The Herkimer Diamond. That's what I discovered on this year's trip to the Nova Scotia Gem and Mineral show at Parrsboro. Good thing I didn't skip the show this year :D. I love these beautiful pieces of clear quartz. There was a couple from Ontario selling them ; I bought 3 B grade crystals and upon arrival home, set out to wrap my favorite in sterling silver. Didn't measure anything, so I really don't know how much wire I used, although I can guesstimate about 10-12 inches of 20ga, and 1 1/2 - 2 ft of 24ga. You'll notice there are no prongs or wraps across the frame holding the stone, it's held in place pretty much just from the tension of the frame, although some of the edges are wedged in the groove created by wrapped wires. This was my first time doing the woven bale, and I'm not terribly thrilled with how I anchored it at the back. I had these tails to deal with, so I tried to make them into decorative bits. They were okay, but not great. Turns out I should have left them that way. Instead I tried to improve the curve, and a wire broke just above one of the twists that holds the frame together. The frame itself still is taught, but the bale is now a bit unstable :(. Not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. Good thing this one was for myself. The pendant is about an inch and a quarter long.
Other bits picked up at the show include a rectangular, faceted bit of rutilated quartz, a rounded-corner cube of pyrite (also just for me), a strand of pyrite beads and a strand of bronzite beads. Guess I'm into the "-ites" this year.
note: you can find the couple selling the Herkimer Diamonds at www.herkimerdiamonds.ca
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