Welcome to spring and to my April newsletter!

Barbara Kay Jewelry News

I had a good time at my first show of the year, on March 21 and 22. It was held in a nursery and the surroundings were beautiful: the fragrance of spring hyacinths wafted through the air, and the colors of primroses, daffodils and a myriad of other early bloomers were all around. The first day was pretty cold and VERY rainy (thankfully we were under cover), but the second day was a beautiful partly cloudy-partly sunny day with no rain. I enjoyed talking to people about my jewelry and felt it was a good start to spring and the year's events to come.

At this point, my 2025 events are:

May 10: La Center Arts Fair at Holley Park in La Center (1000 E. 4th St.). Open from 9 am to 4 pm. The little town of La Center is becoming an art haven; the La Center Arts Council offers workshops, has people creating murals in the town and are putting on this annual Arts Fair. It should be a lot of fun for everyone with lots of activities for kids!

August 1 - 3: Vancouver Arts and Music Festival. Esther Short Park, Vancouver, WA.

I have applied to participate in the Washougal Arts and Music Festival on August 9. This was a really fun event last year, so I'm hoping I will be there.

New Jewelry

Since many of you saw the beginnings of these pendants, I thought I'd share the finished pieces with you. I know some of you have seen them on social media (or possibly even at the recent show), but for those who haven't, here they are:

The top pendant features a Plume Agate doublet - the top layer of the stone is agate, while the bottom layer is glass with a metallic surface which gives the stone a gorgeous shimmery blue. It looked like an undersea coral garden, so that is what I created above the stone as well, using riveted and soldered layers of silver "coral" and bronze sea horses and fish.

The middle pendant features a Mushroom Jasper (of course!) and little bronze mice.

The bottom pendant celebrates the Year of the Snake. The stone is a lovely Agate with a druzy pocket; the snake is bronze and the framing leaves and grass are copper.

And now it's time to start a few new projects!!

Cuts and Shapes of Stones Used in Jewelry

Instead of focusing on a specific stone this month, I thought I'd describe some of the most common terms used in describing the way stones we use in jewelry are cut. At my recent show, I was surprised that many of the visitors I talked to did not know what the word "cabochon" referred to. I imagine that some of you do know the word, but others may not - as well as possibly some of the other terms I'll explain. Here we go!

Cabochon:

Semi-precious, opaque stones are usually cut as cabochons. A cabochon is designed and cut to be set against a piece of metal (back plate) with another strip of metal around it (bezel). Cabochons usually have a flat back and sides (girdle) that are slightly angled in as they go up as you can see in the picture below. This allows the bezel to be pushed against the stone to hold it in place without needing any type of adhesive.

Usually the top of the cabochon (dome) is gently rounded. Occasionally a cabochon will be made with a completely flat top or - especially in the case of more expensive precious gems - a very tall dome. And sometimes a lapidary artist will keep a natural surface on top rather than smoothing and polishing it, such as the green malachite cabochon in the top right of the group picture.

Cutting stones into cabochons has been done since the Middle Ages. This type of cut gives a smooth surface to really show off the wonderful patterns and color variations of these semi-precious gemstones. I use cabochons for most of my jewelry as I love featuring the stories that only patterned stones can really tell. Cabochons are generally set using a bezel, although other types of settings such as prongs and tabs can also be used.

Cabochons are mass produced in parts of the world such as China, India and Pakistan; these cabs are fairly inexpensive. I use these less expensive stones in some jewelry, but don't feature them in my special pieces. They work well in earrings since pairs are usually very uniform in size. On occasion I will feature stones that may be mass produced in smaller pendants that I can also sell more inexpensively. Most of these mass produced cabs are in traditional shapes: ovals, circles and possibly tear drops.

My favorite cabochons to use come directly from the lapidary artist. While lapidary artists do create them in traditional shapes, they also work more closely with the stone's patterns, colors and also imperfections, and will create shapes that compliment and accentuate the patterns. I love working with non-traditional shapes as that gives me more options for my own designs. And there is something special about knowing who cut and polished the stone that is going into a piece of jewelry.

Faceted Stones:

Gemstones that are transparent without any inclusions (minerals and other impurities inside the stone) are usually cut with facets. A facet is basically a flat side. Numerous flat sides or facets at different angles create the sparkle that we associate with gemstones like diamonds. These facets are designed to catch and reflect back light, creating sparkle, brilliance and fire. There are a number of faceting styles that are used depending on the stone and shape desired. Styles also come and go in popularity over time. Sometimes faceters create their own style depending on the effect they want to create, such as the larger smoky quartz in the back of the picture below.

Generally, faceted stones are cut into symmetrical shapes: round, oval, square, rectangle, marquis (an oval with pointed ends) and variations of these. You can see a variation in the rectangle above that has squared off corners. There are a few shapes made that are not symmetrical: various forms of triangles, hearts (the little amethyst above is in a heart shape), pear (tear drop shape) for example. And occasionally a faceter will have fun and create his or her own shape. Most of the less expensive stones are mass produced and cut by machine. The most expensive gemstones are still faceted by hand.

I don't use faceted stones nearly as much as I use cabochons, so I won't go into all of the cutting styles here. If you are interested in learning more about these, let me know - send me an email or reply to this newsletter - and I will focus on that in a future newsletter.

The three main parts of a faceted stone are the girdle, which is an unfaceted band going around the stone. Above the girdle is the crown and below the girdle is the pavilion. Usually there is one facet at the top of the crown called the table. The pavilion ends in a point called the culet.

The stone is designed to be set with the culet down, and the table at the top. I've seen people set faceted stones with the culet on top; this gives the bottom a flat surface (the table) that allows for bezel setting. I haven't tried this although I may do it one of these days with an oval or rectangular stone just for fun!

Faceted stones are generally set using prongs, although there are other setting possibilities. Prongs let a lot of light in, adding to the glitter of the facets. Faceted stones can also be set with a bezel, but additional steps have to be taken due to the pointed pavilion. I often use what is called a tube setting. This looks similar to a bezel, but is a thicker walled piece of tubing that has a "seat" ground into it at the top. The stone is set into the tube so the bottom of the girdle rests on the seat, and the edges of the tube are pushed slightly over the stone to hold it in place. This type of setting works best with round stones, although there are oval tubes as well. The faceted peridot stones on these earrings are tube set.

Rose cut:

A rose cut stone is somewhere between a standard faceted stone and a cabochon. It has a flat base so it can be set against a back plate with a bezel. The top is gently faceted. Labradorite and moonstone are sometimes cut this way to enhance or even create more flash. It is a way to give opaque semi-precious stones a bit more glitter, although not nearly as much as actual faceting does.

Expensive gemstones such as diamonds can also be rose cut. It is an older style of cutting diamonds and other gemstones that is apparently coming back into popularity.

A true rose cut, such as that used with translucent precious gemstones, has triangular facets that circle around the middle with the points meeting in the center. This gives the appearance of a rose as seen from the top. As you can see in the picture above, these less expensive stones are cut with simple square or diamond shaped facets and are likely done with a machine. I don't use these often, but sometimes they are fun as an accent to another stone - or possibly in earrings since they add a subtle glimmer that smooth cabochons might not offer.

Next Month: I plan to explore the glorious Lapis Lazuli as next month's Featured Stone. If there are specific types of stones you'd like me to feature in future newsletters, please send me a quick email or response to this newsletter! I would love to hear from you!

Projects started: These are the stones I'm working on right now; I hope to have them all finished for the May La Center show. These will be fairly simple pieces: rings, earrings, pendants and a few cuffs. If you're local, come see me and them!

I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think, and what you’d like to see in future newsletters.