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"Morrisonite "The King of Jaspers" by Philip Stephenson

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The word lapidary is derived from the lapis or stone and means "of or pertaining to stones" or "one who cuts and polishes Stones". Not all stones are worthy of cutting and polishing and although all can be cut by one method or another the lapidary is concerned only with those stones that are capable of being polished.

Essentially the lapidary process is one of shaping the material with a coarse grinding wheel or disc; then regrinding to obtain a smoother surface until a glossy surface is obtained. The polishing operation is done with various mineral oxides. Some compounds work well on one kind of stone while other compounds work on other kinds of stones. Tumbling is lapidary treatment given to irregularly shaped stones by a mechanical process of continuous agitation or "tumbling" of the stones with a series of coarse to fine grits usually with water and culminating with the polishing of the baroque shapes. Tumble stones are inexpensive and are used in simple jewelry, as "feely" stones and for making novelty items such as key chains and "critters".

Among the many other types of treatment given gem materials the beginner usually learns first how to cut and polish a cabochon. The cabochon or for short "the cab" is a gem with a flat back, rounded or domed top. It can be round, square, rectangular, or oval in outline. Colored, opaque or patterned stone or stones displaying some interesting phenomena are usually cut as cabs. Jade, petrified wood, agate, and opal are examples of stones that are usually cut "en cabochon".

Transparent colored or colorless gems are most frequently faceted. This is characterized by a number of flat polished surfaces arranged in such a way that the stone reflects light which enters the stone through the polished surfaces, back to the viewer in hundreds of sparkles. The reflections may be colored as in a colored stone, white as in a clear stone, or in many hues as in a diamond or rutile. The rainbow colors are caused by light being broken up into its component colors within the stone.

Other lapidary treatments could be carving, flat surfaces assembled pieces or spheres.

Welcome To Our Lapidary / Gemstone Forum !

To take a beautiful gemstone and design a piece that someone will love is a driving force behind each jewelry design. As lapidaries we certainly understand how semiprecious gemstones can stand alone as a work of art. Then the jewelry designer takes it to the next level because of an ability to make a statement by combining both the gemstone and jewelry piece, no matter how simple the design may be.

Each piece will appeal to a certain unique personality. Whether you are looking for a gemstone jewelry design as a necklace, bracelet, choker, or pair of earrings. If you have a suggestion or design idea in mind that you do not see here, Myself or other members of this site would love to design a stone for you.

Any gemstone jewelry designer will say that designing new gemstone jewelry pieces is a real passion. This being said, we certainly encourage jewelry designers to register, join and sharel that passion within our forum. One-of-a-kind, handmade, gemstone jewelry is exactly what we really enjoy seeing displayed here within the Lapidary / Gemstone Community forum.

Please be sure to visit TaoGem as new gemstones that are unique to jewelry design are added frequently. If you have special requests for gemstone specifications, mineral type etc., please contact me for further details.

The Bead was probably the first gemstone cut used by man, dating back several thousand years. Limited by the tools available at the time, as well as the hardness of most gemstones, the simple bead or 'cabochon' were the logical choice for jewelry making and ornamentation. Stones where shaped by rubbing them with other stones, then polished using 'sand' as an abrasive.

Intricately carved cabochon cuts known as 'Glyptic' gem carvings, date back to the 7th millennium BC, and were popularized throughout ancient Egypt (scarabs), Indus Valley, and China (carved jade).

Engraved 'Glyptic' gems were used as personal signets or seal-stones which could be impressed into wax or clay to create a signature. The examples above are of early Roman gemstone cuts using the pre-renaissance cabochon cut with several variations of cameo and intaglio styles.

Medieval Lapidary Techniques

A "lapidary" (edelsteinschneider) is an artisan who works with stone, minerals, or gemstones, forming them into decorative or functional objects. The term "lapidary" is derived from the word lapidaries, which were medieval 'treatises' on alchemy, mineralogy, chemistry and other sciences.

Perhaps the best documentarian on the subject of medieval gem-cutting was Theophilus Presbyter (c.1070 - 1125), a Benedictine monk with a fascination for the applied arts. In Theophilus' 'On Divers Arts' De diversibus artibus (c.1125), his treatises on the polishing of gemstones goes into great detail in describing various techniques. For the polishing of "onyx, beryl, smaragdus (emerald), jasper, chalcedony, and the other precious stones" you would make a very fine powder from "fragments of crystal" or "emery" and then work the stone on a "smooth flat limewood board, wet with saliva."

Theophilus also describes the method for using a 'dop stick' by attaching the gemstone to a "long piece of wood of comparable thickness" using "chaser's pitch," then rubbing the stone on a wet "piece of hard sandstone," and decreasing the grit of the abrasive until the stone "becomes brilliant." Then, using "tile dust moistened with saliva on a goat skin," you would rub the stone until it is "completely clear."

To create intricately carved cabochons, cameos, and intaglios (photo above) out of sapphire, early Roman engravers may have used 'adamas' (diamond) fragments as carving tools, given that they are the only material that is harder than corundum.

The Cabochon

A cabochon (cabouchon) is a gemstone which has been rubbed and polished into a simple rounded shape, as opposed to a facetted cut. Up until the 1400s, gem cutters were constrained to cabochon style cuts and odd asymmetrically faceted cuts due to the limited technology at hand. The resulting shape has a convex top with a flat or concave back. The term cabochon is used to describe any gemstone cut shape that is not facetted.

When a gemstone is cut en cabochon, the miniscule amount of light that is able to enter, and exit through the stone is due primarily to its crystalline structure and optical properties, and has little to do with the gem-cutter's expertise.

Rare Rocks and Gems

Philip Stephenson has been a Rock hound for over 40 years. Born and raised in Michigan he started out collecting fossils. At age 8 his father took him on trips down to Silica, OH to the Limestone pits and collected Phacops trilobites back in the days when the public and Rock hounds were welcome.
He does what he loves most and and makes a good living that pays the bills.
You might know his old Web Site: TigerOakAntiques.com. He had been told by many collectors and old Morrisonite claim owners that he has one, if not the best collections of Morrisonite in the World. Recently he changed his web site name to RareRocksAndGems.com at urging of his customers to better reflect what he sells.
I think you will agree that his Morrisonite is the King of Jaspers! Philip had some of his collection pieces in the May 2008 issue of Rock and Gem Magazine.

See some of his Morrisonite items here.

When I am not busy with work and my two little boys, you will find me playing with my wires, gemstones, beads and pliers. I have been twisting and bending wires into interestingly unique and wearable jewelry for a bit more than two years now. I must admit I am addicted to wires, stones and pliers. I am into all kind of wire wrapping that I can master :) Making them and knowing people appreciate them gave me so much bliss, joy and pleasure. In this blog I share with you some of the wire wrapped jewelry that I manage to produce so far. Hope it will be a source of inspiration to my readers. If you are interested in some of the pretties, I can reproduce. Drop me a line or comment. Contact Mei

Wire Bliss

Welcome to TaoGem's Blog !

A large selection of free form designer gemstone cabochons cut from a variety of unique minerals. Special attention given towards cabochon designing for the purpose of bezel type settings. Most all cabs have nice beveling.

Of course, be sure to check what is presently available in the store inventory too!