jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
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Post by jspencer on Feb 4, 2013 23:02:57 GMT -5
I believe I find all colors of the spectrum in this making it spectrolite instead of labradorite. Am I correct in this definition as you see it? Attachments:
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on Feb 4, 2013 23:06:21 GMT -5
Back side of it. It is still taking shape into its final form before moving on to getting any real smoothing out. Attachments:
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jason12x12
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Member since October 2011
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Post by jason12x12 on Feb 4, 2013 23:29:26 GMT -5
yessir thats about right.. but without really knowing the origin cant be 100 percent could be good labadorite or, excuse my frakness.. low quality spectrolite
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Post by kk on Feb 5, 2013 5:47:07 GMT -5
Labradorite is a trade-name for material coming from Finland. Color spectrum has nothing to do with the definition.
Usually, Labradorite is more expensive as the supply is limited.
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
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Post by jspencer on Feb 5, 2013 23:10:50 GMT -5
Thanks for clearing that up. It was bought as labradorite but I have found mislabeled rocks there before. And I was not sure on difference. For what I paid it has been worth it.
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Post by tntmom on Feb 6, 2013 0:14:23 GMT -5
Kurt meant "Spectrolite" is the trade-name for Finland Labradorite.
I have Labradorite that has some nice full spectrum of colors and some that is all blue but all of mine except one is from Madagascar and therefore can not be called Spectrolite.
I do have one piece of Finland Spectrolite but it is super thin at UNDER 1/8" thick. I don't think I would be able to cab it unless I do a doublet. The colors are very bright though and the flash is drop dead gorgeous. I'll see if I can find my picture in Photobucket.....
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Post by tntmom on Feb 6, 2013 2:12:51 GMT -5
Ok, took me awhile to find the pictures. Here is my favorite Madagascar Labradorite slabs: Top and right is Madagascar Labradorite. Bottom left is Finland Spectrolite: Two more shots of the Finland Spectrolite: Hope that helps!
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Post by kk on Feb 6, 2013 4:32:45 GMT -5
Yikes!!!!! Krystee is absolutely right!
Got it in reverse; its the "SPECTOLITE" that comes from Finland and is usually found with darker background colors. If you play a little with it, the material is quite easily identified coming from Finland. Nevertheless, some stones from Madagascar seem identical too (but is rather rare).
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Feb 6, 2013 14:02:47 GMT -5
Yeah, the Finnish kind seems to have a black background (like really dark glass); the Madagascarian (?) kind can be quite translucent, almost clear, sometimes a little greenish/greyish. I have both Finnish and Madagascarian of all different colors.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2013 16:14:08 GMT -5
The adjective for "from Madagascar" is Malagasy. The Malagasy stone is... Did you go to Jurupa?
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Feb 7, 2013 14:30:17 GMT -5
Not yet, we're going on the Feb 23rd/24th weekend.
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itsandbits
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 7, 2013 15:26:39 GMT -5
I have to add that "carlton" A Canadian member and supplier has some stunning Canadian labradorite, and has shown it here quite a bit. It is found; wait for it, in Labrador on the east coast of Canada. Hunh!!! imagine that.
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Post by tntmom on Feb 7, 2013 19:44:09 GMT -5
Carlton's rough and cabs look amazing! His expertise in aligning it for a perfect cut is amazing too! I haven't had the pleasure of working the material from Labrador yet but one of these days I will place an order with him. I think I've heard that it is found in other places in the world too but Madagascar exports the most? I'm guessing Labrador must be where it was first discovered?
Sent from my SGH-T769 using proboards
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on Feb 7, 2013 22:33:43 GMT -5
At the rock shop here it is in 3 different priced bins so maybe 3 sources? Last time I was there I looked and the best piece I saw was in the cheapest rough bin. This one has Mardi Gras colors in it just in time for the party!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Feb 8, 2013 13:22:40 GMT -5
Uh .. . I'm pretty sure Carleton gets his Labradorite from Madagascar. He (somebody anyway) said most of the Labradorite from Labrador goes straight from the mine overseas (it may have been europe).
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carleton
spending too much on rocks
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Post by carleton on Feb 9, 2013 23:25:59 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Great convo, I have been following it since it started and have been taking pictures of what I have been working the last few days to hopefully help a bit. Just as a disclaimer, these are just things we have experienced, not an attempt to end any discussions or write any rules in stone We try to be open minded to the the term spectrolite and try to have no strong opinions on others beliefs. But as far as identifying labradorite from various locales I have taken some pictures to show some identifiers along with some rare examples of just how tricky it can be. We are mostly experienced with material from Madagascar, I don't think there is much material we have not seen or worked with that comes out of Madagascar. Canadian and Finnish materials are indeed harder to get so I will do my best to share what I know. As most have mentioned the easiest way to identify the provenance of labradorite can be the surrounding materials and non flashing areas it comes in. "Most" Finnish does indeed have darker and more rich black borders and base colors where the majority of others are more translucent shades of a greenish, brown, yellow or grey. I have taken some side by side pictures of a large (5kg on the right side) piece of Finnish material and a slightly smaller piece from Madagascar (left). Very similar in its rough form, this particular piece is an example of how similar they can appear. Another comparison of a much more distinct piece from Finland in its popular dark form(right side). Close up (Finnish left, Madagascar right) Hope that shows a bit of difference as far as identifying rough goes. Now here are 2 blocks of investigated rough, most of all flashes have been exhausted and the base materials can be differentiated quite easily. Again, this is an extreme example however and it is not always this far apart. (Madagascar left, Finnish right) Ok, now some Finnish slabs along side base materials. An example of one piece with a rough side flash and a few showing some distinct pockets of flash. Madagascar: Identifying provenance from color and patterns is never a guarantee in my opinion. From my experience the following are some "hints" that the color and pattern can tell you. I have seen exceptions to all of these tips, however on average these tips can help. Color: A lot of people say that Finnish material has a more vibrant and stronger color, perhaps in most cases that "can" be true, but from the material we receive from other locales (mind you, I think we have worked hard at finding the best ) That is not the case enough of the time to prove a location. What we have noticed are 2 shades of colors found less than... 0.1% maybe? Probably less, in any material besides Finnish. Those are yellow and lime green. Plain yellow, not gold or bronze, or bright yellow, just plain yellow. You can see some instances of a similar yellow during a transition in non Finnish material, but it is quite short lived unlike the way it can cover a larger section in materials from Finland. (the closest example found in other materials can be seen in the middle strip of the next picture) Color patterns: I have found that most non Finnish materials tend to blend and transition into the next shade or color a bit more delicately where some Finnish have very strong and fast transitions. Another potential identifier is the way some Finnish materials change direction and have distinct linear patterns. You will observe more "V"'s or chevrons, as well as 90ish degree angles in the patterns. Some Madagascar color and transitions: Finished pieces: Certainly the trickiest. Most of the above seems to help, but when polished there are a few extra details that can help. Some Finnish material will exhibit an almost black silk/velvet luster even in the flashing areas, especially when the color flash is inert. It has an almost silver cats eye effect rolling across a black velvet background, especially on domed pieces. A blue cabochon from Finnish material. Finally, here are a few pictures to expand the typical opinions and show that sometimes there are exceptions. None of the pieces below are Finnish, all have been cut from rough just in the last few days: Hope that helps a bit and was not too long winded, I did my best to keep it short. lol. Carleton
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Post by tntmom on Feb 10, 2013 0:11:56 GMT -5
Awesome info Carleton!!! And your pictures are VERY appreciated and heavenly to look at! Quick question... in your strip pic of the Madagascar pieces, the center one (with yellow) that is the entire rainbow spectrum... Is that AMAZING piece polished and in your personal collection? Do you by chance have a picture of the whole slab? That is a 100% perfect rainbow! Now my heads spinning wondering if there is any other untreated stone on our planet that can have that many colors in a single slab
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Post by kk on Feb 10, 2013 0:35:37 GMT -5
Absolutely fantastic explanation, very well illustrated. This post should be on a pinned topic all on its own.
The last two pictures: I would have never even considered the two on the left to be anything else than material from Finland. Exactly the reason why I usually say "but.... could also come from Madagascar" every time I suspect Finland.
Thanks for taking the time. Kurt
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carleton
spending too much on rocks
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Post by carleton on Feb 10, 2013 0:42:52 GMT -5
Thanks I used that material to make a few cabs in a run I did a few months back. I looked as best I could for the slab pics, we just past the 10,000 pictures mark this week on this camera (had it a year) and 90% are probably labradorite, lol, but I did look However, you can actually see them in this vid. The one is in the middle of the right tray, another in the upper left middle of the middle tray and two in the left tray. I think the exact one from that pic was the bottom left hand corner cab, large oval. Your right about the wondering. I made that pic to capture just how amazing nature can be. Rainbow obsidian can do some cool stuff too. Carleton Awesome info Carleton!!! And your pictures are VERY appreciated and heavenly to look at! Quick question... in your strip pic of the Madagascar pieces, the center one (with yellow) that is the entire rainbow spectrum... Is that AMAZING piece polished and in your personal collection? Do you by chance have a picture of the whole slab? That is a 100% perfect rainbow! Now my heads spinning wondering if there is any other untreated stone on our planet that can have that many colors in a single slab
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carleton
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Post by carleton on Feb 10, 2013 0:48:38 GMT -5
Thanks Kurt, Yep Those were by far to date the most confusing pieces, threw a wrench into my previous reasoning Carleton Absolutely fantastic explanation, very well illustrated. This post should be on a pinned topic all on its own. The last two pictures: I would have never even considered the two on the left to be anything else than material from Finland. Exactly the reason why I usually say "but.... could also come from Madagascar" every time I suspect Finland. Thanks for taking the time. Kurt
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