What I’m Cutting: Chrysoplume from Indonesia

One of the things I enjoy most about lapidary is starting with a piece of rough that does not immediately tell you what it wants to become.

Lately I have been working with material from Obi Island, Indonesia, sold as Chrysoplume / Tide Pool Plume Agate. The rough can look fairly quiet at first, but once it is wet or cut, blue-gray banding, lavender crystalline areas, dark plume-like patterns, and occasional metallic-looking flecks start to show themselves.

I have already finished three live-edge cabochons from this material. Rather than forcing the pieces into traditional calibrated shapes, I left the natural crystalline edges intact where they added something to the finished stone.

They fit my favorite lapidary rule pretty well: Life’s Too Short To Cut Ugly Rocks!

I also wanted to try something different with a larger piece. Instead of cutting it into several cabochons, I kept it as a roughly three-inch display specimen and worked the surface as a contour polish. The goal was to reveal the internal pattern while keeping as much of the original shape and character of the piece as possible.

This kind of piece is a good reminder that not every interesting slab or chunk of rough needs to become jewelry. Sometimes the best result is simply a polished specimen that lets the material speak for itself.

See it at Gems by the Sea

I am getting ready for the Gems by the Sea Gem & Mineral Show in San Luis Obispo, California, and I plan to bring some of this material and finished work with me.

Saturday & Sunday, September 26–27, 2026
10 AM–5 PM
Alex Madonna Expo Center
120 Madonna Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA

If you are at the show, stop by The Little Lapidary and say hello. I will have cabochons, turquoise, specimens, and other material I have been cutting and collecting.

Visit the official Gems by the Sea show page for details.

More from the bench soon.