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Jim Armagost learned to make jewelry as an undergraduate at Kearney State College and returned to it after he retired in 2015.
Jim Armagost displays some of his gemstones.
Armagost displays a rough slab of mohave purple turquoise with flecks of bronze. He'll cut it into smaller pieces and polish it into cabochons for pendants, rings and maybe earrings.
Armagost will create jewelry from these small, thin pieces of Bisbee turquoise. They will be backed for strength, ground and polished.
These finished pendant stones are examples of Armagost’s dedication to detail.
KEARNEY — Jim Armagost loves to get stoned.
Stoned, that is, with turquoise, lapis lazuli, moonstone and obsidian. Armagost creates pendants and rings from silver and precious stones.
A retired certified financial planner, Armagost spends hours at his basement workbench or in his workshop in his garage, which is equipped with power tools and machinery and a small heater to stay warm on cold winter days.
“I enjoy cutting and polishing the stones and especially working with quality turquoise. Creating one-of-a-kind custom rings and pendants has been my recent focus,” he said.
These pieces, all made by Armagost, include, at top, a mojave green piece with AAA Kingman turquoise, a mohave purple with AAA Kingman turquoise and, at right, a rare Bisbee turquoise pendant.
Armagost still has rings he made years ago. He picks up a blue stone of lapis lazuli dating from around 1966. “Lapis lazuli comes from Afghanistan. Afghanistan has more gemstones than any other place on earth,” he said.
He holds up a rectangular silver pendant displaying a heart. “This piece has dual layers. I cut it out with a jeweler’s saw. It’s almost 60 years old, but I’ve kept it around, and (my wife) Betty Jo has worn it,” he said.
He added, “It took me about eight hours. I’m not as fast as some people.” He’s not apologizing. He enjoys his laid-back schedule and his ability to work when he pleases.
He owes his artistry to Maynard Envick, now deceased, who taught industrial arts at what was then Kearney State College from 1955-75.
A native of David City, Armagost became fascinated with lapidary in the 1960s when he took several classes with Envick while majoring in industrial arts at Kearney State (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney). Those classes included lapidary and jewelry.
Armagost made this sterling silver heart pendant on a padlock design.
Envick was a “rock hound,” Armagost said. “Being a rock hound, Envick had a lot of things we could use. He had built a lot of his own equipment. He had a 16-inch slab saw, and you could cut anything with that.”
Armagost taught industrial arts for nine years. Then, returning to Kearney State to earn a master’s degree, he did independent study with Envick that gave him time to work with jewelry. Subsequently, he taught leather crafting and jewelry making at Millard Senior High School for three years.
From 1970 until 2016, Armagost set aside his stones to work as a certified financial planner and raise three sons with Betty Jo. When he retired in 2015, he returned to making jewelry. “I wanted to have something to keep me busy,” he said.
He buys stones and cuts them into a workable size and grinds and polishes them into gemstones. Then he uses tools to shape and polish them.
Displaying pieces for a visitor, he picked up a pendant of Bisbee turquoise with a stone that cost him $250. Some of his pieces are “free form,” while others are cut and designed.
This pendant was crafted from rare Bisbee turquoise from Arizona.
He has Kingman turquoise stones that came from the nation’s last full-time production mine in Kingman, Ariz. He shows off a tiny white moonstone ring, which has a blue-to-white billowy, moonlight-like sheen.
“Turquoise is a fairly soft stone, so they stabilize it with a resin to make it more solid,” he said. Real turquoise has copper in it, he added. He also has pieces of spider web turquoise, which is a lighter blue, and lapis lazuli, a blue metamorphic rock prized for its intense color.
In January, Armagost and Betty Jo traveled to the prestigious Tucson Gem Show to purchase stones. They also stopped at Rio Grande Jewelry Supply in Albuquerque.
“I bought lots of stuff, but I brought home things I shouldn’t have, but live and learn. Some didn’t turn out like I wanted them to,” he chuckled.
“I wanted to find some really good turquoise, but it’s becoming more rare. It’s getting really, really expensive,” he said. He said Navajo artist Dean Begay showed him a “little stone” he had purchased for $3,000. “He was willing to buy it because he knew he’d get it back and then some with jewelry he made,” Armagost added.
These unique rings were made by Native Americans in the Southwest. Armagost keeps them by his workbench. He can clean up and sell pieces like these.
He makes pieces from what he called “white heart,” made of white buffalo turquoise, one of the rarest stones on the market. He also uses obsidian, a black-patterned stone which is formed from quickly cooled lava.
In the past, he has made belts and other leather pieces, but he now concentrates exclusively on jewelry.
Armagost gives most away to friends and family as gifts, but next Saturday, he’ll display 25 pieces at the ColorFall show at the home of Betty and Steve Streff at 550 E. 56th Street. Armagost will also take orders for custom pieces. He will have them ready before Christmas.
Some days he doesn’t touch his jewelry. Other days he sits down after breakfast and works until dinnertime crafting a new piece or simply polishing a stone.
“Not everything is finished,” he said, which is just the way he likes it. It’s a hobby, not a full-fledged business, and Armagost is having a good time in retirement.
Armagost’s work at ColorFall Oct. 8-9
ColorFall will be from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 8 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 9 at the home of Betty and Steve Streff at 550 E. 78th St.
The free show will offer autumn art and antiques in addition to creations from:
Roxanne Aistrope: art and decorative items
Cindy Jacobs: watercolors and signs, decor
Dayna Eicholtz: handmade pottery and fiber crafts
Rhonda Bremer: primitive fall decor done in fabric
Bamford family: pumpkins, fall decor and baby goats
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Jim Armagost learned to make jewelry as an undergraduate at Kearney State College and returned to it after he retired in 2015.
Jim Armagost displays some of his gemstones.
Armagost made this sterling silver heart pendant on a padlock design.
These pieces, all made by Armagost, include, at top, a mojave green piece with AAA Kingman turquoise, a mohave purple with AAA Kingman turquoise and, at right, a rare Bisbee turquoise pendant.
This pendant was crafted from rare Bisbee turquoise from Arizona.
Armagost displays a rough slab of mohave purple turquoise with flecks of bronze. He'll cut it into smaller pieces and polish it into cabochons for pendants, rings and maybe earrings.
These unique rings were made by Native Americans in the Southwest. Armagost keeps them by his workbench. He can clean up and sell pieces like these.
Armagost will create jewelry from these small, thin pieces of Bisbee turquoise. They will be backed for strength, ground and polished.
These finished pendant stones are examples of Armagost’s dedication to detail.
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