BEACH STONES

BEACH STONE JEWELRY

My last post was on valuable gemstones.  This one will be on “gems” that you can find for free on any beach!  Quartzite beachstones are not rare and other types of semiprecious stones can be found on the beaches of the world including agates, jadeite, nephrite, jasper, chert and flint, black onyx and fossilized stones.  Tiny bits of garnet can color the sand red on some beaches, including our beaches here on Long Island, NY.

So which beaches should you visit and what should you be looking for?  Remember, each beach is very different: 

Lake Superior: agates

http://www.superiortrails.com/rock-hound.html

Oregon beach agates, beaches around Newport including “Agate beach”.

http://www.agatesoftheoregoncoast.com/fieldtrip.html

Jasper Beach, Machiasport, Maine: rhyolite (Jasper beach is a misnomer)

http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/marine/sites/jun00.htm

Michigan Petoskey Stone (state stone), fossilized stone

http://www.statefossils.com/mi/mistone.html

Several beaches in New Zealand:

http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/Gemstones/1/en

But I am sure you can find a good beach near you wherever you live!  Let me know by email if you find a cool beach as I would like to visit them all!

What to do with the beach stones once you have collected them?  You can just put them in a jar and decorate your house. You can buy a rock tumbler and start polishing them.  This can be fun.  It does use up quite a bit of electric and most tumblers are noisy.  I would be glad to recommend a brand. I have nine tumblers and use them all the time.

Several jewelers have done interesting things with beach stones, but watch out for designs that are too heavy!

Here is a tutorial on how to drill beach stones with diamond bits in case you want to get started with some simple beach jewelry:

http://lapidaryjournal.com/stepbystep/mar04.cfm

Cool  books:

Beach Stones (Hardcover), by Josie Iselin (Author), Margaret Carruthers (Author)

 

Poems have been written about beach stone collectors. I like this one:

http://www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/articles/issue04/04simpson_thestone.htm

 

Finally, you have got to read this amazing article about Rob Holman.  He collects sand from all over the world’s beaches and has about 1000 different samples in little vials.  He is a geophysicist and studies beach erosion. This article is a very good read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/science/06prof.html?8dpc

Happy travels and let me know what you find.  And please visit our website.

 

 

David

 

M  A  I  D  S  T  O  N  E    J  E  W  E  L  R  Y

2 Maidstone Park Road

East Hampton, NY 11937

 

631 379 2200

studio@maidstonejewelry.com

www.maidstonejewelry.com