[Jewelry making - Article 00921] - Re: [Orchid] Helenite

[Jim Laymon]

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    Hello, I am Jim Laymon of Earth Gems of Arkansas and a new member.  I
    don't mean to sound like I'm correcting a statement, but I use alot
    of Helenite purchased from a cutter here in the US.  There are alot
    of gemstones out there made of "ash" melted down and dyed.  However,
    the helenite I use isn't that at all.  It's the obsidian belched
    forth by Mt. St. Helens, recovered, and through a process known
    pretty much only to its developer, re-worked through a melting,
    cleaning, and dying process that is permanent.  Be careful out there
    that you aren't getting melted ash, it isn't the same as the
    re-processed obsidian.  The ones I use are bright and flashy, much
    the same as spesserite garnet and topaz.  There are available several
    colors, green being the most available.  I've seen and used red,
    orange (padparadscha) color, teal blue, and an emerald green.  Very
    nice stones!  I make alot of silver jewelry, and helenite is an
    economical way to produce unique jewelry at an affordable price.  It
    is the only gemstone created in the 20th century, so it has some
    historical significance.  We all know the market will bear just "so
    much" in the world of silver. 

    My stone suppler has bought all the slabs left from the developer's
    estate (he's deceased), and is marketing cut gemstones of very nice
    quality.  As we all know in this time of technology, no doubt,
    someone else will or already has, developed a process for the
    reworking of obsidian, and will market the same.  Of course, the
    purity of the name helenite will be somewhat diluted as others
    market obsidian recovered from other locations around the world. 
    There is without a doubt quite a substantial investment in the
    equipment for processing this material, and there isn't a "high
    dollar" market for the product, so it will take someone willing to
    spend the cash in order to proceed with re-processing of average
    obsidian.  (just a common sense approach to the thought) 

Have a super day!  Would like to hear from you.
Jim Laymon
Earth Gems of Arkansas
willowok AT cswnet.com    

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