SOLD – Leland Slag white islands Pendant

I took this beautiful specimen of a Leland slag cab and set it on the beach with its best pals, pebbles. The pebbles are hand created and formed using leftover silver material and my friend, the torch. Organic, rustic but refined with a pop of blue.

Leland slag is not really a  true gem, nor is it  sea glass. It's  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 never to be seen again. Until now... 145 years later, it's a beautiful stone that has earned a spot in my lineup. Read the nerdy, yet necessary, natural history below.

**UNFORTUNATLEY, the stone cracked as I pushed it into the setting- a lot of energy in there trying to get out, I guess.  For that reason, this pendant is marked down.**

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.