The gemstones that are used to produce the beautiful and unique pens at Gemstone Pens, are sourced from around the world. Many people think of gemstones as small, faceted and generally rare stones used in rings, bracelets, earrings and other decorative jewelry. These kinds of stones are generally not appropriate for making pens due to their inherent small size and crystal structure, not to mention price. In fact, the range of gemstones is vast and encompasses many materials. According to Wikipedia, gemstones are considered “a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli and opal) and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber, jet and pearl) are also used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be “gemstones” as well.”
Some of the materials that we have used at Gemstone Pens to craft our writing instruments include:
Agate – Agate is a form of chalcedony that is characterized by rich, varied colors, often with banding and transparent components. It is essentially quartz with a mohs hardness of 7 that takes a high gloss readily. Most agate is formed in cavities in rock such as lava. Silica in solution is carried into the cavities and forms the beautiful patterns over time. The coloration is due to impurities such as iron oxides and hydroxides.
There are an incredible number of different agates. These include fortification, waterline, tube, eye, lace, plume, shadow, geode, moss, thunder egg, seam and moss. In addition other rocks can become “agatized” for example with agatized petrified wood.
Jasper – Jasper, like agate, is a form of chalcedony, a microcrystalline form of quartz. The main difference is, Jasper is opaque rather than transparent or translucent. The rich colors of jasper (red, green, brown, blue and yellow) are due to mineral impurities typically oxides and organic substances.
There are an almost unlimited number of variations of jasper e.g. Deschutes, Egyptian, Morrisonite, Owyhee, Pictgure Agate, Brecciated, Ocean, Leopard and Rogueite to name a few. There are even a few commercially named “jaspers” that are not jasper at all. Bumblebee Jasper, for example, is not jasper at all, rather a combination of volcanic materials, anhydrite, hematite, sulfur and arsenic (yes arsenic) among others.
View our Jasper pens
Petrified Wood – Petrified wood is a perennial favorite of collectors, rockhounds and jewelry makers. It comes in a huge variety of colors and patterns. Often petrified wood looks just like “real wood” but just as often it bears no resemblance to wood at all. Petrified wood is the fossilized remains of trees and other tree-like plants that have been preserved by the process of permineralization. The cell structures are replaced by silica-based minerals such as quartz. In other cases, a tree is buried in hot ash or lava, the organic materials burned away and the void is then filled with silica rich waters that turn to stone. These are often called limb casts.
Granite – Granite is an igneous rock that is formed from the slow crystallization of magma below the earth’s surface. It is comprised predominantly of quartz and feldspar but often with amounts of mica, amphiboles and other minerals. Granite is hard and most often takes a beautiful shine. Because Granite deposits are huge and incredibly varied, it is used for kitchen counters, building construction, bridges, monuments and a host of other uses.
One of the services we offer at Gemstone Pens is creating customs pens out of materials used for your own kitchen counters or other granite you may use. Send us a sample of your granite material and we will make a matching pen. Another example is with the sport of curling. Curling Stones are made with a highly specialized and now rare form of granite called Isla Craig Blue Hone Granite. We create pens and cabochons from this material for curling enthusiasts. (product listing)
See our Granite Pens here
Fossils – In addition to Petrified Wood fossils, we use other fossilized materials to make Gemstone Pens. One really interesting example is Coprolite. Coprolite is any fossilized excrement. Dinosaurs produce large enough excrement that when fossilized is a beautiful gemstone. (See our blog post Who Says You Can’t Polish a Turd). Dinosaur bone is another material that when fossilized is a beautiful gemstone. A pen from these kinds of material can be a wonderful collector item or even an instrument for daily use.
View our Fossil Pens
Marble – Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from limestone. It is a beautiful material that has been used for buildings, flooring, counters, statuary and jewelry. It is relatively soft but takes a beautiful shine when polished.
Jade – Jade is generally referred to as a green mineral that is either nephrite or jadite. Both forms are well suited for pens as well as jewelry.
Quartzite – Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which is formed from pure quartz sandstone. it often has rich patterns and colors which are the result of trace mineral impurities. Like granite and marble it takes a nice polish and is a wonderful material for a prized pen.
Other Materials – Over time we will be adding additional materials to our repertoire. These will likely include Bumblebee Jasper, Tiger Eye, Labradorite, Obsidian, Malachiate,