Oregon Sunstone and red Swarovski glass beaded earrings in sterling silver

Do you want to know the most common question I'm asked at live sales events? It's "What's that purple stuff?" This is Holley Blue Agate. The name is a little misleading because most of it is a lavender to almost grape jelly purple, the later being the most highly sought-after. Not only is it rare, but it's getting rarer every day because the place we used to mine it in Linn County Oregon has been closed to public digging since the 90's and there's no other source. This ring features a large 12ct piece of some of the juiciest purple agate you've ever seen. It's set in a sterling silver bezel, and wow, does it pop! I have quite a few pieces made with this stone, but this one is special.

Two lovely 8mm Holley Blue Agate caboshons mounted in sterling silver post earrings. They're simple, yet so elegant. The delicate lavender color with a slight bit of peach is just perfect. Holley Blue used to be sourced near Sweethome OR, but the collection site was closed down about 35 years ago. The only way to get it now is through someone like myself who had collected it years ago. Each cabochon weighs about 3ct. At the moment, there is just one pair available like this. I may be making more soon.

There's a big difference between a "natural" ruby and an untreated ruby. Then, there's lab created rubies. Natural rubies can still have undergone treatments, which include heat treatment, oiling, resin filling, and fracture filling. Lab created rubies generally look "too perfect" and generally don't have color variations and imperfections that are the hallmark of natural rubies. The stone in this ring is a 2.6ct untreated natural ruby from Afghanistan. While there are imperfections, the stone is absolutely gorgeous with a deep velvety purplish red hue. It's set in a simple 14k white gold prong setting. The gold weight is 2.43gms. You might never see a natural stone like this at your local jeweler who only stocks the "perfect looking" lab grown or treated stones. If you want the real deal, this is it. This ring would be the ideal engagement ring, anniversary gift, birthday gift, etc. The ring is US size 7 but can easily be resized by any competent jeweler. Normally, the stone alone would cost you $1,000 or more. I'm selling this ring at $900.