Dear Orchidians:
Diamond was almost worthless to the Romans at the time of Christ
while salt was worth more than gold. The market for jet as well as
mother of pearl and other colourful carbonates varies over time. If
jet and carbonates can be valuable gems, why not other forms of
super-strong C?
I ask for a practical reason as I have a number of samples of very
strong C rock here from a site close to a lava outcropping with lots
of C soot in nearby pockets and veins.
Diamond was almost worthless to the Romans at the time of Christ while salt was worth more than gold. The market for jet as well as mother of pearl and other colourful carbonates varies over time. If jet and carbonates can be valuable gems, why not other forms of super-strong C
Because the classic definition of a gemstone is that it has:
1. Beauty
2. Rarity
3. Durability
Now, many stones have found their way into jewelry that lack one or
more of those features. and there are many that are extremely rare,
but nearly worthless. Then we have a few, like Tanzanite that chip
at a glance…but…if your strong-C stuff isn’t gorgeous snd
durable, leave it where it sits.
I’d say demand drives value in the marketplace. No demand no value.
Wayne Emery
The Gemcutter
www.thelittlecameras.com
“Soot” in pockets and veins sounds more like Mn than C. A laboratory
test would seem in order.
Cheers,
Hans Durstling
Beauty -> Demand side
Rarity -> Supply side
Durability -> ?
Other ?
Marble is not so durable when exposed to acid rain or the scratching
of a nail file.
Would the Taj Mahal be rated as high in beauty if the stone facing
is made from scores of other dimension stones?
I have a backyard filled with diverse stones from field trips. I put
a few tons into a masonry rock garden recently and had such success
that I am now hooked on doing the entire yard with dimension stones.
Honestly I never met a stone I did not like. I spent a lot of time
inspecting stone walls around Vancouver. I like them all with few
exceptions due to poor “cosmetic” effects like soot and dirt buildup.
So all the stones in my yard are gems to me.
Part of the beauty of a stone wall is shape. That applies to Taj
Mahal as well. I found that water especially is a great cosmetic for
dimension stones so I am studying misting nozzles now as well as
special lighting. I may even put mirrors and lenses in the stone
garden. Any tips would be appreciated but this may be off topic for
Orchid. The project has a lot to do with field prospecting and field
tests of stones.
For example Hans made an interesting point about Mn soot rather than
C soot. The soot impregnates nearby quartz and the quartz becomes
very strong. Hardness the same as standard quartz but they resist a
sledge hammer very well. From that field test they are as durable as
the strongest, highly tumbled river stones here. Does the soot add to
the durability? Can C bond chemically with quartz or is it only a
temperature-pressure bond? If a masonry wall of this material is
sold, do I sell it as carbonatite? But like I said -maybe dimension
stones are off topic so the moderator can call it any time.
Let’s say we approach the three scales above as scientifically as
wine tasting/testing.
If we allow 300 points for total score of a dimension stone, how
many points would you allocate to each?
How about 100 to beauty and 100 to rarity and 100 to durability?
PS - I had a highly skilled (and expensive) stone mason come in for
the first round of work on this project. He used a lot of granite. I
recognized him as who he was, ie an artist and craftsman as well as a
tradesman so I said Here is the money and I do not care how you do
the job as long as it looks like Michaelangelo was here when you are
finished.