Entry No. 33 — the Anchorage file — filed under: crystals
Nature's Jewels Rock Shop & Lapidary
A women-owned working lapidary and silversmith studio stocked with fossils, minerals, meteorites, and carvings, where custom cutting and polishing happen on site. You can watch raw stone become finished jewelry in back.
The story
In 2001, Texas transplant Joe Turnbow got hit with an ultimatum from his wife Bobbie: either sell off the geodes and thundereggs taking over their kitchen counters or stop collecting altogether. Joe bought a tiny 600-square-foot storefront on Arctic Boulevard just to unload his hoard. Over the next two decades, that single room swallowed neighboring commercial units, expanding into a 4,000-square-foot storehouse holding over 40 tons of rough mineral stock, meteorites, fossils, and multi-hundred-pound Alaskan jade boulders.
Today, the shop operates as a women-owned partnership co-run by longtime lapidary Jamie and metalsmith Elaine Enriquez. What sets it apart from standard metaphysical crystal shops is that it remains an active, heavy-equipment trade workshop. Step past the front display cases and you can hear diamond-bladed lapidary saws slicing raw slabs, vibratory tumblers rumbling in back, and bench artists wire-wrapping or drilling custom stones on site while you watch.
What it's like
Look for Suite B's door tucked into a low-slung commercial strip on an unglamorous stretch of South Arctic Boulevard. Inside, the shop is deceptively crammed—far larger and dustier than the modest storefront suggests, packed with bins of raw minerals, fossil cases, and drawers of loose specimens. Head toward the back studio where the actual diamond saws and tumblers operate; if you bring in mystery rocks you picked up along Turnagain Arm or an Alaskan beach, the crew will identify them on the spot and take on custom slicing, drilling, or tumbling jobs for a flat per-pound fee. It keeps a closed-Sundays rhythm, so aim for a weekday or Saturday run, and grab lunch at Sara's Sandwiches two doors down.
The move: Pick out matching crystal or fossil pieces together, watch the cutting-and-polishing work happening in the studio, and ask the owner about the local Alaskan stones.
📍 Before you go Look for the Suite B door in a low-slung commercial building on this unglamorous stretch of Arctic Blvd in South Anchorage — there is parking on site, and the shop is far more crammed inside than the storefront suggests. The lapidary studio shares the building, and they will identify rocks you have collected and take on cutting and tumbling jobs for your own finds, so bring that mystery stone from an Alaskan beach. It keeps a closed-Sundays rhythm, so aim for a weekday or Saturday. Pair it with Sara's Sandwiches a few doors down at 5841 Arctic, Anchorage's longest-running independent sandwich shop, going since 1984.
- 📍 South Anchorage / Midtown
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 5861 Arctic Blvd, Suite B, Anchorage, AK 99518
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Get Scent Studio — Drive half a mile north on Arctic Boulevard to go from cutting raw mineral slabs to custom scent-blending at Chester Mainot's soy candle studio.
- Alaska Fur Exchange — Drive 1.3 miles east to trade lapidary saws and rough jade for dense stacks of antlers, mastodon bones, and taxidermy curiosities.
- Rusty Raven Uniques — Head 1.4 miles into Midtown to continue your tactile treasure hunt through an unorganized maze of vintage oddities.
- Together with Tarot (Tales of the Tarot at Rage City Vintage) — Head 1.5 miles over to Spenard to bring your newly acquired raw crystals to a monthly drop-in tarot reading inside Rage City Vintage.
Good to know
Can I bring in my own rocks for identification or tumbling?
Yes. Staff will identify rocks you've collected around Alaska and offer commercial vibratory tumbling services starting at $10 per pound, along with custom stone slicing and drilling.
What local Alaskan stones do they carry?
They stock locally collected Alaskan minerals, including large raw Alaskan jade boulders available in bulk or by individual piece, as well as regional fossils.
Can they turn loose stones into custom jewelry on site?
Yes. The shop features in-house wire-wrapping and metalsmithing capabilities to shape cabochons and craft custom rings, pendants, and earrings from your stone of choice.
When is the shop open?
Nature's Jewels is open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and is closed on Sundays.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Yelp · Official site · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-09