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Direct Links to popular gemstones and cabochons:
Amazonite
Opals, Boulder
Parrot Wing Understand mm sizes: Quick guide: 1" = 25mm 1/2"=13mm 1/4"=6.5mm Change can help: 1 quarter= 24.2 mm 1 dime= 18mm Both coins: 42mm |
On This Page: Druzy with Precious Metal Coatings Titanium Druzy Sparkle Druzy Conchinas Coated Botyroidal Agates
Next page: Dazzling Large Druzy for Pendants Previous page: Chatoyants
Precious Metal Coatings Quartz druzy is vapor-coated with real metals. They look terrific, but keep in mind that this coating is thin. Don't machine buff the sides or you might wear through the coating. Clean by swirling through soapy water, rinse in distilled water, and blow-dry. Coating on druzy crystals will be fine as long as it is not abraded. Not intended for use in rings.
Druzy Coated with Genuine Gold With the price of gold skyrocketing, manufacturers have decided that coating druzy with gold-colored titanium is a better bet. As a result, the supply of druzy coated with real gold is dwindling quickly. So I was thrilled to be able to assemble these pieces for you from several different vendors. Although these are pricey, the gold is real, the quality is top-notch, and the cuts are excellent. These would be stunning additions to your top-of-the-line pieces. Note: To give you the best selection, I am posting everything I have in stock. These pieces are especially rare, and there is no guarantee that I will be able to obtain any more. P.S. Consider accenting these with ideal-cut colorless melee diamonds, on our Faceted Gemstones page.
ZC392 $270.00
ZC409 $160.00
ZC410 $130.00
ZC403 $110.00
ZC397 $150.00
SPECIAL VALUE: GOLD-COATED DRUZY
ZC226 $190.00 Regularly $240
I culled these from a selection of blue drusies created by Greg Genovese. Unlike the Ocean Blues, these have interiors of deep, gorgeous midnight blue, some sprinkled with teal and lavender sparkles as well. Those with satiny surrounds have the smooth sections grading from purple through teal to blue. These unique combinations result from subtle variations in the titanium coating process, and I don't know whether I'll be able to find any more like these. This is my full supply. Matte-surface backs.
ZC520 $90.00
ZC521 $90.00
ZC522 $90.00
ZC523 $75.00
ZC526 $60.00
ZC622 $70.00
ZC623 $100.00
ZC624 $100.00
ZC530 $90.00
I purchased these directly from the Brazilian who owned the mine. The stones themselves grade from pure white, to cream, to the lightest grey of wind cloud drusies. I'm not sure exactly what the coating is, but it is basically colorless. What it does, though, is turn these natural quartz drusies into sparkling gems, throwing off flashes of light, as bright as little mirrors, even in shadow. Because of their neutral shade, they will go well with any other coated druzy and most other stones, as well. Some of these show an occasional "freckle" typical of quartz druzy. Unless otherwise noted, all have coated and polished backs. Price variations for similar pieces are set according to brightness and sparkle level.
ZC589 $40.00
ZC621 $37.50
ZC612 $34.00
ZC590 $32.00
ZC595 $38.00
ZC597 $34.00
ZC599 $32.00
ZC611 $30.00
Special Value: Sparkle Druzy
ZC614 $30.00 reg. $34.
Greg Genovese found these amazing stones on a sheep farm in Brazil. Called Conchinas, meaning "little shell," these free-form crystal-studded pieces grew (geologically speaking) on the ends of stone tubes buried five or six feet underground. Some of them are backed by a mineral material that looks exactly like the shelf fungus that grows on hardwood trees. Some of them look like little ears, while others sport a series of concentric rings. Perfect for wire wrapping, these unusual pieces are sure to spark your artistic imagination! (For those doing prong-setting, unless otherwise noted pieces sit flat or nearly flat). Now in beautiful new colors! Ocean Blue Sorry, Sold out for now.
ZC666 $48.00 Sorry, Sold!
ZC669 $48.00 Sorry, Sold!
ZC670 $48.00 Sorry, Sold!
ZC675 $50.00 Sorry, Sold!
ZC678 $40.00
ZC679 $40.00
ZC680 $40.00
ZC682 $30.00
ZC683 $28.00 Opalescent
ZC576 $54.00
ZC577 $60.00 Sorry, Sold!
ZC329 $24.00
I placed these on this page because they came from the same place that Agate Drusies do, only instead of growing crystals, the quartz grew in the knobs, valleys, and hills known as Botryoidal formations. (Bot tree OY dal, from the Greek word meaning "resembling a bunch of grapes.") The application of Moonbeam (lighter) and Moonshadow (darker) titanium coatings, highlights the formations and makes for extremely unique gemstones. This is my entire supply. All have polished backs.
Moonshadow Botryoidal Agate These unique and arresting agates are coated with a darker, hematite-colored coating.
ZC442 $56.00
ZC443 $48.00
ZC447 $40.00
ZC448 $40.00
When I rave about druzy to my friends, they ask: "What is druzy?" If you've ever seen the inside of a geode that's covered with a sparkling carpet of crystal, that's druzy (spelled technically as "drusy"). Probably the most common druzy is quartz, which can be vapor-coated with various materials, such as real gold and platinum, or the metal titanium, which comes in different colors. Natural druzy can be white (quartz), or come in a variety of colors: pink (cobalto calcite), green (Uvarovite garnet), black (psilomelane or black garnet), turquoise blue (chrysacolla), rare lavender or blue (chalcedony), and rust-red (jasper). Also naturally-occuring is Rainbow Pyrite druzy, which comes in every hue. These and other natural colors arise from the minerals on which the crystals are based. The crystals flash a thousand points of light as the stone is moved. In some drusies, the color underlies clear crystals, while in others, the crystals themselves are colored. Druzy is not crumbly and does not fall apart under normal use, but it's not recommended for rings or bracelets because sharp knocks can damage the surface. Druzy that doesn't have smooth sides can't be bezel-set in the normal way because you can't fold the bezel over the crystal edge. However, the titanium druzy shown below sits on an angled base, which helps in modified bezel setting. Experts recommend building a sturdy bezel wall around the druzy, but instead of folding the edge over, just glue the stone in place with a powerful epoxy. Freeform druzy can be prong-set--carefully! Please remember that the metallic coatings go on as a vapor, so they are not thick. NEVER machine-buff the surface of coated druzy. Restore the sparkle of any druzy by swishing the piece through warm water with dishwashing liquid, rinse in distilled water, and dry with a blower or hair dryer. Cared for properly, all drusies should last as long as the piece in which they are set. Each stone is unique.
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