A while back, came across some Serpentine Gemstone mineral that ended up being unlike anything I had tried to polish before. I could tell the material was certainly going to be some excellent looking gemstone material for custom jewelry designs.
I like to share with anyone interested how these minerals look when first starting to cut cabochons.
Here is the first material I was talking about in slabs.
Here is what a first group of larger cabs looks like from it. I say larger, because the following pic is from the same gemstone mineral. The cabochons are smaller, so the color variation is limited.
Then just a couple of days ago, I was visiting a member of our local gem and mineral club. He traded me a slab of some beautiful green Serpentine from the Chewelah Washington region. Here is a picture of that Serpentine gemstone mineral again, in slab form.
Not having worked with any serpentine except for the above, I expected to get the same satin finish instead of a nice glossy polish. After sharing about this on our forum, other members suggested the need for diamond abrasives to bring out the shine on the first material above.
It was nice to see a great shine on this second Serpentine from the Chewelah area. Still when you compare the two. The one with the satin finish and the nice green material with a great looking gloss finish will both look excellent in any piece of gemstone jewelry. These particular cabs are cut, shaped and beveled to fit best in bezel settings.
The location for the nice green material is only accessible through the Colville Rock and Mineral Club. I am looking forward to going on a trip with them soon.
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