Fire Agate.... I have one of the dark brown background with color "bubbles" if you would...... Glowing red, reddish-brown, yellow, purple, blue... Scattered throughout the cab...
Agreed! I’d add Pietersite, Priday plume agate, pinolith,
Morrisonite. Each is my beautiful child that I feel privileged to
shape. What history each holds.
Lorraine
Ant hill garnet… even the very small ones. The idea of tiny little
ant miners pushing them up to the surface and putting them in a pile
for someone to appreciate has a certain amount of intrigue, wouldn’t
you say? Not a particularly rare or beautiful stone, yet one with a
cool story about their origin worth repeating. Fun stuff.
J
Go Agnes This thread was meant to be fun and find out what other
people like, instead of being negative.
Fun and whimsy are sometimes all too lacking. There are of course
times to be serious and times to be humorous if not ridiculous.
A dear friend of decades is a bohemian artist (the real thing) was
saying to me how her “jeweller” friends were too pompous and
critical.
The solution; I made her a ring with the rarest of gemstones,
Diorisite. It is a clear looking stone which, when the light catches
it has the flame of a lambent “(of light or fire) glowing, gleaming,
or flickering with a soft radiance : the magical, lambent light of
the north.” opal.
She gleefully showed this ring to the pretentious jewellers. They
were dumfounded. "I have never seen one of those. What is it?"
Diorisite she replied. They looked it up, no mention. Her sense of
humour being equally as wicked as mine she never told.
What was it? A piece of true crap. It was a triplet opal that the
back had fallen off. To this day she still wears it it and it is
still the best looking and most humourous piece of crap I have every
made.
She answers the door to the uninvited, salesmen or evangelists, with
a very polite “No thank you, I am a Christian Dior scientist.”
Do not lose your sense of fun or whimsy.
Personally my favourite gemstone is the last one I sold!
TTFN
Richard
Weird stones are very interesting and truly a favourite.
I sold a very beautiful biconvex blue moonstone. The customer wanted
to have it set in in a pendant. Before setting they took it away.
They brought back the same stone, yet it looked very different. Like
something I had never seen. It was the most iridescent of stones.
What they had done was to paint the back of the stone with black
nail polish. They wanted it for skrying.
Truly weird, they love their “blue moon”.
Who am I to question? Personally I never argue with witches.
Richard
I like affordable stones with lots of colors and/or designs in them.
The new-to-me “Red Creek Jasper” is an example. Some of it seems to
be stabilized; other, not. But I love the look.
A few years ago, I bought several large beads of "Picasso jasper."
But now, such beads with their designs of geometric black lines on a
white/grey background seem to have gone away. “Picasso marble” is
primarily grey, and not so interesting. The “Picasso jasper” deposit
was said to be in Nevada; maybe it’s played out.
Judy Bjorkman
Hello,
Agreed! I'd add Pietersite,.....
Yes indead, peitersite is a remarkable gemstone aswell with lots of
potentials but is not known thatmuch despite the beauty. One can find
lots of them in online stores but to my opinion are the real nice
ones not very common as far as I can speak from my experience.
Have fun and enjoy
Pedro
My favorite stones are: Uvarovite druzy and Orb Ocean Jasper.
Hi, Just wondered if you have a steady source, since it is my
favorite stone also? I am low on rough, not out, but close enough to
begin to look around for more. The last couple of pieces I got were
him) had the Malachite needles you described. They turned out
beautiful, but he got them on a sort of fluke trade. Thomas III
I have Diamonds I love from coloured to white. Ceylon Sapphires,
Various coloured Sapphires, Emeralds, beautiful Rubies, so many
different coloured Tourmalines to die for, Spessatite Garnets and
Tsavorites that jump out at you. Tanzanites, Precious Topaz, Opals
from Koroit to black, Pearls from beautiful South sea of all shades
to the rich lustre of Broom pearls and the beautiful blues and greens
of the Paua Pearl. Then the larger cabs some I cut myself as a hobby
for fun when I’m not making jewellery. Dinosaur bone, The picture
jaspers Royal Sahara, Painted desert, Cripple Creek, Deschutes etc,
Petrified wood, Polish Flint, Agates and Rhyolites of so many
varieties I couldn’t list them all. So my answer to the question is
all of the above and more I love them all. It’s like the tide I ebb
and flow all the time. When I see a good stone even after over 40
years in the jewellery industry it still fills me with wonder.
Chris
as it is not certifiable through the GIA or any such organization.
Just for what it’s worth, the GIA doesn’t “certify” anything or
anybody. Even diamond is not certifiable by GIA. They’ll grade it
and issue a report of their findings, but they won’t certify it. So
when you disparage or otherwise discount a mineral as a gimmick or
whatever and use for a reason or basis of your argument that it’s
“not certifiable”, you’re sort of using and relying on a false or
nonexistent premise.
I thought that as long as you thought it was important enough to
refer to certifiability a couple times, that it is equally important
to also point out that there is no material on earth that is
certifiable by the GIA.
I think it’s also worth noting that most, if not all of the same
arguments you listed concerning the stones you are trying so hard to
disparage have been made about diamond too. And tanzanite, emerald,
sapphire, and pretty much everything else that people dig out of the
ground and facet or polish to make jewelry with. There are a lot of
people around the world that consider the entire jewelry industry to
be nothing but marketing gimmicks designed to dupe the unsuspecting
consumer into believing that a chunk of rock (any rock) and a
quarter ounce of watered down metal is valuable. It’s surprising to
me how many people that are somehow involved in the industry, some
actually making their living at it, are posting that kind of
conspiratorial junk right here on Orchid. We, of all people, should
know better.
Dave Phelps
Many years ago, I visited a museum in Cambridge, MA, that had a
wonderful gem and mineral collection. I’m not sure exactly which
museum it was, as I was actually looking for the Peabody Museum, but
I digress.
At any rate, the collection included a most wonderful figure carved
from a large piece of watermelon tourmaline. The artist had worked
his magic so well that the colors changed at the most appropriate
locations for the figure (altho I can’t for the life of me recall
just what it was).
I’ve been fascinated by watermelon tourmaline ever since.
Linda in central FL
While I have a lingering fondness for nice, rich, green Nephrite, my
favorite carving stone is bloodstone.
For my own personal wearing, my favorite is moonstone…
Ron Charlotte
Gainesville, FL
Even diamond is not certifiable by GIA. They'll grade it and issue a report of their findings, but they won't certify it.
GIA uses careful wording to protect itself in case of lawsuit,
but anybody who actually uses GIA reports knows that GIA will never
grade anything without first positively identifying stone to be
graded. So the fact that stone was graded, is the certification of
it’s true identity.
Leonid Surpin
Opals make most other stones look drab and lifeless by comparison. By
opals, I’m not talking about the pale milky white opals you mostly
see in typical jewelry stores, I mean the “good stuff”. It is truly
eye candy.
Dave,
Thank you. I’ve just deleted the long epistle like answer I had for
R.E.Rourke that I had worked on today.
I did get three video clips made, which are now on Utube and I will
add to this. As soon as they are fully downloaded by Utube.
One more thing I did find out when looking at GIA’s site today, is
in their library they do list and describe hyalite. I had not given
the chemical name for the stone since that is like lumping all
corundum together and refusing to consider it has a more common name.
But it does prove that Rourke can do a google search after the fact.
I was just trying to get a fun thread started. It is always
fascinating to see what others like and why.
As for the Mohave stuff, I have thought about it. Yep but not for
the good higher cost metals. I’m helping test new copper solder from a
company and figure some of my stuff done in smaller gauge copper with
the lesser cost man made or fake stuff would do for people who think
that all silver jewelry should be less than $5 a piece. When it comes
to making sales, you have to offer a variety.
I’ve fought the idea for years, but with the economy and instability
of the metals prices, I’ve had to rethink it. BTW the newest batch of
solder is great. It is a perfect copper solder and it can be made by
this company in sheet, wire, paste and powdered solder forms. Just
giving a hint of what is on the horizon.
I would rather work in high karat gold, but where I work during the
summers, that is not an option People have asked and I have made on
custom orders a piece in gold. On stage I have a small open display
case. Not a lot of security, so again gold is not an option in that
setting.
And to everyone, I’ve enjoyed reading about your gemstone likes.
Isn’t it great that we all love different yet the same thing,
gemstones in all their various forms.
As to do I have any more or a source for the chatoyant malachite. I
have four small pieces I’m saving I was lucky to stumble on them. One
piece that has been polished will be in one of the video clips. those
clips are taking forever for Utube to upload. When they do, I will
just start a new thread about real not fake stones.
For those who are not into my stories time to stop reading here. For
those who might be interested in how I know so much about So. Utah,
read on.
Not only was there a story of a college prank I played that involved
Milford Utah on one video clip, There is the night time road trip
from Cedar City Utah to Northern Utah for a real clothing shopping
trip. Back a few decades So. Utah didn’t have many clothing stores.
A good friend of mine Pauline was driving her old beater car. It was
dark and we were on a lonely in the middle of no where Utah road. She
slammed on the brakes as a cow jumped in front of us. We hit it and it
was laying in front of the car. We got out and worried about what to
do. She leaned against the hood which was slick and moist. When she
leaned down to see in the headlights what was on her hand, the cow got
up and staggered off. We hadn’t killed it. Yet that cow did let us
know it’s displeasure. Pauline had non fossilized pre coprolite
covering her hand. Yes we had knocked the shit out of the cow.
I had wanted to get as far away from home when I went to college. I
worked one summer at Zion National Park. Meeting other kids that had
gone to SUSC (So Utah State College) I transferred When I graduated,
I stayed. So. Utah is visually stunning. I worked for a tour company
in the summers and my uncle who owned BrianHead ski resort in the
winter. What a life, traveling all summer and getting paid for it,
and skiing all winter and getting paid for that as well. Then I
ruined it by getting married. I then ended bouncing around the USA
with my hubby as he climbed the corporate ladders. Then at the early
part of this century, we moved back to Utah when it was close to his
retirement age. The economy hit and we now live in Fl. with him
being one of the upper geeks at the house and home of the mouse. I
spend my summers in Utah still working with the Utah Shakespeare
Festival. Knowing the founder and the current head of the festival,
when I approached them about putting my copper ornaments in their
gift shop, they did me one better and put me on stage. At my age
those corsets help to keep me perky. Where else can you spend the
summers talking to people telling bad jokes and playing dress up?
I know the SW well. I know The bottom half of Utah as well as any
local. Hell I dated half of them before i got married. Given what I do
and the popularity of the festival I’m well known to the rock shop
owners and miners of unusual stones. Fun to sit down and find out
the back story to a lot of the stones Like the story of Tiffany Stone.
Tiffany was the name of the daughter of one of the mine’s truck
drivers she loved the pretty rocks and the driver brought out stones
for her and her friends. Tiffany’s stone got shortened. But the name
with a very long decades old history has stuck. You would have to be
one of the locals and know the people from Milford to know that back
story. Yes Tiffany is still alive today. Or the back story of Silver
reef the only place on Earth where they were able to get silver from
sand. Started with the Wells Fargo mail delivery people. Or even the
finding of Kimberlite on Cedar Mountain. If it weren’t for being on
Government land, I would be out there with a pick shovel hoping for
the best. That one came to light during a construction project back
in the early 70’s
The lore and romance of the back stories are just as interesting to
me as the gems themselves. It is a rich history and I love finding out
more. We should all strive to share, not attack.
Aggie in humid and still warm Fl.
Goodness I love many stones but top of my favourite list is
Australian opal, I couldn’t leave out Jasper and especially fine
Ocean Jasper!
favorite stone…(s)… boulder opal, labradorite, turquoise (all
variations incl. Persian, except Sleeping Beauty, don’t know why),
Peruvian opal, hessonite garnet. Not sturdiness, monetary value or
resale, just love the rocks.
Thanks for the great thread,
Sam Kaffine
I’ll endorse the ones mentioned already (especially good bright
opals), and add that I love boulder opals-- I have one that looks
like a painting of a pueblo, one that looks like flowers, one that I
see as dancers…
Also, I love iolite. Good ones are almost as nice as tanzanite (I
did say almost) but much more durable, and the color works very
well with my anodized titanium.
Not durable at all, really, but very beautiful, is sphene. In good
ones, the greenish-yellow throws off sparkles of orange.
Yeah, love the rocks.
Noel
but anybody who actually uses GIA reports knows that GIA will never grade anything without first positively identifying stone to be graded. So the fact that stone was graded, is the certification of it's true identity.
I have had some interaction with the GIA on a whole lot of different
levels, to include using their reports. My wife Gaybeth just got
back from a gem lab at the Carlsbad campus the other day in fact.
Pretty place, that. I can pretty much guarantee that they will be
willing and able to grade “tiffany stone” and issue a report. If you
want to say that’s a certificate, even if the GIA would expressly
disagree, OK, I’ll cede your point as something of a parsing of
semantics.
They will most definitely identify it as part of the grading process,
but Mr. Rourke was arguing that because the GIA refuses to certify
it, it’s not a gemstone. So really Leonid, you’re helping to make my
point. Unless you would take Mr. Rourke’s argument to the next
logical level and argue that the GIA can’t or won’t identify it. And
I don’t think even he would go that far.
Back to our favorite stone. How about New Hampshire granite? Not
rare, especially in New Hampshire, or all that durable unfortunately,
but still one of my absolute favorites. Like the Flume. Sculptured
Rocks. Chocorua (Church) Island. The swimmin’ hole in Rumney. That
spot on 93 just south of Ashland where the windsock is. And the Old
Man. May he rest in peace.
Dave Phelps
They will most definitely identify it as part of the grading process, but Mr. Rourke was arguing that because the GIA refuses to certify it, it's not a gemstone. So really Leonid, you're helping to make my point. Unless you would take Mr. Rourke's argument to the next logical level and argue that the GIA can't or won't identify it. And I don't think even he would go that far.
My comments were not in relation to any previous discussion. I was
not following the thread attentively. My comments were strictly
limited to GIA process of issuing grading reports.
As far as Tiffany stone, all I can say it is a shame that company of
such pedigree is squandering it’s reputation on marketing rocks,
which have very little value as jewellery stone. Bertrandite a.k.a.
Tiffany stone has cleavage in 3 directions. Besides, it has
glass-like fragility. I am not talking about conchoidal fracturing,
but of behaving like glass under stress. Even if crystal can be cut,
there is potential for micro-flaking. Bertrandite is beryllium
mineral. That raises health concerns for lapidaries as well as
wearers. It is a collector’s stone, not a jewellery one. As a
collector’s stone, well formed crystals are valuable.
Another form of Bertrandite is a replacement pseudomorph on Beryl
crystals. That is the most common form of Bertrandite, and it is used
when cut en cabochon. But in this case it is a conglomerate and not a
single crystal. As many replacement pseudomorphs, such specimen are
likely to require stabilization, which relegates them to the use in
haberdashery rather than in jewellery.
I would not be surprised by GIA refusal to issue grading report on
it, but I see no reason for them to reject identification report,
stating their opinion on the nature of the mineral. The problem of
course is that expense in obtaining such a report would far outweigh
value of the mineral.
Leonid Surpin