About my cabochons

cab'o-chon (kab'-uh-shon)
n. A highly polished, convex-cut, unfaceted gem. (dictionary.com)

Well, I DO like old radios! Radio collecting is still my primary hobby (see my antique radio web sites, the Radio Attic and the Radio Attic's Archives).

But my late wife Gloria was a wire wrap artist, and I wanted to be more involved in her work.

Wire Treasures featured creations are pendants, most of which use cabochons made from semi-precious minerals as their focus. She started out buying most of her cabochons from online resources, but they were getting expensive. Her favorite cab cutter's work soon became priced in the collector range, which makes it difficult to use those cabs in jewelry and still ask a reasonable price for the finished product.

So in 2005, I went to William Holland School for the Lapidary Arts in Georgia for a cabochons class. I discovered that I had a knack for cab cutting, and actually produced some nice stuff! I think that after months of shopping for cabs with my wife, I already had a very good idea of the "style" I wanted to achieve. I also found that cab cutting was VERY relaxing. So I took the plunge and purchased a grinder/polisher machine and got down to business. I took an advanced class in 2006. I think my work is pretty good, and my wire wrapping wife loved it, too!

I started the Bitter Brook Cabochons business in 2006 and was very successful. In 2025, my domain registrar canceled the registration without telling me first (!) and now I'm called Cabtastrophe! because of the catastrophe of losing the well-loved and popular domain.

I went back to William Holland in August 2008 to teach my first beginners' Cabochons class. Since then, I've taught two tofour classes every year. William Holland is located in Young Harris, in the peaceful hills of northwest Georgia. I retired from teaching in 2024.

Please click here to learn how to buy my cabochons and to read my satisfaction guarantee. You can view a (very) short introduction to cab cutting by clicking here.