I wanted to show you some of the ways a rock can be cut. Sometimes a piece will be the perfect cut, other times not.

This is a piece of Lapis Lazuli, a beautiful, semi-precious stone with incredible blue tones and spidering veins. Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a mineral: whereas a mineral has only one constituent, lapis lazuli is formed from more than one mineral. Lapis (as it is sometimes referred) is a relatively rare, semi-precious stone that is prized since antiquity for its intense blue color.

One has to be careful when making any cuts. Not just with yourself, but with the stone. Many times the lines in the stone are beautiful in the section you are about to cut, and if you make a mistake, all is lost. This also allows for each slice to be unique, which makes your particular piece of jewelry one-of-a-kind. Below I have some more photos of the cut I made here. Notice the beautiful translucency of the cut. Incredible. If you would like to buy one of my pieces of jewelry with Lapis Lazuli as part of the design, please contact me.

More photos…

I handcraft all my jewelry out of this shop for distribution to Santa Fe, New Mexico galleries, local Albuquerque stores, and now, by means of this web site, I will be able to sell to you at wholesale prices. Keep checking back to see my blog progress.

Thanks for visiting my Blog. My name is Bobby Wilkinson and I am a jeweler. I specialize in Southwestern semi-precious jewelry, focusing on turquoise and silver. My specialty is reversible jewelry – so, in essence, you get two pieces of jewelry for the price of one (see pic).

Everything I make is handmade, from the links to the clasps to the settings. I have been a jeweler for over 30 years and sell my necklaces, bracelets and rings to galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

My jewelry retails for thousands of dollars, but I will offer you these jewelry pieces at a wholesale cost. This is my way to continue selling while still giving you the opportunity to buy in this recession.

I hope to provide video, photographs, how-to and editorial articles on my process. Nothing is secret and you will be able to learn how to create jewelry from my videos. I figure if you can do it, then you should.

You pay one price for two bracelets in one