There’s magic in semi-precious stones, and something extra special about Dalmatian jasper in particular. It’s the stone I get asked about the most, and stops people in their tracks, eliciting an, “Oooooh, what’s that one called?” I mean, just look at it! Can you blame anyone?
Every time I get a freshly cut batch of Dalmatian jasper it feels like Christmas, with each stone a unique play of black and cream speckles on ivory white. Picking which ones to use in specific designs gets hard — how do I choose when they’re all so wonderful? I especially love seeing lots of them set all together, like in the Willoughby Necklace, so that the natural pattern really starts to show itself.
I’m also a big proponent of natural Dalmatian jasper stones (and most semi-precious stones, really), using them exclusively in my jewelry. They are reflections of a specific moment and place — the chemicals, elements, and debris that got caught up in the stone when it originally formed determine its unique design fingerprint.
Today’s jewelry scene uses reconstituted stones a lot — ground-up stone mixed with resin and put back together. Because it’s man-made you can control the final product so precisely, but I think that takes all the fun out of it. Mother Nature is the best designer, and with semi-precious stones I’m happy to let her work her magic so I can be surprised and delighted with what she comes up with.
I plan on using even more jasper in the future — that whole family of stones (of which Dalmatian jasper is just one member) comes in an incredible variety of colors and patterns. See how I’m using it now, and let me know if you have a favorite stone you’d love to see me use in the future!