long day & I plan on taking lots of pictures. Mondays post should be very interesting. Remember to check back.
Your outlet for Designer Gemstone Cabochons - ThePolishedPebble.com
But Sunday we are making a trip to Ridgecrest for the Indian Wells Valley Gem and Mineral Society's 54th Show. They also have a field trip to their CLAIMED site - "Rainbow Ledge", also known as Rainbow Ridge. The always beautiful & varied jasper & agate by the same name. This is the only time the club allows non members to collect since someone went in there & made a mess with machinery & explosives. That incident nearly cost the club their claim. So now it is closed to other collectors except for this yearly trip.
I have a couple of pieces from the area, but they are pretty fractured. I can work around the fractures for some nice cabs, but I am really excited about not only getting some primo rough. I really want to see the location & maybe some other areas that might just produce some different agate or jasper designs.
An added plus is just getting out. I love to get out a see other places & be able to do some checking of areas around know locations. Sometimes it pays off, others not so much. But hey - the hunt can be just as much fun as finding. Plus, it is not too far from home. If we do find something of interest.
It will be a long day & I plan on taking lots of pictures. Mondays post should be very interesting. Remember to check back.
Your outlet for Designer Gemstone Cabochons - ThePolishedPebble.com
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Jade, JADE & more JaDe The Polished Pebble
We have been working on adding more cabochons to the website - ThePolishedPebble.com and one of the finished cabs is Golden Rain Jade . We had gotten this gemstone rough from a longtime friend who's parents once owned a rock shop (here in Bakersfield) & a jade mine in the mountains above Fremont, CA.
The story goes, that there were many grades & different types of jade in this claim area. Some had black, feather like dendrites. Some had white inclusions, and most was beautiful gemmy green jade. Different shades where throughout the mine area.
But there was one inclusion that brought a premium price. That was the jade that had golden tendrils through it. It was called Golden Rain Jade. Sadly, I don't know the reasoning behind the popularity. I don't even know if our friends ever knew - there was one buyer that would pay a higher price than any of the others. Just so he would have all that was for sale.
Our friends sold tons of Jade from the late 1960's thru 1970's until there was a falling out with their partner that ultimatily lead to my friends losing their ownership of the mine. I don't know the statis of the mine at this time - but my friend thinks the new owner lost the claim many years ago.
When they were selling off their remaining stone I was able to get a few choice pieces. Some bigger than my saw can cut at this time. Many that are just waiting their turn.
The story goes, that there were many grades & different types of jade in this claim area. Some had black, feather like dendrites. Some had white inclusions, and most was beautiful gemmy green jade. Different shades where throughout the mine area.
But there was one inclusion that brought a premium price. That was the jade that had golden tendrils through it. It was called Golden Rain Jade. Sadly, I don't know the reasoning behind the popularity. I don't even know if our friends ever knew - there was one buyer that would pay a higher price than any of the others. Just so he would have all that was for sale.
Our friends sold tons of Jade from the late 1960's thru 1970's until there was a falling out with their partner that ultimatily lead to my friends losing their ownership of the mine. I don't know the statis of the mine at this time - but my friend thinks the new owner lost the claim many years ago.
When they were selling off their remaining stone I was able to get a few choice pieces. Some bigger than my saw can cut at this time. Many that are just waiting their turn.
Our friends were quite surprised when we uncovered this one piece of the Golden Rain Jade. They thought it had all been sold. I offered to let them keep it - but the declined. Too many rocks, not enough time & they were downsizing
That brings us to today. I had finally gotten around to slabing that piece & have one cabochon finished & listed on our website. It is a beauty, but that's what you would expect from Golden Rain Jade - right?
Don't forget to checkout the new Gemstone Cabochons on our website - The Polished Pebble your source for quality designer gemstone cabochons for your jewelry needs.
That brings us to today. I had finally gotten around to slabing that piece & have one cabochon finished & listed on our website. It is a beauty, but that's what you would expect from Golden Rain Jade - right?
Don't forget to checkout the new Gemstone Cabochons on our website - The Polished Pebble your source for quality designer gemstone cabochons for your jewelry needs.
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