Hello All,
Thanks very much for your previous input on chrysoprase.
I just cut a rather flat piece of chrysoprase. It is almost
transparent, but it has the pale sea green color. I cut the sides at
a steep angle (like 80 degrees instead of perfectly perpendicular)
and polished them, and cut the top into a rectangular shape like it
was going to be faceted, but I later smoothed over the sharp angles
that would have been the facets. It looked better, at least to me.
The neat thing is that on the edges where I left the sharpness and I
polished it with cerium oxide, the green color glows nicely in the
light from above from the offset (from perpendicular) polished edges.
It had a pretty effect. I agree with those of you who commented about
chrysoprase, it can be really pretty.
I have hollowed out an ellipse in the top center of the stone and I
was going to set a piece of lapis lazuli that I am going to cut in
the shape of an old english monogram in the hollowed area. The top
would then be the light green chrysoprase with the slight
"backlighted" effect on the edges with the lapis monogram in the
center. Now, stupid question, would it be better to cut the bottom of
the lapis to fit the hollowed area and then glue the lapis to the
chrysoprase or drill a small hole, set the lapis in sterling to fit
the hollowed area, and then attach the silver through the chrysoprase
to the ring I am trying to make?
I guess what I am trying to ask is gluing dissimilar stones together
a cheap or dumb idea or is it usually acceptable? Is the coefficient
of thermal expansion differentials a problem for two stones glued
together?
By the way, in a book a just finished reading originally printed in
1904, a minerologist named Bauer wrote extensively on many, many
He didn’t tell how judge the quality of chrysoprase, but
there was a picture or two of it faceted (color plates). It was
really pretty. He said in the book it was faceted alot, at least
back then. He said in the book that some forms of it can even have
the chatoyant effect like chrysoberyl.
I really appreciate the advice from you guys.
Sincerely,
Seech