Do you ever wonder where good ideas come from? Another wonder is how sidetracked one can get while going through stones looking for something specific for a project. All the sudden, an unknown period of time has lapsed and daydreaming a new project has commenced. Magically, two new stones are in my hand unrelated to the project I’m supposed to be on. Has this ever happened to you?
That very scenario recently went down as a fun little agatized, Miocene era Fossil Shell started a conversation with a petite Crystal Opal nugget on the jewelry bench. How would I ever have known that these star crossed lovers wanted to be together?
Demand they did. So I was compelled to try something I’ve not done before. I carved out the shape of the opal in the side of the the fossil shell to marry the two.
Diamond burs to carve. Nova Points to refine and pre-polish the shell and opal. 8,000 and 14,000 mesh diamond paste to bring up a mirror polish and the two have become one. It’s like a cameo of the ocean; ancient fossil life frozen in time and the ocean’s water frozen in a stone.
It’s always exciting to try something new. It’s just as exciting to create something with it right away! Instant gratification isn’t a bad thing when making jewelry, is it? It’s especially appealing to think of having found that fossil myself and collecting that Opal around 30 years ago!
I still don’t know where good ideas come from but I know that daydreaming at the jewelry bench with stones in hand is creatively beneficial. Do you like the cord or the chain better? I can’t wait to try another inlay. What should I do next? Stay tuned to see.
