Mellow Yellow

Textured Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet with a bezel set Owyhee Sunset Jasper cabochon. $182

I love when I come across interesting gem stones and this one was a real find. The first thing that drew me to it was the unusual coloring...honey beige but with some definite buttery and lemony yellow streaks. There are whispers of steel blue and green throughout as well. I also like how the lapidary cut it- with it's simple lines, this rectangle is the perfect shape to highlight the movement in the stone. When I find something this striking it is best to just do a simple design that let's the beauty of the stone shine.

It was labeled as Owyhee Jasper but it looks nothing like other stones I had ever seen in that material. After a little research, I learned that it is a special variation called Owyhee Sunset Jasper. First discovered in the 1960's, it is a domestic stone mined in the Owyhee Mountains which run along the border of Idaho and Oregon. The word Owyhee is an early spelling of Hawaii and the area was named so to honor two Hawaiian natives who were killed there during a fur trapping expedition in 1819. Legend says that jasper can drive away evil spirits and protect against snake bites.

True yellow is a color that I have rarely seen in opaque stones. I love the look of it's warmth against the cool crisp color of the silver. Yellow and gray just seems so modern and fresh to me.

This stone is 100% natural and absolutely untreated. Mother Nature is definitely the most talented artist...