TS35 Tornado Stone Michigan Firebrick jewelry cab cabochon slab rough smokestack

Description

This listing is for what is shown in the photo with the ruler and 3 x 5 index card.
This is the firebrick lining from the smelter smokestacks of the Michigan copper smelters. In operation from about the early 1850's to the early 1960's, the porous brick lining over time absorbed the fumes and vapors from the melted copper. I did not get a good side view of this piece, it is ABOUT 5mm. You do not want the normal thickness in this material. Doming your cabs doesn't get you any extra "eyeball appeal", and it just adds a lot of unwanted weight. I have many more listed, see my other items. Very dense and solid, if you smack a slab with a hammer it just looks at you with disdain. Its tough. But it sure polishes up pretty. They knocked down the stacks with wrecking balls, crushed the pieces and extracted the condensed almost pure copper. Not much of this material is left.
The Union Army had access to a lot of copper during the Civil War, the Rebs did not. You need copper for fixtures on ships, copper for telegraph wires, copper for making cannons. Think it through. When women wear this rock as jewelry I can promise you that people will ask about it because it is unique and unusual. Then the gal has quite a story to tell and the other gals will have never seen it before. My customers love it. Keep your cabs to about 8-10 grams. Set in Sterling Silver, this material really pops and screams for attention.
Weight is given in grams. There are 5 carats per gram, 31 grams per ounce, 454 grams per pound.
Had 2 jewelry/gift stores when I retired suddenly for health reasons in 2015. This was left over inventory.
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