Wrapping Raw Gem Stones
by Carol Burton.
(Temple City, CA)
Arogonite Clusters Crystal Wire Wrapped in Solid Copper
I love raw gem stones! There is something exciting about picking up a natural stone, looking at it closely, and deciding where I want to put the free form wire wrapping.
I usually wire wrap in sterling silver or copper wire.
I use both square and half round wire, with sometimes twisting the square wire.
The idea of wrapping gem stones, for me, is to make it simple, yet decorative, so the wrapping doesn’t cover too much of the stone.
I love doing custom orders!
Picture #1 is a pendant I created for a woman who provided me with three stones: Kyanite, Chalcedony and a Herkimer Diamond:
Custom Wire Wrapped Gem Stones Pendant
I wrapped this pendant with her input as to the order of the stones.
I considered all her preferences for the pendant.
She loved the way it came out!
It made me feel good to make her happy.
Picture #2 is a raw tourmaline stone, showing the pink, green and creme colors:
Wire Wrapped Raw Tourmaline
I like to put one or two beads at the top of a wrapped stone to decorate it, along with a couple of spirals.
The green and pink bead at the top is Ruby Zoisite, which coordinates with the colors of the Tourmaline stone.
Picture #3 is a Peach Quartz crystal wrapped in sterling silver with a Carnelian chain:
Wire Wrapped Peach Quartz in Sterling Silver
That stone was fun to wrap, and I think the Carnelian chain enhances the colors of the Peach Quartz.
Picture #4 shows an Arogonite stone wrapped in copper with a copper chain:
Arogonite Clusters Crystal Wire Wrapped in Solid Copper
Arogonite is a fascinating stone with its crystal columns jutting out in many directions.
I travel to many places to hand pick the stones that I wire wrap, such as Northern and Southern CA, Utah, and Tucson, AZ.
I go to several bead and rock shows each year.
I plan to go to Tucson in January for the Tucson Gem and Mineral shows.
I’m looking forward to hand picking many beautiful, natural stones, from several of the 40 shows they have there.
I will enjoy wire wrapping my choices of raw gem stones to make lovely pendants.
I have truly found my bliss!
Carol Burton
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