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Post by pebblesky on Nov 20, 2022 23:57:42 GMT -5
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 22, 2022 12:27:24 GMT -5
I got this mineral sample box for my son: The minerals look fine but the English names are way off. The Unakite in the 4th row was labeled "flower fort" and the rutilated quartz in the 3rd row was called "Blonde crystal". The snowflake obsidian was called "snow pine" . I will need to fix the labels. Some closeups:
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 337
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Post by electrocutus on Nov 22, 2022 13:05:30 GMT -5
I got this mineral sample box for my son: The minerals look fine but the English names are way off. The Unakite in the 4th row was labeled "flower fort" and the rutilated quartz in the 3rd row was called "Blonde crystal". The snowflake obsidian was called "snow pine" . I will need to fix the labels. Some closeups: That is a cool box. Where did you get it from?
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 22, 2022 13:27:47 GMT -5
I got this mineral sample box for my son: The minerals look fine but the English names are way off. The Unakite in the 4th row was labeled "flower fort" and the rutilated quartz in the 3rd row was called "Blonde crystal". The snowflake obsidian was called "snow pine" . I will need to fix the labels. Some closeups: That is a cool box. Where did you get it from? I believe I got this box on Chinese taobao.com online shopping website. You can find similar boxes on etsy and amazon, but I thought it would be a nice feature to have Chinese and English names on the box for my son to read... just to realize the English names are so off...
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 27, 2022 15:09:03 GMT -5
Just washed some of the Gobi stones I got in the same international package. Most of them are jaspers with smooth surface and waxy feel. All the photos below are shown dry. Some are more colorful than the others. A few of them are chalcedony. Still not sure how to do with them. Maybe polish those with nice surfaces with small ceramic balls in the vibe, and tumble the less interesting-looking pieces. Some of them look to interesting to mess with so I will keep them as-is unless I get more of the same kind in the future. This is "interesting": This one is purple-grey chalcedony.
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Post by pebblesky on Dec 31, 2022 2:04:02 GMT -5
I went to the Monterey Bay beaches during the Christmas. My family and I got to find more sea lives than the rocks that are worth picking, but here are some of my rockhounds (shown wet): The beach is full of rocks like these but I don't know how well these will tumble. Are these "confetti rock" conglomerate? The matrix seems to be finer than the matrix of conglomerate though. Some of them feel smoother than the others, and I would hope at least a few of them could polish. I also hand-picked some slabettes from a local antique shop with the smallest piece less than 1" wide (pictures shown wet): With backlit on - I always like the moss agates but my tumbled pieces tend to undercut:
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 18, 2024 16:18:14 GMT -5
My international online purchase continues: I haven't seen anything like this before. They are called Mongolian Paint Stone. Speaking of how grainy they are, they look somewhere between Wonderstone and jasper, but I really can't judge from the pictures, since the rocks are all oiled. I hope to have them in hand soon, maybe 2 or 3 months from now.
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 18, 2024 20:25:56 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 18, 2024 20:32:51 GMT -5
I don't know how the heck I missed this thread PS! Holy Bajeeberz! Lots of cool rocks!!
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 22, 2024 11:28:14 GMT -5
The biggest Gobi Eye Agate I have so far. Blue surface, beautiful green single eye. It will keep watching when I buy more rocks.
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Post by pebblesky on May 13, 2024 11:40:12 GMT -5
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 468
Member is Online
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Post by hypodactylus on May 13, 2024 12:13:39 GMT -5
The biggest Gobi Eye Agate I have so far. Blue surface, beautiful green single eye. It will keep watching when I buy more rocks. Wow, that is a big one! I think the Gobi eye agates are great; however, I have a hard time knowing if what is being sold is dyed, treated, or natural.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 13, 2024 12:19:05 GMT -5
Hard to like that post.
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Post by pebblesky on May 13, 2024 12:30:13 GMT -5
The biggest Gobi Eye Agate I have so far. Blue surface, beautiful green single eye. It will keep watching when I buy more rocks. Wow, that is a big one! I think the Gobi eye agates are great; however, I have a hard knowing if what is being sold is dyed, treated, or natural.
It's also hard for me to tell. I only know what colors are super ridiculously unnatural, like those dyed Brazilian agate slices.
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Post by pebblesky on May 13, 2024 12:31:25 GMT -5
Hard to like that post. I know and my mom packaged that piece so I can not blame the seller at all
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Post by pebblesky on May 14, 2024 13:12:15 GMT -5
Got some of my Nguni Jasper roughs. After doing some research I am sure they were from South Africa instead of Mongolia. Don't know why they were marketed as Mongolian Jasper, as if anything from Gobi Desert should be of more value? The eye is perfect as is. As I am obsessed with the eye stones, I will want to be careful to proceed. A millimeter grinding might alter the look of the eye to a less desirable direction (as is indicated by the same shrinking pink area on the back side).
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Post by pebblesky on Jun 11, 2024 15:44:00 GMT -5
Got a pair of coasters: This one looks like a desert with small swamps surrounded by the grasses and shrubs. Whatever name they have, these Chinese picture/painting/paintbrush dendritic stones are quite sophisticated to look at. I tried to buy some roughs to experiment, but the roughs I got are not nearly as fine as those finished products. One of the roughs I have has lovely light pea green color but the dendritic patterns are smudged and blurry, not having the sharp details that I love to see. I still have problem with the varnish finish of the coasters. The finish is susceptible to scratches and I can also see a couple of bubbles popped on the surface. I also don't know how well the coat will cope with the hot water. Maybe I will find some acetone to rub the coating off. I would be more than okay with a matte surface if the stone doesn't naturally polish.
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Post by chris1956 on Jun 11, 2024 16:21:28 GMT -5
They look great! You are right that they have a lot (pattern wise) going on. Did you polish that big Gobi eye agate that has the single big green eye?
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Post by pebblesky on Jun 11, 2024 16:35:48 GMT -5
They look great! You are right that they have a lot (pattern wise) going on. Did you polish that big Gobi eye agate that has the single big green eye? No, I will definitely leave it as is. It is still my biggest eye agate and I doubt I will get another decent one any time soon. I also don't have tumblers that are big enough to handle rocks this size.
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Post by pebblesky on Jun 11, 2024 16:50:33 GMT -5
Oh I should give an update on these: Tumbled a couple of pieces like these which are supposed to be petrified limbs, and I believed they disappeared...They must be soft, or the tumbled form became too unrecognizable.
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