Leland Slag and Branch

$465.00

4cm tall x 8.3 cm long

The stone (cabochon) rises 1.3 cm above the base.

Hangs on an 18″ sterling silver (oxidized) rolo chain

Created in Bayfield, WI

1 in stock

1 in stock

This piece of Leland Slag is mighty. It needed something more than a flat plate to set it on so I got busy and created some texture and irregular "crumpled" edges. A cast birch twig is the final finishing touch on this piece.

Not a true gem, not really sea glass, Leland Slag is in a category all its own. Truth is, Leland Slag is byproduct of smelting iron-ore, which they don't do anymore thank god. It's waste. Tossed aside into Lake Michigan like an old chunk of coal. 145 years later, it's a beautiful stone that has earned a spot in my lineup. Read the nerdy, yet necessary, natural history below.

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 Co. 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.

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