Earth-Inspired Wirework and Lapidary

Unique wirework pendants created from rough stone to finished pendant by Dev Khan. Each one of a kind piece echoes the forms, textures and colors found in nature. Sterling silver wire flows smoothly onto the stone, as my hands know the shape from its cutting. The wirework is accented with gemstone beadwork and wire spirals, pearls and crystals to match the colors and forms within the stone. It's a satisfying combination of sculpture, engineering and color theory.

These pendants are some of my best work in private collections and my own personal pieces.

A beautiful emerald crystal cluster in sterling with chrysoprase and pearl accents. Topped with a matching facetted glass cabochon.

Two azurite pendants from the same slab in sterling wire with chrysoprase, kyanite, apatite, lapiz and copper notes.

Finished parrotwing chrysocolla with jelly opal and gemstone beads.

Conch shell in sterling with floral pearl and gemstone accents.

Five Indian rubies in goldfill wire with flame gemstone accents.

An amethyst flower crystal in a silver/gold fill setting. Amethyst, iolite, green tourmaline and silver dangles accent the large sugilite bead at the top.

This geode half is set in silver and goldfill wire adorned with pearls, spinels, garnet and andalusite. Tiny copper beads and copper spiral finish the piece. There is a lovely "secret pocket" on the backside filled with pink and white quartz crystals.

Quartz with gem silica druzy framed in silver and gold fill wire. Apatite, laboradorite and spectralite wound with meandering copper match the delicate colors in the stone.

An amazing piece of gem silica/chrysocolla with delicate bands of azurite and malachite and a “secret” druzy pocket on the side. It is set in silver and goldfill wire with sea-colored gems including turquoise, chrysoprase, apatite and aquamarine.

Here is what things look like in the process of creation. Lots of mud, noise and surprising discoveries made along the way.

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, from first cut to final polish. This material is from Morgan Hill, California, and is mostly unavailable due to a subdivision and part of a freeway being on top of the original deposit. The material I cut is from folks who dug it up back in the 70's or got it from those who did. I really love the brilliant colors and those circular features (orbs) are very cool. The challenge is to cut a stable stone with the most goodies inside!

Lovely piece of chrysocolla/gem silica in process, three cabs polished, the best one is yet to cut.

Some pieces created for a recent show.

Parrotwing chrysocolla in mud after slabbing.

Parrotwing chrysocolla, rough, slabbed, and polished.

Parrotwing chyrsocolla resting on a muddy saw.

All the cabs from half of a slab of chrysocolla.

Lepidolite, from rock to slab to cabochon.

A good night's work.

My workshop, a balance of chaos and organization. There's enough of each to maintain focus while providing the occasional surprise. My tools are a 10" Raytec rock saw for cutting slabs from larger rocks, a 6" trim saw for cutting the slabs into usable pieces, and a 6 wheel grinding and polishing machine, the Genie. These machines use diamond blades and wheels, and run in water or oil for cooling and lubrication.

Here is a video of me cutting Kaleidoscope agate in my shop.

The Big Rock Rainbow! All the rocks I'm working on are arranged at the back of my bench, from reds to purple. Three feet of delicious mineral goodness just waiting to be made into art!

Three finished pieces of chrysocolla/gem silica in sterling wire with copper, gold and sea-colored gems, chrysoprase, apatite, turquoise and aquamarine. They are laying in the seafoam dried mud from their cutting.

This is where I set up finished pieces for photography and getting an idea of work in progress.

My main workbench with tools, lights and gemstone beads, cut stones and crystals laid out like paint on a palette. Delicious.

My small saw and the Genie. Tools for cutting and polishing and piles of rough in the shelves. This is a noisy and muddy area. I love it...

Ten slabs from Leigh Becker of Eidos polished into 36 stones.

The Crew making backgrounds for the New Living Expo pendants.

Katie, Tyrone, Jada and Allie and all their good work!

Still life in the midst of chaos.

Wow, chaos IS good!

29 stones cut in two days include azurite, lepidolite with tourmaline, assorted agates and jaspers, and of course, parrotwing chrysocolla.

The Genie is a six wheel grinding machine used for shaping and polishing rough rocks into finished stones. Its diamond-coated abrasive wheels range from 80 grit for cutting and shaping, to 3000 grit for the final polish. It has a water drip system to cool and lubricate the stones as they are being worked.

Assorted slabs await polishing.

I love cutting open a rock and revealing the geology within. The cut stones tell stories of heat and time, pressure and place. They are cut from naturally colorful, unaltered minerals. The freeform shape of the finished stones is determined by geology and thrift. I enjoy the challenge of using each part of the stone while getting the best possible combination of color, texture and shape within the slab. I'm delighted by the rough edges of stones that reveal original surfaces and the occasional hole filled with crystals.

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, from first cut to final polish. This material is from Morgan Hill, California, near San Jose. There is no more collection of this colorful jasper as the original deposit is covered by a freeway and a state park The material I cut is from folks who dug it up back in the 70's or got it from those who did. I really love the hot colors and those circular features (orbs) are very cool. This stone has cracks that are usually stable after being cut and polished. The challenge is to cut a stable stone with the most goodies inside!

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, from first cut to final polish. This material is from Morgan Hill, California, near San Jose. There is no more collection of this colorful jasper as the original deposit is covered by a freeway and a state park The material I cut is from folks who dug it up back in the 70's or got it from those who did. I really love the hot colors and those circular features (orbs) are very cool. This stone has cracks that are usually stable after being cut and polished. The challenge is to cut a stable stone with the most goodies inside!

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, from first cut to final polish. This material is from Morgan Hill, California, near San Jose. There is no more collection of this colorful jasper as the original deposit is covered by a freeway and a state park The material I cut is from folks who dug it up back in the 70's or got it from those who did. I really love the hot colors and those circular features (orbs) are very cool. This stone has cracks that are usually stable after being cut and polished. The challenge is to cut a stable stone with the most goodies inside!

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, from first cut to final polish. This material is from Morgan Hill, California, near San Jose. There is no more collection of this colorful jasper as the original deposit is covered by a freeway and a state park The material I cut is from folks who dug it up back in the 70's or got it from those who did. I really love the hot colors and those circular features (orbs) are very cool. This stone has cracks that are usually stable after being cut and polished. The challenge is to cut a stable stone with the most goodies inside!

Parrot Wing Chrysocolla is my favorite stone. It comes from a copper mine in Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been mined out since the mid-1970’s. Most of the material available these days comes from old rockhounds’ collections.

It’s the perfect combination of chrysocolla, malachite, cuprite, and sometimes azurite, all neatly held together with quartz. Not exactly a jasper, and softer than agate, it takes a fine polish and can be worked into complex shapes without cracking or crumbling.

Parrot Wing's vivid sea blues, green malachite veining, red cuprite and white quartz swirls, with the occasion azurite deep blue make it a lovely and interesting stone both to wear and cut.

Parrot Wing Chrysocolla is my favorite stone. It comes from a copper mine in Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been mined out since the mid-1970’s. Most of the material available these days comes from old rockhounds’ collections.

It’s the perfect combination of chrysocolla, malachite, cuprite, and sometimes azurite, all neatly held together with quartz. Not exactly a jasper, and softer than agate, it takes a fine polish and can be worked into complex shapes without cracking or crumbling.

Parrot Wing's vivid sea blues, green malachite veining, red cuprite and white quartz swirls, with the occasion azurite deep blue make it a lovely and interesting stone both to wear and cut.

Parrot Wing Chrysocolla is my favorite stone. It comes from a copper mine in Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been mined out since the mid-1970’s. Most of the material available these days comes from old rockhounds’ collections.

It’s the perfect combination of chrysocolla, malachite, cuprite, and sometimes azurite, all neatly held together with quartz. Not exactly a jasper, and softer than agate, it takes a fine polish and can be worked into complex shapes without cracking or crumbling.

Parrot Wing's vivid sea blues, green malachite veining, red cuprite and white quartz swirls, with the occasion azurite deep blue make it a lovely and interesting stone both to wear and cut.

Parrot Wing Chrysocolla is my favorite stone. It comes from a copper mine in Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been mined out since the mid-1970’s. Most of the material available these days comes from old rockhounds’ collections.

It’s the perfect combination of chrysocolla, malachite, cuprite, and sometimes azurite, all neatly held together with quartz. Not exactly a jasper, and softer than agate, it takes a fine polish and can be worked into complex shapes without cracking or crumbling.

Parrot Wing's vivid sea blues, green malachite veining, red cuprite and white quartz swirls, with the occasion azurite deep blue make it a lovely and interesting stone both to wear and cut.

Rhodochrosite is a soft pink banded mineral from Argentina. It is made of layers of various concentrations of manganese and calcite. Manganese is a metal that causes calcite to turn pink. Rhodochrosite sometimes has contrasting bands of black pyrite. It’s a very soft stone to cut and care must be taken not to cut with too coarse a grit. My favorite is when it has a vug (fancy word for hole) filled with tiny calcite crystals. It’s a challenge to leave the vug there without destabilizing the rest of the cabochon.

I love the way it goes with pink tourmaline and ruby, and looks great in either silver or gold wire. Pearls, with all their subtle colors bring out the varying shades of rose, pink and cream.

Rhodochrosite is a soft pink banded mineral from Argentina. It is made of layers of various concentrations of manganese and calcite. Manganese is a metal that causes calcite to turn pink. Rhodochrosite sometimes has contrasting bands of black pyrite. It’s a very soft stone to cut and care must be taken not to cut with too coarse a grit. My favorite is when it has a vug (fancy word for hole) filled with tiny calcite crystals. It’s a challenge to leave the vug there without destabilizing the rest of the cabochon.

I love the way it goes with pink tourmaline and ruby, and looks great in either silver or gold wire. Pearls, with all their subtle colors bring out the varying shades of rose, pink and cream.

Rhodochrosite is a soft pink banded mineral from Argentina. It is made of layers of various concentrations of manganese and calcite. Manganese is a metal that causes calcite to turn pink. Rhodochrosite sometimes has contrasting bands of black pyrite. It’s a very soft stone to cut and care must be taken not to cut with too coarse a grit. My favorite is when it has a vug (fancy word for hole) filled with tiny calcite crystals. It’s a challenge to leave the vug there without destabilizing the rest of the cabochon.

I love the way it goes with pink tourmaline and ruby, and looks great in either silver or gold wire. Pearls, with all their subtle colors bring out the varying shades of rose, pink and cream.

Kaleidoscope agate isn’t really an agate, but this is what the folks who mined it called it and the name has stuck. It seems to be a conglomerate of amethyst breccia (broken pieces) and fine sediment containing copper minerals: chrysocolla, azurite and possibly malachite. This stone comes from west central Utah.

It’s very soft to cut, and care must be taken not to cut slabs too thin as it can fracture at the edges. It does take a nice curvy wave cut, and polishes to a soft finish. I like it because of its soft purple shard-like amethyst fragments with varying shades of blue and green between the bits. It goes well with turquoise, pearls and amethyst.

Kaleidoscope agate isn’t really an agate, but this is what the folks who mined it called it and the name has stuck. It seems to be a conglomerate of amethyst breccia (broken pieces) and fine sediment containing copper minerals: chrysocolla, azurite and possibly malachite. This stone comes from west central Utah.

It’s very soft to cut, and care must be taken not to cut slabs too thin as it can fracture at the edges. It does take a nice curvy wave cut, and polishes to a soft finish. I like it because of its soft purple shard-like amethyst fragments with varying shades of blue and green between the bits. It goes well with turquoise, pearls and amethyst.

Kaleidoscope agate isn’t really an agate, but this is what the folks who mined it called it and the name has stuck. It seems to be a conglomerate of amethyst breccia (broken pieces) and fine sediment containing copper minerals: chrysocolla, azurite and possibly malachite. This stone comes from west central Utah.

It’s very soft to cut, and care must be taken not to cut slabs too thin as it can fracture at the edges. It does take a nice curvy wave cut, and polishes to a soft finish. I like it because of its soft purple shard-like amethyst fragments with varying shades of blue and green between the bits. It goes well with turquoise, pearls and amethyst.

Ruby in Fuchsite (pronounced fook-site) comes from India. The green is fuchsite, a chromium mica, the red/pink crystals are rubies, and the blue-green around the rubies is kyanite. This is a tricky stone to cut. The fuchsite is very soft, and the rubies are very hard (9 Mohs hardness scale!) and has a tendency to undercut. The slab has to be cut thick, and if the rubies are close to the edge of the slab, they sometimes work their way loose.

I love this stone! They remind me of a rose garden, and I like to use rubies, turquoise, green gems and pearls to pick up all the colors.

Ruby in Fuchsite (pronounced fook-site) comes from India. The green is fuchsite, a chromium mica, the red/pink crystals are rubies, and the blue-green around the rubies is kyanite. This is a tricky stone to cut. The fuchsite is very soft, and the rubies are very hard (9 Mohs hardness scale!) and has a tendency to undercut. The slab has to be cut thick, and if the rubies are close to the edge of the slab, they sometimes work their way loose.

I love this stone! They remind me of a rose garden, and I like to use rubies, turquoise, green gems and pearls to pick up all the colors.

Ruby in Fuchsite (pronounced fook-site) comes from India. The green is fuchsite, a chromium mica, the red/pink crystals are rubies, and the blue-green around the rubies is kyanite. This is a tricky stone to cut. The fuchsite is very soft, and the rubies are very hard (9 Mohs hardness scale!) and has a tendency to undercut. The slab has to be cut thick, and if the rubies are close to the edge of the slab, they sometimes work their way loose.

I love this stone! They remind me of a rose garden, and I like to use rubies, turquoise, green gems and pearls to pick up all the colors.

Ruby in Fuchsite (pronounced fook-site) comes from India. The green is fuchsite, a chromium mica, the red/pink crystals are rubies, and the blue-green around the rubies is kyanite. This is a tricky stone to cut. The fuchsite is very soft, and the rubies are very hard (9 Mohs hardness scale!) and has a tendency to undercut. The slab has to be cut thick, and if the rubies are close to the edge of the slab, they sometimes work their way loose.

I love this stone! They remind me of a rose garden, and I like to use rubies, turquoise, green gems and pearls to pick up all the colors.

This is a California stone. It comes from Pala, in the high desert of northwestern San Diego county. The purple in lepidolite is lithium mica. Pink tourmaline crystals are scattered throughout. It’s a very soft stone, takes a nice soft polish, and can be shaped into soft waves and curves.

It goes well with pearls and rose pink tourmaline beads and crystals. Worn over time, lepidolite will absorb natural skin oils, darkening and becoming translucent, often revealing hidden tourmaline crystals!

This is a California stone. It comes from Pala, in the high desert of northwestern San Diego county. The purple in lepidolite is lithium mica. Pink tourmaline crystals are scattered throughout. It’s a very soft stone, takes a nice soft polish, and can be shaped into soft waves and curves.

It goes well with pearls and rose pink tourmaline beads and crystals. Worn over time, lepidolite will absorb natural skin oils, darkening and becoming translucent, often revealing hidden tourmaline crystals!

This is a California stone. It comes from Pala, in the high desert of northwestern San Diego county. The purple in lepidolite is lithium mica. Pink tourmaline crystals are scattered throughout. It’s a very soft stone, takes a nice soft polish, and can be shaped into soft waves and curves.

It goes well with pearls and rose pink tourmaline beads and crystals. Worn over time, lepidolite will absorb natural skin oils, darkening and becoming translucent, often revealing hidden tourmaline crystals!

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Each piece is handmade from raw natural colored stone. Large rocks are cut into slabs with a 10” rock saw, then cut into smaller usable pieces using a 6” trim saw. These saws use diamond-coated blades running in water for cooling and lubrication.

The trimmed pieces are then worked on the Genie, a series of six diamond-coated grinding wheels graded from 80 grit (very rough for shaping) to 3000 grit (very fine, for polishing). These wheels are also run with water for cooling and lubrication.

The trimmed pieces are then worked on the Genie, a series of six diamond-coated grinding wheels graded from 80 grit (very rough for shaping) to 3000 grit (very fine, for polishing). These wheels are also run with water for cooling and lubrication.

The finished stones are then worked in wire, creating a custom setting for each one. Sterling silver, facetted gemstone beads, multi-colored pearls are added to match or enhance the setting. All work is done with simple hand tools and 15 years of experience in bending wire, shaping stone and discovering the potential beauty in each rough rock.

The finished stones are then worked in wire, creating a custom setting for each one. Sterling silver, facetted gemstone beads, multi-colored pearls are added to match or enhance the setting. All work is done with simple hand tools and 15 years of experience in bending wire, shaping stone and discovering the potential beauty in each rough rock.