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[Sandsave]

Great entry's so far!!! Here's a porcelain jasper I collected earlier this summer. I had to modify as the pink at the bottom kept undercutting, still turned out ok, quite a few colors

Sandsave

[irockhound]

Okay after I took Sandsave's advice and cut it up for making 3 cabs.  I have included the pic of the 3 stones and my 1 entry from them.  A huge amount of depth in these plumes as seen from the side view.  This is the Plume from Coaldale Nevada.

[rubegon]

Okay after I took Sandsave's advice and cut it up for making 3 cabs.  I have included the pic of the 3 stones and my 1 entry from them.  A huge amount of depth in these plumes as seen from the side view.  This is the Plume from Coaldale Nevada.

Those are amazing!  The black backing makes a huge difference.

I love the teardrop shaped one.  The composition with the druzy pocket in the middle works really well I think.

[irockhound]

I agree, the White plume in clear is nice but lacking the contrast to make them pop.  Once I started adding the Basenite I love the material more.  Someone had suggested a colored stone as background but I have had people say they think the stuff is man made already so the color I think would deepen that divide.

[rubegon]

I agree, the White plume in clear is nice but lacking the contrast to make them pop.  Once I started adding the Basenite I love the material more.  Someone had suggested a colored stone as background but I have had people say they think the stuff is man made already so the color I think would deepen that divide.

It makes all the difference, especially with this material.  The base material is glass clear, and with the black background you can see so much detail and depth in the plumes.

I would think black is best.  A colored background would distract from the plumes.  They're cool enough when you can see them so well.

Where do you get basenite?  I'd never heard of it.  I have a bunch of plume stuff I might try this with. I wonder how red plume would look on black.


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[Enchantra]

One of my friends made me some triplets similar to this but she used thin slices of synthetic opal which she sandwiched between dark green BC Jade and clear quartz.  You can back with almost anything so long as the backing allows the plumes to pop.  You could back with Obsidian, Jade, Or even a Jasper that is solid but lacks a good pattern that would otherwise not be considered decent material.

[irockhound]

The red seems to get lost on black backgrounds, I use a white backing for Red plumes.  The Basenite I get is from the Mojave desert past Barstow.

[gemfeller]

For those who don't know, basanite is very fine-grained and solid black basalt.  For those of us living out West where lava fields are abundant, it's fairly easy to find.  You have to be a little careful to avoid material with white inclusions or grainy texture.  Some of the Spencer Opal vendors have sold basanite slabs for triplet-making in the past.  Maybe some still do.  But you can use nearly any black stone like treated black agate ("black onyx"), black jade, densely-colored black obsidian, black opal potch etc. 

[Asianfire]

Someone had suggested a colored stone as background but I have had people say they think the stuff is man made already so the color I think would deepen that divide.

Let them talk, there will always be some who will dispute just about anything. Just know thats their highlight of their sad day.
The only thing important, is what and how you see it.

Wonderful creations, Kurt

[Asianfire]

With all those fab entries already in place, let me add to the numbers at least if nothing else........ :)

Recently went to China and brought back some nephrite with skin to try my hand at something akin to cameo.
Looked easier than it is. :) :)

Here is my first try for your kind evaluation




Attempted something akin to Tribal Tattoo, but then got scared with the different levels of thickness, so started carving.

Still needs refining background, and polish. Hope to have pictures up before the month is out.

Thanks for looking, Kurt

Edit: Hopefully still in time
Finish picture

[ToTheSummit]

I told myself I would enter this month so here is one I did today.  Not my best effort, but its crunch time and I had to get one in.

A "shark fin" made from Deschutes Jasper.

The slab and preform are one and the same.  This slab came from near the end of the stone and I used the natural shape for the cab.


Finished cab.  Was having a hard time getting a decent pic today without too many distracting reflections.

[Asianfire]

I told myself I would enter this month so here is one I did today.  Not my best effort, but its crunch time and I had to get one in.

A "shark fin" made from Deschutes Jasper.

The slab and preform are one and the same.  This slab came from near the end of the stone and I used the natural shape for the cab.

Wonderful layout and use of colour-shemes. Love the strong colour overall.

[jerrysg]

Well here's my entry. First picture is the finished cab.  I used the ring light on the camera and so we have the sun rising over the mountain and the mothership hovering over everything.  Background is the inside of a cereal box.

The second picture is of the slab marked for the cab.  I have no idea what the rock is. I found it just this way in the discard bucket at my local lapidary club. Well, not marked for the cab. I did that.

[Orrum]

This is gonna b one tough contest!!!  These r awesome cabs!

[irockhound]

I love eilat stone.  I have only had one small chunk ever ( about 2" x 3" x 4") but it cuts wonderful pieces.  I save it for special projects.   Does anyone know if it is it still being mined?  It comes from Israel and is an ancient material.