Lapidary Studio

Stone Cutting & Sourcing

In 2021 my husband Scott & I decided to look into cutting our own stones for me to use in my jewelry designs, as well as to offer to other artists and collectors. We source our jasper and agate directly from PNW rockhounds, some of whom have been rockhounding for generations. We believe it’s important to source ethical material and work with miners who also believe in being as kind to the earth as possible. All of the turquoise we work with is sourced from the annual Tucson Gem show in Arizona.

Shaping the rock into Cabochons

It all starts as raw material from the earth, that is slabbed into a flat rock with the slab saw & trim saw, and then shaped on the lapidary wheel into a cabochon. The lapidary wheel features coarse wheels to grind away the rock to form a shape and then a polishing side to get a nice smooth and polished surface. The finished product is called a cabochon, and this is what is created into jewelry! Cabochons feature a nice smooth top and a flat bottom for setting into precious metals.

From the Lapidary studio into jewelry

Once the cabochon is created, it can be handmade into jewelry! The photos featured below are all cabochons that were cut in our lapidary studio and then crafted into jewelry by me! I always specify when I work with our hand cut stones when I list new jewelry for sale, so be on the look out! In general, having another thumbprint in the jewelry process is important to us. From sourcing the rock directly from the miner, to shaping the rock in our studio, to handcrafting the finished cabochon into wearable jewelry art, we hope you love it! If you have any further questions about our process e-mail us at Alpenglowjewelryco@gmail.com