museums

Danielle · October 24, 2013

So it occurs to me that I’ve only posted five times this year. No good excuse for that, really. Is anyone still reading? [crickets]

I can’t seem to find a theme I like, my topics bounce around… well, let’s face it, I’d rather fiddle with the stylesheet than write a post. I like thinking about writing posts, but no posts actually get written. I still like posting jewelry pictures though, so my Pinterest boards are reasonably active. I’ve started two “visual archive” type blogs, on ancient and antique jewelry, as a sort of miniature, self-hosted Pinterest. (For a few reasons. Read about them here.)

Since last we met, I took a wonderful class on carving wax models for casting (which I didn’t blog about), and have had the past two months off my jewelry lessons, as my teacher was on the road (nothing to blog about.) I have finished a few more stone boxes for Gem Ident (blog-worthy), and have a goal to be done with the boxes by early January (highly blog-worthy, should it occur as scheduled.) I have my eye on several museum exhibition catalogs, as there’s a lot of amazing jewelry exhibits on, mostly in places I’m unable to visit (questionably blog-worthy?)

I expect to start making jewelry pieces for sale this fall/winter, once I have access to a workshop again. I am taking commissions on a very limited basis (limited by time — I have very little of it.) For now, I work in sterling silver, with the loveliest stones I can get my hands on. I really need to revive my Etsy and list my resin pieces there, if there’s interest. (Hint: comment if interested.)

A note for subscribers: I have changed the subscribe-to-posts email service, so if you got two of these emailed to you, please keep the MailChimp one and unsubscribe from the other one. (The new one has a pretty amethyst graphic at the top.) If you only got the WordPress one, please unsubscribe, and fill in the form again here on the site to get on the new list. Finally, if you got this blog post and aren’t sure why, you joined a mailing list for my jewelry business, and I have combined two lists into one. (I promise not to post so often as to be annoying, but if this isn’t what you want to read, please feel free to unsubscribe.)

Danielle · February 29, 2012

I never did tell you about my first trip to Carlsbad, so now you get a two-for-one blog post about both trips. That’s three, three, THREE LABS in one!

So first, let me show you around.

The first thing I noticed when I got to GIA Carlsbad — because it’s quite sparkly in the morning light — is the campus “bell tower”. (I don’t know what it’s actually supposed to be, it just reminds me of a bell tower.) Instead of a bell, there’s a rotating figure of a diamond crystal, strung with Swarovski crystals, surrounding a silvery faceted “diamond”. Out front, there’s a life-size statue of gemologist and founder, Richard Liddicoat. You can see me befriending Mr. Liddicoat here.

GIA's "back yard", a beautiful common area for hanging out, eating lunch, etc

GIA Carlsbad campus, looking toward the sea

The building is airy and bright inside, with a library, museum, cafe and lobby in front, classrooms in the middle (upstairs and downstairs), and a large student common room in the back, open to the second story. There’s lots of room to relax, get snacks, play ping-pong, and walk around.

If you need a breath of fresh air, there’s a large outdoor patio and lawn, with plenty of places to sit and eat lunch, and superb views of the sea. GIA overlooks The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, so I’d imagine the view is even more dramatic, once spring arrives! (Which looks to be about now; The Flower Fields open on Thursday. Did I mention we had a massive snowstorm last night, in the frozen north? I don’t think I did.)

Water Opal, 10.35 carats, part of the Dr. E. Gübelin collection at GIA Carlsbad — Water Opal, 10.35 carats

Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of gemstones and jewelry on display, and I spent most of my free time enjoying it. I admit, mostly I was glued to one particular display case (in the student common room), featuring stones from the Dr. Eduard Gübelin collection. Dr. Gübelin was a prominent gemologist who had an unbelievable personal collection of stones, of which the water opal to your left is but one.

One that stood out to me (no decent photo, sorry) was a 13.23 carat taaffeite, a lovely pinkish-purple stone, one of the rarest gemstones in the world. There’s also a gorgeous alexandrite that I desperately wanted to see change color — GIA should install some sort of push-button light-switching device, like an interactive museum display. Make it happen, GIA. I want to push that button!

But what you really want to hear about ~~maybe~~ is my lab experiences.

I took Colored Stone Grading and Pearl Grading in November, and Gem Identification at the end of January. They were all a blast; my favorite by far was Gem Ident. It was definitely the most challenging, but I loved using the equipment and figuring out what a stone was (and what it was not). This will sound super-nerdy, but I love my lab manual. It is a magical, wonderful tome of gemstone-demystifying.

I enjoyed Pearl Grading — or maybe I should say, I thoroughly enjoyed the pearls; I found the grading pretty difficult. It was marvelous to see and handle green and grey Tahitian pearls, golden South Sea pearls, pastel Chinese freshwater pearls… I graded a bright golden South Sea pearl shaped like an acorn, with beautiful pink and green overtones and excellent luster. (Golden and shiny!) I had a hard time determining body color (base/background color), versus overtone (an overlay of secondary color), versus orient (multiple overtones.) Is it green, with a pink overtone… or is it gray, with pink and green orient? I salute the experts in this field. (I am not one of them.)

I spent my time in Colored Stone Grading looking at as many different species of stones as possible. The more, the merrier! I partook in much “microscope therapy”, as one of my wonderful instructors put it, and got lost in the jardin of emerald inclusions. (Jardin is French for “garden”, and it’s an apt description of what you see when you look at an emerald under magnification. Marvelous stuff.)

After microscope therapy, I promptly mis-graded the clarity of my emerald, having been overwhelmed by SO MANY INCLUSIONS. The grading system changes based on the type of stone, for each grade; an emerald could never have Excellent clarity if it were compared to, say, an aquamarine. Emeralds are almost always included; aquamarines are frequently water-clear. My emerald was Excellent; I think I graded it a Fair. Oops.

Gem Ident left the biggest impression on me, because it was amazing. While I have a lot of learning and practicing to do, I’m astounded that I can actually determine what a stone is (most likely.) I can’t wait to get my own set of equipment and start identifying things I have on hand. It’s so exciting!

Danielle · November 9, 2011

Danielle is a Roxy Ann now! — Shiny new membership

Ever since I was in a stroller, I’ve been going to the Roxy Ann Gem & Mineral Society‘s annual rock show in Medford, Oregon. (My dad pointed this fact out to me, at this year’s show.) Based in Central Point, Oregon, the Society operates the Crater Rock Museum with a terrific collection of minerals, lapidary arts, Oregon thundereggs, arrowheads and more. They also have a large workshop and offer classes in cabochon-making (“cabbing”) and silversmithing, both of which I’m interested in exploring. Right now I’m in love with all aspects of the gemstone and jewelry industry, and my interest could carry me in several directions. I’m trying to explore as many different avenues as I can, while I’m still “in school” and at leisure to weigh my options.

Third-largest rhodochrosite crystal in the world, right here in Central Point! — Colossal rhodochrosite!

I joined the Roxy Anns yesterday, my first “rockhound club” — I’m happy to support their activities, and I get access to their workshop and other benefits out of the deal. I was given a tour of the facilities and museum by a volunteer named Jack, who teaches knapping (arrowhead-making, etc); some of this work was on display, all of it lovely. The museum has some gorgeous mineral specimens, most notably (to me) the one seen to your left. Rhodochrosite is a beautiful red/pink mineral that is quite rare in large, crystalline form. The largest and best specimens come from the Sweet Home Mine in Alma, Colorado, and are treasured by the finest museums in the world. Needless to say, I was surprised to see that, not only does Crater Rock Museum have one, it is the third largest rhodochrosite crystal IN THE WORLD. Yes. Third-largest. Right here in southern Oregon! Go see it, you’ll pay no more than $4. Seriously.

I had a great time at the museum yesterday, and made some new rockhound friends. Speaking of rockhounds, below is what was stapled to the front of my membership packet. My question is, are there higher rankings for how fast you lose them? Because if not, there should be!

Turning over a new… facet?

Two Trips to GIA Carlsbad

Joining the Roxy Anns

My Other Jewelry Blog

Favorite Haunts