In the past few months, we have talked about Diamonds, Pearls and other Precious Gemstones found in the United States-you can check those blogs out here:

https://www.barlowsgems.net/stones-and-jewelry-blog/

This month we are going to talk about semiprecious stones that come from the United States.

First off-what is considered a semiprecious stone? Well, precious stones are usually transparent, faceted, with a hardness of 8 or higher. This includes diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc. Opals and pearls are also considered precious. Semiprecious stones are everything else. They are usually translucent (some light passes through) or opaque (no light passes through). Semiprecious stones can be minerals, rocks (a conglomerate of several minerals), organic (such as Amber), or even a meteorite. This category encompasses the whole quartz family and their offspring agates and jaspers. Generally, stones with a hardness of 7 or lower are considered semiprecious. Most semiprecious stones are cut into cabochons instead of faceted. There is a huge array of gemstone materials that fall under this category.

The United States is prolific in gorgeous rocks and minerals and there are way too many to list here. Instead, we are going to list the semiprecious stones that we have listed on our website. This will help out those who are specifically looking to purchase a cabochon made from stone material found in the United States.

Apache Gold-a bright and shiny gold Chalcopyrite and Arsenopyrite (silver) in a black Schist found in "The Big Hole" in Jerome, Arizona.

Arizona Pietersite-A rare stone that is not the same as the original Pietersite found in Africa, but is named Arizona Pietersite for its superb chatoyant effect, and is found in a very remote and rugged area in the Arizona desert.

Azurite-Malachite-a stunning royal blue and green stone found in several major copper mines of Arizona.

Biggs Jasper- a classic NW American picture jasper that comes from a deposit near Biggs Junction, Oregon.

Bruneau Jasper-a beautiful very well-known semiprecious gemstone that comes from the region near the Bruneau River in western Idaho.

Bull Canyon Agate-a lovely moss agate that comes from a closed mining claim in Washoe, Nevada, near the Northern California/Nevada border area.

Candy Opal-a colorful striped gemstone that is found in western Utah, in the Thomas Mountain Range near the city of Milford in Beaver County.

Carrasite Jasper-comes from the famous Morrison Ranch area above the Owhyee Mountains of southeastern Oregon, in Malheur County near the Idaho border.

Chinese Writing Rock-is feldspar crystals in a black basalt and it comes from Auburn, California and was found while cutting a highway.

Chrysocolla-Malachite-is a beautiful sky blue and green copper gemstone also found in the major copper mines of Arizona.

Copper Rose-is a RARE red stone with native copper, also known as Kingston Conglomerate and it comes from the Calumet & Hecla Mine in Houghton County, Michigan.

Covellite- is a rare gemstone material of copper sulfide found in the Leonard Mine in Butte, Montana and in the Galactic open pit mine in Summitville, Colorado.

Deschutes Jasper-a popular brown scenic picture jasper that comes from a deposit a near Biggs Junction, Oregon.

Dinosaur Bone-found in the Morrison Formation in Utah.

Graveyard Plume Agate-is from near Graveyard Point in the Owyhee Mountains of far eastern Oregon, near the Idaho border.

Howlite-is a white semiprecious stone with dark gray veins and ours came from Tick Canyon in California.

Mahogany Obsidian-this deep black Obsidian with blood red streaks is found in central Oregon.

Mary Ellen Jasper-is a beautiful red Stromatolite Jasper from the Mary Ellen Iron Mine in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

Mohawkite-occurs in only one area in the world, the Mohawk Mine in the Mohawk-Ameek area of Keweenaw County, Michigan.

Montana Agate-comes from Montana near the Yellowstone River. Montana Agate has been the state of Montana's official state gemstone (along with Montana Sapphire) since 1969.

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper-this Poppy Jasper comes from Morgan Hill, California near the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Morrisonite-like the Carrasite, comes from the famous Morrison Ranch area of in Oregon.

Native Copper-copper running through white quartzite or a granitic epidote that comes from the Chino Mine in New Mexico.

Nipomo Agate-is also sometimes referred to as Marcasite Agate, this milky white semi-translucent agate with golden metallic Marcasite and Pyrite inclusions comes from Nipomo, California.

Owyhee Jasper-is another beautiful jasper from the northwest U.S. and it is found in the Owyhee Mountains on the Idaho-Oregon border.

Petrified Wood-we have several varieties of Petrified Wood found in Arizona, Washington, Oregon and the Palm Wood from the Texas-Louisiana border.

Polka Dot Agate/Blue Ice Agate-is found at the Polka Dot Agate mine near Madras, Oregon.

Priday Plume Agate-is found at the eastern edge of the Deschutes Basin, northeast of the town of Madras, Oregon.

Snowflake Obsidian-is found near Sevier Lake in Millard County, Utah.

Starry Night Jasper-is found just west of the town of McDermott, Oregon.

Tiffany Stone-is a unique purple stone that is found in only one place in the world, at the Brush Wellman Beryllium Mine near Delta, in Western Utah.

Turquoise-perhaps the most famous gemstone found in several places in the western U.S. Our material is from the Kingman Mine in Kingman, Arizona.

Turritella Agate-a unique fossil material where the spiral-shaped shells accumulated in the sediments of a shallow inland sea in an area that we now know as Wamsutter, Wyoming.

Variscite-is found primarily found in Utah, but has been found elsewhere including Nevada.

Wild Horse-also known as Crazy Horse Stone or Appaloosa Stone is a mottled brown and white magnesite found in Arizona.

Willow Creek Jasper-is a lovely porcelain jasper known for subtle pastel colors from Idaho.

As you can see, Barlows Gems specializes in colorful and lovely patterned semiprecious stones that are “made” in the U.S.A. We dig a lot of them or travel direct to the mines to buy the best material to produce our top-grade designer cabochons (which we cut ourselves) MADE IN THE USA.

Please check back next month as we are going to explore Native Metal Ores found in the United States!