lablover2484
starting to shine!
Member since September 2008
Posts: 39
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Post by lablover2484 on Oct 26, 2009 0:51:31 GMT -5
I don't know alot about the different kinds of rocks and gems, Is there a good book out there with pictures and such to help me figure out what I have?
I know there are alot of books but I don't want to have to buy 100 of them to try to find the right or good one.
Can anyone help please?
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 26, 2009 5:32:37 GMT -5
You need to be a little more specific. Stuff you find locally? Only agate and jasper? Only stuff that polishes? Fossils? Crystals? I suspect a min of two. A field guide that covers the range of rock and mineral in your area, covering rocks from marble, to limestones, to epidote, feldspar, rhyolite, and then chert, flint, jasper, agate, and maybe some gemstone/crystal. Of course one with pictures. But the title will be "A field guide to ..." and in addition to visual, you will need some basic hardness tests (e.g., fingernail, steel nail, quartz point) For just agate and jasper that you might buy at shows or from shops or trade for here, the book "Agates and Jaspers" by Ron Gibbs is a great source of photo ID, www.theimage.com/ |
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Post by Jack, lapidaryrough on Oct 26, 2009 13:14:50 GMT -5
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 26, 2009 17:13:45 GMT -5
Yep, for general rocks and minerals the Audubon guide is tough to beat. Another good one for gem materials is " Gemstones of the World" by Walter Schumann. The Peterson Field Guide by Pough and the Simon and Schuster Guide to rocks and Minerals are pretty nice. There are a bunch of Quartz Gem books with the Gibbs book being pretty nice for the price except it does not look to be very durable because it's softcover. Most quartz Gem books go out of print pretty quick and are often pretty regional and also expensive. What you need kind of depends on your special interests as there are books on just agate, pet wood, fossils etc. I must have 50 or more books on my shelves and am constantly buying more as new writers tackle different parts of the quartz gem field which is my specialty...Mel
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