Gem Junkies Parle Jewelry Design's Jonathan and Brecken Farnsworth.

Up next on our journey exploring gemstones across the US we’ve got Colorado. Not only does Colorado have a state gemstone but it also has a state mineral we haven’t covered yet – rhodochrosite. Pull up a chair as we look into into this double-gemmy episode.


00:00:00 Notes
00:29:00 Colorado
01:10:00 The Charlemagne connection
03:52:00 Ranking in most hated states
05:30:00 Aquamarine
05:47:00 1880’s
08:20:00 The discovery at Mt. Antero
09:30:00 About Mt. Antero
09:55:00 High altitude gemstones
12:07:00 Mining story
14:34:00 Commercial mining
16:07:00 Largest aquamarine crystal to be found in CO
18:43:00 Renewed interest in mining
19:46:00 Get a claim
20:41:00 Rhodochrosite
22:13:00 Single-crystal versus an aggregate specimen
23:23:00 Sweet Home Mine
25:52:00 The 1960’s
26:11:50 The Alma Queen
27:03:00 1991
27:26:00 Alma King discovery
27:44:00 The Crystal Wall
29:07:00 Smithsonian
30:13:00 Off-limits
31:31:00 Other gemstones found in Colorado

Continuing with our series Gems of the US and up next we have California. A state that encompasses a plethora of gemstones we focus dabble about Spodumene, Tourmaline, and of coarse, it’s state gemstone--Benitoite. It's a big state so it is only fair to recognize these two influential gemstones.

00:00:00 Calimocho/ Kalimotxo
01:58:00 Cookie Monster + Wednesday Addams = Happy Halloween
03:24:00 This week –California
04:41:00 Benitoite
05:16:00 Its discovery
09:10:00 What is it?
12:44:00 Gemstone matrix and removing the crystals
14:40:00 You can visit the site it was discovered at
16:24:00 Cost of benitoite
17:28:00 All other minerals in California
18:10:00 Leading gemstone mined in California
18:47:00 All the Tourmaline colors
18:57:50 Rubellite Tourmaline
19:11:00 The Chinese connection
20:24:00 Spodumene = Kunzite
21:19:00 Highschool drama w/ Kunzite
26:30:00 Color fading
27:24:00 JP Morgan + George Kunz
28:07:00 Other California Gemstones
30:24:00 [SIDE NOTE] What is California’s ranking in the most hated states?

Working our way down the alphabet which means we’ve got Arizona and Arkansas up next. These two states bring a plethora of gemmy goodness.

00:00:00 Deck issues
00:58:00 “The United States”
02:10:00 Arizona & Arkansas
03:02:00 Arizona = Turquoise
03:20:00 Rich history in Arizona
03:37:00 State neckwear
05:15:00 First mined in 200 BC
06:06:00 Turquoise legends
06:35:00 It’s found throughout the state
07:31:00 Native American translation for turquoise
08:17:00 Usage with Native Tribes
08:49:00 Healing properties
09:50:00 Famous turquoise mines
12:21:00 Sleeping beauty
14:12:00 Kingman Mine
15:12:00 Other cool gemstones in Arizona
25:37:00 Alright, Arkansas
24:55:00 State gemstone = DIAMONDS!
25:05:00 State flag
25:23:00 Feb. 22nd, 1967
27:02:00 The geology of Arkansas
28:16:00 The discovery of diamonds
29:47:00 The largest diamond found in Arkansas
30:47:00 The start of Arkansas
34:11:00 The early 90’s
35:08:00 The appearance of the diamond in their rough
36:03:00 Average diamond findings
38:25:00 Other gemstones found in Arkansas

With so many people unable to travel beyond the US border and taking more local road trips we figured now was the perfect time to explore each state’s gemstone. To start things off we’re talking about Alabama and Alaska.

00:00:00 Who’s starting?
01:01:00 Alabama and Alaska . . . cue the states song
03:17:00 Alabama – Blue Star Quarts
03:26:00 Thought it would be something red
03:48:00 1990
04:04:00 But why?
06:23:00 How is it found?
07:32:00 Blue Star Quartz being an oddity
09:22:00 Is there any mining going on in Alabama?
09:55:00 The Lane Cake
12:16:00 Moving onto Alaska
12:43:00 Jade = nephrite jade
To learn more about Jade listen to our episode “Stone of Heaven, Hello Jade!” -- https://soundcloud.com/user-141776549-657959872/stone-of-heaven-hello-jade
13:16:00 Native Alaskan Inuits and their use of jade
13:27:00 Where is Alaskan Jade found?
14:34:00 First non-native to rediscover jade
15:14:00 [Storytime] The legend of the Jade House.
18:27:00 Jade Mountain
19:36:00 About the man who made the Jade Lamp
20:45:00 [Storytime] The Jade Lamp
25:00:00 Another modern legend
25:27:00 Washington Monument
27:19:0 0 Other gemstones that are being mined in Alaska?

We’ve covered gold, silver, and platinum. But how do all of these different metals work within the components of jewelry design? We take you through each step of the process from molding to polish and talk about how these metals vary within each step of the process. To ensure we don’t overlook any details we brought in our production manager, Paul Hartman, to join in on the conversation.

00:00:00 Peeing in the pool
00:40:00 All about metals from a jewelry production standpoint
01:43:00 If you would like to get know more about Paul you can listen to his interview here: https://soundcloud.com/user-141776549-657959872/productionwithpaul
02:13:00 Starting out at the beginning of the process – molding
03:17:00 Gypsum used as the investment
04:46:00 What is the casting temperate
06:06:00 Cleanliness
07:30:00 Is there a lot of difference in casting between the metals?
08:10:00 Why do we like using nickel in white gold?
10:41:00 Clipping off the tree
10:55:00 The trunk of the tree
12:48:00 Polish
16:11:00 How long is the process from casting to polish?
18:21:00 Setting
24:38:00 Plating
26:37:00 Durability of silver with tarnish on it
27:60:50 Black rhodium
28:38:00 [Story time] Cyanide bomb
24:43:00 Caustic chemicals involved with metals
31:23:50 What is the most important step in plating?
34:19:00 Wear and durability
36:17:00 Stone in place casting

What is denser than a diamond and is extremely ductile? PLATINUM. Once tossed away to be believed un-ripened silver that noble metal has become a popular choice in jewelry design. Learn about its discovery and its out of this world origins.

00:00:00 Dubba-dub-dub-dub
00:14:00 The game plan with the podcast
03:50:00 Garden Woes
05:54:00 So Platinum. . . how did it get its name?
06:13:00 Platinum’s discovery
08:22:00 Platinum group of metals
10:05:00 Studying the properties of platinum
13:36:00 First reference of platinum
15:12:00 The heaviness of platinum
15:47:00 Platinum is very ductile
16:19:00 Malleability
16:36:00 Durability
18:33:00 Melting point
19:43:00 Mining platinum
20:52:00 WWII
22:05:00 How did it get here?
22:43:00 The moon
22:58:00 Platinum in the Earth’s crust
24:19:00 Producing pure platinum
26:06:00 Platinum in jewelry
26:51:00 Other usages for platinum
27:28:00 Platinum vs. Gold $$$