Trialling a new Supplier

I recently purchased some sterling silver settings and bails from a new supplier as a bit of a trial. I had been thinking about making some matching sets of pendants and earrings for a while so went on a bit of an internet search for companies supplying sterling silver settings which would be suitable.

I managed to track down a business based out of Israel called ZDP Findings. I had actually purchased some silver plated settings of these guys some time ago via Ebay, but didn't realise they also had a website with a more extensive range.

Sterling Silver Settings for Earrings and Pendants

After browsing their website for a while, I decided to get a couple of different bits and pieces. I ended up choosing some 10mm round earring bezel settings, some 20mm round pendant bezel settings, some 30mm round pendant bezel settings and some pinch bails.

Although the package took longer to arrive than I would have hoped, I would certainly recommend the companies customer service which has been great. I am also more than happy with the products themselves, particularly the earring settings.

Sterling Silver Rhodochroste Pendant and Earrings matching set

Sterling Silver Boulder Opal Pendant and Earrings Matching Set

So far I have put together 2 of the matching sets. The first set that I can was the pink Rhodochrosite set (seen to the left). This material originates from the Broken Hill region of New South Wales (Australia) and has some great patterns. The bright silver of the settings sits quite well with the bright pink of the stones. This set is available here for $75.




The second set which I cut was the Queensland Boulder Opal to the right. Unfortunately due to my poor photography skills, the colour play  of the stones doesn't quite show in the photo. These stones have magnificent green and blue flashes throughout and again, the bright silver matches well with the stones. This set is available here for $125


Thanks for checking us out here at Jaka Gems! Feel free to browse through our other posts and don't forget to Share! Bye for now!

Petrified Wood

Petrified Wood Pendant

Petrified Wood is essentially a fossil which originally occurs underground. The term Petrified Wood, meaning 'wood turned into stone', refers to the fossilized remains of trees.

Queensland Petrified Wood Cabochon

From a Lapidary perspective, Petrified Wood is a very hard material, having a hardness of roughly 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. This is because the wood fibers have been replaced by Agate which is a dense material.


Because of the agate content within, petrified wood takes a magnificent shine with an almost glassy finish.

Opalised Wood Cabochon

Petrified wood is formed when trees are submerged in sediment underground. The organic matter is preserved as a result of the lack of oxygen available within its surrounds. Mineralisation then occurs replacing the organic structure of the material with agatised material. This process leaves a 3D replica of the original organic material in stone.

Petrified Wood Pendant

Australia has many petrified wood deposits. The Chinchilla region (Queensland) is particularly famous for its 'Chinchilla Red' variety of petrified wood which tends to have plenty of red banding running through the material.

Queensland Petrified wood cabochon

However, the largest concentration of petrified wood in the world can be found in Arizona which is famous for its 'Petrified Forest'. This area is home to petrified logs of up to 60 metres!

Petrifed wood is one of my favourite materials to cut. As stated earlier, it finishes really well with a great shine, and because the original grain of the wood is still intact, the patterns can be amazing!

Queensland Petrified Wood Cabochon

All of the cabochons pictured on this post were cut by me. All of them are available for purchase through my online store.

Petrified Wood Pendant

Until next time!

Turning a hobby into a business

Rhodochrosite pendant

It has been nearly 4 months since I created Jaka Gems. I had been considering it for some time and on 13th September 2012, I created the first piece of Jaka Gems - a Facebook page. This was the day that my hobby became a small online business. My intention is not, and has never been, to make a fortune (lets be honest, cabochons are a very small niche market item which can be supplied far cheaper through Asian markets, particularly China), I simply set out to share my love of lapidary and stones with anyone that was interested, and hopefully the hobby would end up paying for itself.


Agate Cabochon - The first stone cut on my new machine


I had been cutting stones for many years, but not publicly. Many of my friends were surprised when Jaka Gems began.

None the less, I bought some new equipment in August after taking a bit of a hiatus from cutting. Needless to say, I have been really enjoying cutting again and have been trying quite a few new things. I have now started making simple jewelry items, cut scales for a Swiss Army Knife, and even cut scales for a large bread knife. The next big step in this little adventure will be to put my wife through a silversmithing course so that we can create together! I am really looking forward to that!

Ironically, the first stone I sold as Jaka Gems was the first stone that I cut on my new machine - The agate cabochon you see here.

Silver Banded Obsidian Cabochon (Free Form)

The very first thing I learnt in this caper was that running a small online business is hard. Very hard. Trying to get exposure is an ongoing battle, you cant afford to slack off because as soon as you do, your online reach drops off dramatically and you have to work your way back up again.

Mahogany Obsidian finished with a Sterling Silver bail

There are thousands of blogs out there that tell you how to increase exposure for your online business. I've got to admit, I have read quite a few of them, some of them have been helpful, others not quite so. And honestly, if I did everything that these blogs and websites say I should do, I wouldn't have time to create my stones!

But as I said earlier, It has only been 4 months, I am still working on getting an idea about what works and what doesn't. One thing for sure that I can tell you is that this blog has been a great assistance! 'Create consistent and high quality content' is the general idea that gets bandied around when it comes to blogs. Well I hope that what I have been producing for you as part of this blog is keeping you interested in what I do. Perhaps I will let you know the secrets of internet exposure one day, of course, I need to figure out what those secrets are first! Until next time!

Picture Jasper Cabochon - Free Form

Contest Winner Announced

Jaka Gems Facebook Page recently ran a competition whereby we were trying to make it to 350 likes by the end of 2012. If we had of made it to 350, I was going to give away a serpentine pendant which I had recently cut. The winner was going to be drawn at random from all of our facebook fans.

Green Serpentine Pendant with a simple Sterling Silver Bail

We didnt quite make it to 350 by the competitions cut off, but we did get to a very respectable 344. I decided that because we got so close to out goal of 350, I would give away the pendant anyway. Throughout the competition, there were 11 of our facebook fans that shared the competition on their own pages or profiles. I thought that the best way to give away the pendant was to draw one of those 11 at random. I allocated each of them a number, then using random.org picked one of the 11 at random.

The lucky winner of this competition was announced this morning on our facebook page and we are awaiting contact from her so that postage can be arranged! If you were one of the 11 that shared - check out the page to see if you are the winner!