My parents have always gone on pretty epic adventures. My mother is a retired school teacher and I’m pretty sure some of our adventures when I was growing up were actually field trips. This June, my parents went on a field trip from Denver over to Marble, Colorado in search of some Yule Marble. My dad had always heard about marble and how it was coveted by ancient sculptures. He was curious if the Yule Marble would also polish up nicely for jewelry. You, my friends, get to see the results and it DOES happen to be very lovely to work with and shines up beautifully for jewelry. 

Marble from the Yule valley is formed from metamorphosed Leadville limestone that is exposed to extreme temperatures and pressures. The interesting thing about limestone is that it is always indicative of a sea. Hard to imagine now that the Rocky Mountain Range used to be under an ocean! I am always incredibly humbled by geologic history - the process of making marble is a very, very, long process. 

Yule marble is very unique since it is such a pure white color with delicate veining. Some of our jewelry shows off the pure white, while some showcase the veining. Yule marble gained fame when it was selected to be used on the Lincoln memorial (alongside some Georgia marble), despite the fact that it was the most expensive option. The quarry outside of Marble, Colorado first opened in 1884, but the quarry itself has gone through boom and bust periods like much of the mining industry in the Colorado area. The price of Yule marble remains high due to the expense of mining in a mountainous area. 

My parents found discarded pieces of marble on the side of a public road that we were able to use for jewelry. In the process, we learned about what makes the best marble. Who knew that some of the rocks would almost liquify when we went to cut them! The marble can also act like a sponge, absorbing our cutting coolant. Some of the softer marble pieces are the ones we ended up using as displays for the jewelry. I am so excited to share this lovely, smooth, jewelry with you - it can help ground you and, naturally, turn heads with its unique appearance.