Bitter Brook Cabochons New Cabochons Feed

Added May 6

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Rhodonite
Gloria at Wire Treasures says this is the best-looking piece of Rhodonite she's seen, so I cabbed it for her. She's going to wrap it into a pendant.
$18.00

Mook Jasper
Here's a cute little Mook Jasper cabochon; it will make a nice pendant!
$8.00

Agate
Here's a small Agate cabochon rescued from a basket of unfinished cabs from another lapidary. Soft Amber color. In the dark portion there are a couple of dark features that go against the patterns; one is on the right edge, the other is at the bottom of the light reflection at lower right.
$8.00

Owyhee Jasper
Here's an eentsy-weentsy freeform Old Owyhee Jasper cabochon with bright clear patterns and a rakish cut. Gloria at Wire Treasures is going to transform this cab into a pendant
$12.00

Picture Dolomite
Here's another one-of-a-kind (in my stash) specimen. It's called Picture Dolomite, and I found this singular slab on my last trip to Quartzsite. Kinda soft, but took a nice shine. Gloria at Wire Treasures is going to transform this cab into a pendant
$20.00

Petrified Wood
I bought a bag-full of Petrified Wood slabs at Franklin last year, with every piece different from the rest! Petrified Wood is such a fun material, with many different appearances! This one is very colorful. Gloria at Wire Treasures is going to transform this cab into a pendant.
$19.00

Mook Jasper
OOF! Here's a hunka-hunka big Mook Jasper! I had this specimen with a pattern that lent itself to this windy-raindrop cut. Mostly whitish with touches of yellow, and a dark red slash through the middle. Very nice!
$45.00

Red Agate
This cab used to be a 30x40 oval that was crying for a shape change operation. Orange Red Agate; you'd think they would call it just plain Orange Agate. A mystery of life! Gloria at Wire Treasures is going to transform this cab into a pendant.
$10.00

Forest Green Plume
This cabochon wanted to be larger, but the slab was too small! So I left the feathery edge open for a unique "look." I have only a tiny amount of this Forest Green Plume, so you'll only see one more cabochon here cut from this material. Gloria at Wire Treasures is going to transform this cab into a pendant
$20.00

Rutilated Quartz
This dainty Rutilated Quartz cabochon has lots of Rutile, with an inclusion at lower right. Sweet!
$20.00

Amethyst
This fat piece of Amethyst was probably chiseled out of an Amethyst cathedral. I'll take another photo so you can see the even purple coloring throughout.
$22.00

Rutilated Quartz
This is a choice Rutilated Quartz cabochon! Plenty of Rutile front & center, with only the most minor of cloudy inclusion across the top. One of my favorites!
$32.00

Rutilated Quartz
This Rutilated Quartz cabochon has a small group of bold Rutile at the forefront with smaller bundles on the right. Cab has a rounded girdle.
$14.00

Added May 4

Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Rainbow Cal Silica
BIG Rainbow Cal Silica cabochon! Nice colors and patterns. Yeah, I know most people think it's man-made, but so what? It's gorgeous stuff, very popular, too.
$40.00

Spiderweb Jasper
This little Spiderweb Jasper cabochon has little patterns that "fit" perfectly. Great coloring, great polish. A very nice little cab!
$18.00

Brookwood Stone
This rock was gathered just a few miles from home. It's known locally, along with other rock found in the spillings of coal mines, as "Brookwood Stone." This one appears to be mostly Quartz, and 100% beautiful!
$15.00

Lace Agate
Unusual patterns in this Lace Agate cab! The lace in this one almost disappears in the short distance between the front and back of the cabochon. But the lace all fits on the front of the cab and looks terrific!
$25.00

Added April 27

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Porcelain Jasper
Here's a small Porcelain Jasper cabochon that was cut from the same slab as PRJ008. It even has a similar, but much smaller, healed fracture down the right side.
$12.00

Fordite
I decided to start cutting my limited supply of Fordite again. This is gorgeous stuff and getting more expensive every day. This cab reminds me of an abstract crosseyed cat. No, I haven't been drinking. Or... other stuff...
$40.00

Ocean Jasper
Luna Agate or Ocean Jasper, I'm still not sure! But this freeform cabochon sure is a looker! It has light gray & purple patterns that are translucent in places. There is a chip on the left edge, actually an orb that fell out; it's toward the bottom of the gray lacy part on the left and is not visible from the front of the cab. Gloria made me keep this one...
This cabochon is in my personal collection; it is not for sale.

Indian Paint Stone
This material looks so cool when it's slabbed! Different colors, wild patterns... But cutting it makes me suicidal! It's SO soft and difficult to smooth out. And it wouldn't take a polish for me. So I gave up and applied some glaze to it so it would at least have a life as a display cabochon. I do not recommend wire wrapping or setting this one, as the glaze will probably flake off under stress.
$10.00

Porcelain Jasper
This very cool piece of Porcelain Jasper apparently had a prehistoric fracture which healed; see the line across the right side of the cab with obviously "slipped" plates on either side. NEAT! This would be a great collector cabochon.
$25.00

Butterfly Wing Jasper
This very interesting oval cut Butterfly Wing Jasper has lots of contrast, with a large brownish translucent area on the right side. You can imagine a small "island" on the right side inthe brown sea (looks better than it sounds). Very pretty!
$39.00

Added April 23

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Lace Agate
Awesome pinks and reds in this projectile-cut Red Lace Agate cabochon! Cabochons don't get much better than this one; this is an incredible specimen. I cut into a small drusy pit about halfway across the right side; if you look closely at the photo, you'll just see it.
$40.00

Lace Agate
GASP! This is one of the most awesome looking chunks of Lace Agate I've ever seen! It's a gigantic piece of lace and Drusy, cut in a bold projectile shape. The huge Drusy canyon is open only at the top and bottom (the darker-appearing areas). This cab's so pretty, you'll want to slap your Granny!
$50.00

Butterfly Wing Jasper
Here's a colorful oval of Butterfly Wing Jasper. It has the little wing designs and a cracked-glass pattern at lower left, with a dark red matrix separating the two areas. A super cabochon!
$38.00

Lace Agate
Red Lace Agate, the prettiest of all Lace Agates! This egg-cut cabochon has a myriad of lace patterns, all red and gorgeous!
$29.00

Ocean Jasper
Soft green Ocean Jasper with red streaks and the remnants of two orbs on the bottom half. I could have ground the cab down some more and eliminated the orbs, but I thought they looked sort of cool. The bright photographer's light makes the large orb stand out more than it does in person.
$22.00

Confederate (Brierfield) Slag
Straight from the Confederate iron forges of the US Civil War, this cabochon was cut from a piece of Confederate Slag. This slag was collected from the ruins of the Brierfield Iron Works near Birmingham; a product of the Confederate war effort before the iron works were destroyed by the Federal Tenth Missouri Cavalry on March 31, 1865. It has a spattering of small air pockets on the lighter bottom of the cabochon. Gloria at Wire Treasures wire wrapped this cab into a pendant; you can see it here!
$10.00

Morrisonite
This reddish piece of Morrisonite reminds me of a kid's finger painting (if you remember finger paint, you are as old as I am!). Color fades to black at the very bottom. A nice example!
$29.00

Brookwood Stone
This rock was gathered just a few miles from home. It's known locally, along with other rock found in the spillings of coal mines, as "Brookwood Stone." This button cabochon appears to be mostly Quartz with some golden colored inclusions. Cute as a button...
$11.00

Added April 19

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Butterfly Wing Jasper
Here's a diminutive teardrop of Butterfly Wing Jasper. Slightly lighter than it appears in the photo.
$6.00

Willow Creek Jasper
Long and lean Willow Creek Jasper cabochon. Peaceful landscape pattern with what looks like two water stains on the left side. They're not, of course, but they are there and the bottom one is prominent.
$13.00

Lace Agate
Small Lace Agate teardrop. Nice patterns. There's a flat spot on the bottom edge at a soft place, so I've put a low price on it.
$6.00

Butterfly Wing Jasper
This very interesting piece of Butterfly Wing Jasper has lots of contrast, with a large brownish area that fades to almost clear at the edge. It's outlined in white and appears rough in the photo, but it's smooth all over. Very pretty! There's a tiny chip on the edge at lower right, not visible from the front.
$25.00

Added April 13

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Willow Creek Jasper
Here's a larger shield-cut Willow Creek cabochon with an interesting pattern! It looks like four pieces of rock glued together, but it's not! An unusually pretty designer cabochon in a unique shape!
$35.00

Butterfly Wing Jasper
Here's a sweet oval cut Butterfly Wing Jasper cabochon in a nominal 40x30 size.
$28.00

Confederate (Brierfield) Slag
Straight from the Confederate iron forges of the US Civil War, this cabochon was cut from a piece of Confederate Slag. This slag was collected from the ruins of the Brierfield Iron Works near Birmingham; a product of the Confederate war effort before the iron works were destroyed by the Federal Tenth Missouri Cavalry on March 31, 1865. It has a few tiny air bubbles and numerous tiny dots of color. There are three small dots that look almost like metal, harder than the slag; I'm still researching what they may be. You can own this very cool piece of history. Not for sale to people in Missouri (only kidding).
$12.00

Confederate (Brierfield) Slag
Straight from the Confederate iron forges of the US Civil War, this cabochon was cut from a piece of Confederate Slag. This slag was collected from the ruins of the Brierfield Iron Works near Birmingham; a product of the Confederate war effort before the iron works were destroyed by the Federal Tenth Missouri Cavalry on March 31, 1865. It has a spattering of small air pockets on the lighter bottom of the cabochon. You can own this very cool piece of history. Unless you live in Missouri (only kidding).
$21.00

Unknown Stone
This cabochon was cut from a nugget brought back from the Middle East. It surprisingly polished to a nice shine and looks like a chocolate drop. Gloria at Wire Treasures wire wrapped this cab into a pendant; you can see it here!
$20.00

Berber Agate
This is Berber Agate; I'm told it's from Mexico. This particular piece has features that look like a flaming meteor streaking through space enroute to a cosmic disaster! Since I only have this small sample, I'm adding this cab to my collection.
This cabochon is in my personal collection; it is not for sale.

Lace Agate
This itty bitty Lace Agate teardrop-cut cabochon will make a pretty itty bitty pendant, you wire wrappers!
$8.00

Ocean Jasper
This little Ocean Jasper cabochon has several several small vugs and some surface (but stable) fractures. Still a pretty cab, offered at a great price.
$10.00

Lace Agate
This pretty Lace Agate cabochon is actually a bit lighter than it appears in the photo. This fat little teardrop has some nice features that make it a standout, albeit a small one!
$16.00

Banded Agate
This purplish piece of Banded Agate is cut in an asymmetic teardrop shape. It is translucent along about 2/3 of the left side. There are a few small areas of matrix along the left edge.
$8.00

Kokoweef Cave Onyx
This very cool cabochon was cut from either stalactites or stalagmites found in caverns near Kokoweek Peak in California. Kokoweef Cave Onyx is a calcium carbonate accretion from these caverns. Legend has it that in the 1920s, a man discovered an underground river full of golden nuggets in these limestone caverns (people are still searching for this river). Even though there's no gold in this cabochon, I decided to keep it since it's the first one I cut. More to come later for the rest of you!
This cabochon is in my personal collection; it is not for sale.

Added April 11

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Mook Jasper
All the colors of Mookaite in one killer cabochon! Dark red, light red, yellow, white, all in one turbulent pattern. There are two soft spots inside the large red swath at the middle; the large one at lower left can be easily seen in the glare of the photo lights. Actually, this is the least complimentary appearance I could provide, but left it so you could see how large it is. In normal lighting, it's nowhere as prominent. The other (much smaller) soft spot is in the yellow spot in the red swath, and is barely noticeable.
$25.00

Mook Jasper
This is one of my favorite recent Mook Jasper cabs. I like the yellow & cream markings and the dark healed fractures which give Mook its character. The cab has the appearance of a stylized warrior teddy bear looking left... really! The whitish lines at the top and right corners of the cabochon are reflections of the corners of the photo booth.
$21.00

Added April 10

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Mook Jasper
Gasp! You're looking at a 60mm long cabochon of beautiful Mook Jasper from Australia. One of the nicest pieces of Mook I have, it produced a very handsome cabochon, with yellow & white streaks and blobs, and a red background of varying intensity. The sharp "stairstep" shadow at lower left is actually a reflection of the photographer's camera. What a beauty!
$45.00

Mook Jasper
I really like this "striped" Mook Jasper from Australia! This one reminds me of ripples on a red & yellow lake. Windblown teardrop cut with a nice polish.
$25.00

Owyhee Jasper
Pale gray Owyhee Jasper cabochon with golden markings. I think it looks like brain synapses firing when someone is looking at Bitter Brook's new cabochons! Zap! Pow!
$13.00

Owyhee Jasper
Small pale gray Owyhee Jasper cab in a windswept teardrop cut. Numerous small surface fractures with soft matrix on the left accent the gold coloring there. Cute little cab!
$8.00

Wild Horse Magnesite
This is Wild Horse Magnesite from Arizona. I reluctantly purchased a small amount of this in Quartzsite; I wasn't sure how it would cut. The first piece was a disaster, with too many soft spots. Not being the smartest rock in the box, I tried another, and this one turned out spectacular! This big cab looks like white fireworks forcing clouds away. Very interesting, and very unusual.
$30.00