Emery, Apache peridot miner

Making a run down to Safford to take a badly needed hot springs spa retreat, we passed near the town of Peridot, Arizona. A mesa near here is capped with a basalt flow rich in this lovely lime green mineral. The basalt layer ranges from ten to one hundred feet in thickness.

Via a contact at a local casino, I hooked up with Emery, a handsome oak tree of a fellow who wields a thirty pound hammer to separate peridot crystals from the basalt. 9/11 has denied him access to dynamite, so hammer and wedges are what he uses, as well as a backhoe.

Emery sells his material to only one person, but offered to come down to the Renaissance Festival to show me what he has. He showed up with some gorgeous chunks of Basalt with lovely crystals of peridot, some tumbled peridot beaded necklaces and bracelets, and some crystals of peridot. Up until now, I hadn’t seen what it looks like in the rough.

I like to mix peridot with green pearls in my jewelry. I love to put garnets and peridot together on one of my rings. Peridot is usually put in silver but looks very nice in gold.

Arizona peridot is beautiful, plentiful, and beloved worldwide. Emory said the material from Pakistan is more rare and larger in size. Peridot is found on the isle of St John in the Red sea where it is still mined in small quantities. Queen Cleopatra is said to have possessed green stones mislabled emeralds from this isle. The bible misnames this stone as topazos as well.

Emory showed up with his goodies and I bought samples of the rough as well as a lovely three strand necklace of tumbled period, a few bracelets, and a bunch of chunky peridot crystals. Yummy!

Other gemstones from Arizona: Four Peaks Amethyst and “anthill” garnets from the four corner’s region. And more hot springs? There is much to explore in Arizona.

Fourth Ave Street Fair, Tuscon AZ

Ojai Shakespeare and Renaissance Festival

Kearney Renaissance Festival

Escondido Renaissance Festival

Arizona Renaissance Festival - Feb/March

Minnesota Renaissance Festival - Aug/Sep

North Carolina Renaissance Festival Oct/Nov

Las Vegas Renaissance Festival - April/May

Colorado Renaissance Festival - June/July

Anatomy of the Lost Wax Casting process

Setting The Sprue

Placing the wax ring on a sprue

In casting, a sprue is the passage through which a molten material is introduced into a mold, and the term also refers to the excess material which solidifies in the sprue passage. In sand casting, the sprue is formed by a dowel which is removed from the sand to make the hole into which the metal is poured.

Sprues can serve as filters, heat sinks, and as feeders. Bronze in particular has a high shrinkage rate as it is cooling; a sprue can continue to provide molten metal to the casting, provided it is large enough to retain its heat and stay liquid, as metal in the main casting cools and shrinks. The design of the sprue and runner system can be also utilized to trap unwanted dross and sand from continuing into the main cavity; this may include adding porous material to the runners, or designing the sprue to eject the dross to the side of the sprue using cyclonic separation.

Making An Investment

Plaster investment is mixed and poured into the flask, covering the wax

The sprued wax pattern is dipped into a slurry of fine refractory material, known as investment material; one example of this is silica. This fine material is used first to give a smooth surface finish and reproduce fine details. During the primary coat(s), the sand will typically be a zircon-based, as zirconium is less likely to react with the molten metal when poured into the shell. The cluster is then dipped into a fluidized bed, rain tower sander, or by hand into a sand-like stucco, which is dry crystalline silica of a controlled grain size, and allowed to dry. These secondary coats usually are mullite, molochite, chamotte, or fused silica refractory material. This step is repeated until the investment is the required thickness, which is usually 5 to 15 mm (0.2 to 0.6 in).

As an alternative to multiple dips the cluster is placed upside-down in a casting flask and then liquid investment material is poured into the flask. The flask is then vibrated to allow entrapped air to escape and help the investment material fill in all of the details. Prior to silica, a mixture of plaster and fire-proof material such as chamotte was used. An alternative to using silica is a slurry of ethyl silicate (alcohol-based and chemically set), colloidal silica (water-based, also known as silica sol, set by drying) or a hybrid of these controlled for pH and viscosity.

Melting

Metal casting grain is melted prior to injection by a centrifugal caster

The investment is allowed to completely dry, which can take 24 to 48 hours. It is then turned upside-down and placed in an oven to melt out or vaporized the wax. The melted wax can be recovered and reused, although often it is simply burned up, this is called burnout. At this point metal casting grain of the desired ring material is melted for pouring.

Spinning

Molten metal is spun into the hot flask, replacing the wax removed during burnout

The molten metal is then poured into the mold by a centrifugal caster. A centrifugal caster is used as a means of casting small, detailed parts or jewelry. An articulated arm is free to spin around a vertical axle, which is driven by an electric motor or a spring. The entire mechanism is enclosed in a tub or drum to contain hot metal should the mold break or an excess of metal be used. A small amount of metal in a crucible (a sort of ceramic pan) next to the mold is heated with a torch. When the metal is molten the arm is released, forcing (by centrifugal force) the metal into the mold. The high forces imposed on the metal overcome the viscosity, resulting in a finely detailed workpiece. A similar advantage is obtained by vacuum casting.

Quenching The Flask

The investment is removed and the flask is cooled

The flask is cooled and the investment material is blasted or chipped off.

The Result

This sprue button and attached ring are now ready for polishing

The ring is now ready to be prepped for sale. The ring is polished and buffed and removed from the Sprue.

Do you work with Platinum or White Gold?

Yes! When you click on a piece, notice that you will be given a lot of choices of metals, including rose gold and 18kt. For Platinum, price would depend on ring sizes and setting desired. Platinum is a delightful metal, nice and heavy, durable, and impressive. Platinum is more expensive than 14kt gold. It’s different to work with from gold, and I do love the results. White gold is available, same price as yellow gold. White gold is very durable and popular metal these days and is less expensive than platinum. We also carry 18kt gold and rose gold, by special request.

What kinds of gemstones may I choose from?

I carry a large stock of good quality colored gemstones of all types, and can order diamonds in all shapes and sizes and quality at a reasonable prices from sources in Los Angeles and New York.

The prices of these stones vary according to many factors such as cut, color and clarity. Consider your budget, and I’ll get you the best stones for your individual needs.

Are Diamonds available?

I have access to a large assortment of diamonds of different qualities and prices. This is best done over the phone, as the pricing varies according to cut, color and clarity. What can you budget for a stone, and in those parameters, would you be willing to live with very minute inclusions in order to get the largest stone possible? The variables are endless according to you budget needs. Call for a quote. All of my diamonds are of secondary sources, conflict free stones. I do this by buying only stones that have been in circulation here in the United States, from Estate sales or from jewelry that has been broken up to make new more exciting designs. http://jewelrybydaoud.com/home

Can I place an order on lay away?

Yes. Half of the money down insures a fix on the price, payments of any amount are O.K., but half down is the usual. You may pay monthly or weekly, as you wish. I prefer to have orders paid within two to three months.

Preferred payment plan: 1/2 down, 1/2 upon completion, except for rush orders which need to be done in 4 weeks or less, where full payment is required. A credit card works handily for this, check or money order is equally acceptable. If your budget requires evenly spaced weekly, bi-weekly or monthly payments, I can work this out with you.

I usually take 12 weeks for an order. I can do your order sooner (3 to 4 weeks, depending on my schedule) with the application of a rush charge of $60 per ring. Even with the rush fee, my work is very reasonably priced, and would be custom made to your size.

How do you make your jewelry?

I use a process called Investment Casting, otherwise known as Lost Wax Casting. You can read about my method - the process that each and every ring must go through to get to you: Lost Wax Investment Casting of Handmade Jewelry.