(SOLD) Lake Superior Agate + Basalt + Leland Blue Necklace 387

The Upper Midwest Trifecta, this necklace features a Lake Superior Agate, Leland Blue (Michigan), and Lake Superior Basalt interspersed with sterling silver textured beads for an easy-to-wear, colorful necklace.

LAKE SUPERIOR AGATE
Agates are a gemstone with a hardness of 7; harder than Basalt or Rhyolite. Beautiful banding, varied patterns, and eye-catching colors unique to each agate are created by quartz with small amounts of different elements. Red bands are the result of the rusting of iron within the agate when exposed to oxygen. These gemstones can be found on many Lake Superior beaches throughout the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Properties: Good for security, strength, to raise energy and to enhance personal courage and calming.

LELAND BLUE (ANTIQUE FOUNDRY GLASS) c. 1875-1900
This unique “gem” is a byproduct of the short-lived days of smelting iron ore in Northwest Lower Michigan. The ore from the Upper Peninsula’s Mesabi iron range arrived in Leelanau County by schooner. A charcoal made from beech and maple hardwoods plus a local limestone flux were used to refine the ore. The slag byproduct was considered waste and dumped into Lake Michigan.

This material ranges in color from black to green, to blue and purple, with the various shades of water-like blues being the most prized and rare. Under 2% of the slag created was blue, depending on environmental factors. The lucky and determined beachcomber may still find pebbles along the shore.

BASALT
Basalt is by far the most common rocks you will find on Lake Superior’s North and South Shore beaches. It is one of the four rock-types that make up the basement bedrock of the earth’s crust. Basically it is lava that cooled quickly on the surface. Each one has a distinctive shape and in a variety of shades of color from blush-black to grey. That quick cooling is what caused it to be dense, very fine grained (tiny crystals) and smooth - although the smooth surface is also due to glacial grinding & Gitche Gumee tossing it about for eons. That Basalt rock you hold in your hand (or wear on your body) is over a billion years old!

Properties: Basalt is a stone that brings stability, raises energy levels, and promotes courage. It opens you up to creativity and gives you the courage to follow your bliss.

Beads by Bob Wright.