Contrariwise ramblings

I was buying a few cabs from StonesInMotion, one of my favorite lapidarists and, in a last minute decision, I decided to pick up this laguna agate.  Although I don't generally pick up pastel-colored stones, I thought the banding throughout the stone was lovely.  What a surprise when it arrived.  Out of all the cabs I bought, I think I liked this one the best!

The stone is lavender and pink, and the natural formations seem to be reminiscent of clouds.  Coupled with the crystalline center, it's a truely exceptional stone.  When I designed the setting for it, I tried to make it reflect the cloud-like designs of the stone.

This is the first time I made a setting like this.  I don't know what you call the technique, but I soldered sterling plates upon each other.  This ended up making the ring quite substantial.

Since I got this first laguna agate, I've been trying to buy others.  I've discovered that they come in so many different colors.  (Yes, I do have more now.  A couple of red-banded ones can be seen here.)

It's amazing to me that many types of beautiful stones used in jewelry can be found in only tiny areas on this planet.  For example, I've learned that these laguna agates are only found in mountains on the border of El Paso Texas and Mexico.  Most of these areas are in the top third elevation of the mountain. Many of the claims don't have roads to them and have been worked entirely by hand.  The areas comprise a distance of only 4 miles or so.  And this is considered to be quite large compared to other Mexcian agate deposits!

If you'd like to see  more pictures of this ring, they can be found here.