This blog is now hosted on my website at mcfarlanddesigns.com/blog-posts; please update your bookmarks to follow the latest posts. Thanks!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Sunstones... Mesmerizing Sunstones

I bought some incredibly gorgeous sunstones yesterday...

4mm orange sunstoneA nicely matched pair of 4mm stones (0.52 total carat weight)

5mm orange sunstoneAnother well-matched pair of 5mm stones (0.99 total carat weight)

big orange sunstoneOregon sunstone, 9mm (2.38 carats)

enormous oregon sunstoneOregon sunstone, 9mm (2.24 carats)

huge orange sunstoneOregon sunstone, 8.5mm (2.14 carats)

oregon sunstone facetedThis one has some interesting color variations, showing both peachy tones and pale greens, 6mm (0.86 carats)

green blue sunstoneGreenish-blue Oregon sunstone, 5mm (0.46 carats)

Let me know if you're interested in having any of these beauties made into a custom ring or earrings!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I've been an admirer of your work for a long time. I was wondering: what are your thoughts on Montana sapphires? Since you use so many USA-mined stones in your work, if there was something ethically dubious you know about Montana sapphires that I don't!

Tamara said...

Nope, I don't know anything bad about Montana sapphires. I just haven't ever come across a good source for them. I guess the one thing to ask about is where they are cut. Many people who sell US mined stones send them overseas to be cut, which can mean child labor or poor working conditions, etc.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know what you mean. Occasionally I will see some on Ebay or elsewhere on the internet which appear to be being sold by people who claim to have mined and/or cut them themselves, on a pretty small scale, which makes me think it's as a hobby or second job or something so I assume they have no reason to lie. I really like the teal-grey-blue (and other) colors and their clarity. I figure that, like jeans, they would go with all outfits. One day when I am rich ...!