Components

*Rocky Butte Picture Jasper from The Gem Shop
*Unakite heart, Rhyolite beads
*Sterling setting, handmade chain, feather, lobster clasp
*Signed, numbered, dated

Length:  9.5" (24 cm)
Centerpiece: 1.75" x 1.5" (4.5 cm x 4 cm)
Weight: 1.1 oz (32 gm)

Item #702 - $398

Playful Creature Bracelet

Playful Creature Bracelet
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Rocky Butte Jasper is a "picture jasper" and this centerpiece outdoes itself! I see a playful creature on a hill crouched like he's expecting me to toss the ball, also a flower and a hummingbird. You are more than welcome to see anything you'd like in it! Dorion Sagan's curious essay/poem/song in Within the Stone (below) offers many perspectives on a related Owyhee Jasper, "Here was the part where we looked at Io from the surface of Jupiter, saw the stream of rust where they poured liquid into the shiny mold of new cars, Jasper was our dog,..." Those remarks could refer to this very stone!

Rocky Butte is a location in the Owyhee region of Oregon. The picture jaspers of this area warrant an entire book, Hans Gamma has obliged with two books with gorgeous selections of these stones (below). He says that a wide variety of geological processes produce these unique pictures and notes that the Rocky Butte stones were influenced by nearby hot springs and the veins "disappeared vertically into the ground." Zenz notes, "the patterns... sometimes look like reflections of the actual landscape." I was amused when I read this because moments before I had spent an embarrassingly long time looking at a photo in Gamma's book thinking what a beautiful stone it was only to eventually realize it was actually a photo of the mine area.

Getting the most out of these jaspers requires good luck and experience which Philip Stephenson is kind enough to share. Here's a fascinating early video of his (you will find many more on YouTube) showing how completely different patterns develop depending upon which way you slab a piece of Owyhee Jasper.

I used the lobster clasp because it is very secure. However some people find it a bit of a challenge to hook. I include a fabulous little tool called the "Hooker" which enables you to hold the bracelet easily and securely while hooking it (and as a bonus can help with buttons and zippers). If you find it too cumbersome I'm happy to change it to a toggle for you.

You will see from the measurements that the hand-made chain is quite long. I do this in part to insure it will fit virtually everyone. Personally I like having the excess chain and the charms dangle, but if you'd like for me to shorten it just let me know.

This bracelet is fun to wear, the subject matter is amusing, the soft colors of the stones go with almost everything, and the dangle reminds one to be here now. Maybe you would enjoy wearing it?