|
Post by christopherl1234 on Feb 23, 2012 18:38:07 GMT -5
So I put some rings together last night and I found this cab in with an estate sale purchase I made last year. I had to re-cut it a little to make it work. Here is my question...does anyone know what this stone is? It is a pink colored stone that lights up with these little strings of light when it hits the sun. My first thought was Sun Stone but I have never seen any like this sort of color saturation or the type of chatoyancy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are the photos
|
|
|
Post by geoff on Feb 23, 2012 19:01:33 GMT -5
Hmmm. Looks almost like it's going to be some type of glass.
|
|
|
Post by christopherl1234 on Feb 23, 2012 19:12:58 GMT -5
I am pretty sure it is some sort of natural stone.....but I could be wrong
|
|
rockingthenorth
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2012
Posts: 1,637
|
Post by rockingthenorth on Feb 23, 2012 19:29:57 GMT -5
Some nice bling you have there, Sorry i wouldn't know I am new to all this.
|
|
|
Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Feb 23, 2012 19:37:44 GMT -5
It sure is pretty if its stone!
|
|
|
Post by tandl on Feb 23, 2012 21:32:10 GMT -5
Sunstone
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 24, 2012 1:07:48 GMT -5
It does NOT look like glass to me. Of course, with something like chatoyancy and fires, a fixed photo makes it harder to tell for sure, but you can't get pinfires that move in glass. If the fires move locationally, it's not glass. If there's bubbles inside ANYWHERE that are visible to the naked eye even if tiny, odds of it being glass goes up.
Whatever it is... it's BEAUTIFUL! What does it look like in ordinary room lighting?
Anyway, I think tandl certainly knows his rock, so if he says sunstone, that's probably what it is. But what a color!
|
|
|
Post by christopherl1234 on Feb 24, 2012 2:26:03 GMT -5
Looks like a pink gumdrop in ordinary light, it will still pop in regular light just not as bright
|
|
|
Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Feb 24, 2012 7:58:22 GMT -5
Any possibility that it could be red aventurine?
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 24, 2012 19:42:02 GMT -5
Chris!!! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!! www.crystalarium.com/jewelry-s13/gold-rings-c20/strawberry-quartz-cabochon-18kt-gold-ring-to-221-p11946- UGH! This link will not 'link' because it's a SSL site (see the https?). You must cut and paste. But you have to look at it please! Pink needle crystals inside!!!! You may want to take the ring out of the cheaper setting, because you're not going to get good money from someone for a quality stone if that stone's not in real gold... Gold is over $1760 an oz right now, and you probably know how much is in that 18K gold setting above. Take that away, plus workmanship, plus markup, retail price of your stone is what's left... but the quality of this stone looks similar to yours. Here's several of them set in sterling: www.mineralminers.com/html/strawberryquartz.stmSo you weren't too far off when you said maybe $1000:). But I think that's pushing it. I'd think you'd be hopping up and down to get $500 set in Sterling Silver (nice setting). Also, while poking around, I saw somewhere that strawberry quartz is glass. Well, I am telling you right now that stone in your ring is not glass. If I thought I could make that, I'd be sitting there at my torch til I had 100 of em. It's gorgeous!
|
|
meta99
has rocks in the head
Ohio Flint Ridge flint
Member since October 2010
Posts: 540
|
Post by meta99 on Feb 24, 2012 21:20:07 GMT -5
wiki says strawberry quartz and 'fruit quartz' are man made:
"'Fruit Quartz' is the general trade term for a group of colorful, translucent materials which are individually known by fruit-like names such as "cherry quartz", "blueberry quartz", "strawberry quartz", "kiwi quartz", "pineapple quartz", and so on. They are commonly carved into jewelry components such as beads or pendants or into decorative objects.
Despite the quartz part of their name, they are not natural stone despite sometimes being mistaken or miscalled as such. Instead, they are synthetic materials that are essentially a form of glass. An oddity of these synthetic fruit "quartzes" is that when closely examined, their colors are concentrated in the form of translucent or opaque inclusions within a transparent colorless matrix. Like goldstone, their production method precludes directly casting the material into small, detailed shapes, which instead must be created by physically carving them from larger rough blocks. Although similar-looking (and similarly named) varieties of natural quartz do exist, they are comparatively very rare and expensive. The bright color of genuine strawberry quartz is accentuated by small seedlike inclusions of lepidocrocite and hematite. Genuine pineapple quartz comes from Antsirabe, Madagascar, and is a form of citrine with an unusual growth pattern of crystals around its sides similar to pineapple fruit. Blue quartz has inclusions of ilmenite." Sue
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 24, 2012 22:44:52 GMT -5
Hi Sue:). Wiki is wrong. I don't know what ignorant contributor wrote that, and while there MAY well be a glass with the name 'strawberry quartz' as a color (you can buy glass color names like 'beryl', 'agate', tequila sunrise, havana moon, sno white, papparazzi to give you an example:P), that up there is definitely a stone. First, let me show you what a thread on Minddat has to say about it: www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,25367,page=1 There certainly is a real 'strawberry quartz' found in the ground:). Going to give everyone a quick rundown on glass while I'm on the topic, and it's not really related to Chris's stone topic. Not to lecture, but so people understand why calling something 'glass' is kinda funny when they realize what glass COSTS:). And this is not directed at you, Sue, just think that this should get cleared up now, since it's a concern for so many different gem people. GOOD glass is expensive. Here's one of my suppliers, who manufactures it (smaller resellers charge even more). Check out prices:): www.taglass.com/033.htmlPlain old red glass costs $55 a pound. Fancy colors cost $60-$120 a pound. From the manufacturer. This is raw glass rods.... as close to a finished piece as a raw rock found on the ground without cutting, slabbing, forming, polishing. That's one color also. Few people are happy with something made in just 1 color. Glass is heavy. Very heavy. I think it's heavier than rocks, but on that, I'm not sure. Colored glass is colored with precious metals and ores.... which come from rocks. What size is a troy oz of silver? Colored glass can contain a lot of silver, and platinum, and 24K gold and germanium, and even uranium. It's dense and heavy. 1 pound of glass will make about 5 or 6 pendants because of waste. Then you have to pay for tanks of oxygen, propane, and regular maintenance on a torch with super fine jets. Then the kiln, with wearable parts such as heating elements, thermocoupler, digital controller, pyrometer, etc. The kiln is an electricity draining piggy that needs it's own circuit breaker and dedicated outlet (or it trips the breaker). And you have to run it for about 12 hours to anneal even 1 pendant (why you work in sessions, because 1 pendant or 5 pendants, that kiln's going to run). That's after the oxygen and propane to make it is irrevocably expended. (think of time and cost for making 1 cab or one wrapping). That's assuming artistic vision and technical skill makes no difference at all. But it does. This is kinda key, because given enough time and thought, I can probably come really close visually to almost any type of gemstone. But whatever the process, it will never be fast enough to be economically feasible. A perfect example is opals. I LOVE opals... the real deal. There are almost dead on simulated glass opals called Gilson. You can always tell they are fake, because the patterns are way too symmetrical. I always get a giggle when people say, 'that might be glass' when talking about an opal in a derogatory way. If it is, they probably got the better deal. A 'fake' glass opal 'rough' costs $12 a carat. A REAL firey opal costs $1-$10 a carat CUT, polished, and even sometimes FACETED on ebay. I bought a fully polished 'gem' quality FIREY heart shaped cut and polished 3 1/2 carat opal on Ebay for $4. Shipped. I would have had to pay $40 plus shipping for a fake glass opal that wasn't 1/100 as beautiful. Now I'm scared to use it because opals can break when you touch them:). When you can buy a REAL firey gem opal on ebay, would you pay 10x the price for a fake? People knowingly do tho, Gilson sells lots of opals. The reason you buy a fake is because it's not as fragile as a real opal. And it's more money accordingly. It makes me a bit mad when opal lovers worry about 'treating' opals ruining their value, or imply that people who desire to protect their opals are somehow cheating the market, so this is off-topic, but had to mention it. There are different grades of glass, and because people can buy cheap imports at Walmart for a few dollars, they assume it's all the same, it's not the same. Well, it's about the same as comparing a Lennox or Steuben or Lalique or Waterford or Baccarat vase to a walmart $2 flower vase. Who would pay $10,000 for the same size vase also made in clear glass? People do tho. It's not the same glass. The reason for copying something like the above would be because you cannot get more of it, even if it costs more. That's why I said that if I could make them, even if they cost me $20 each, I'd still make them all day long. But I can't. If I could, I would charge probably the same or more than the real deal. That said, sorry about the book, just thought this was a good time to explain to people that glass doesn't mean cheap. Gemstones, of the same hardness as glass, can ALWAYS be found cheaper. (fine diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds are not cheaper than glass, but they're also not the same hardness). Oh wait, moldavite is an exception to this. Which probably is why they make fake glass moldavites.
|
|
|
Post by NatureNut on Feb 24, 2012 23:01:51 GMT -5
I was gonna say what Donnie said, a deep raspberry Aventurine. I found a green Aventurine here in Quartzsite from one of the vendors that has more bling inside than any I'd ever found before. Don't know where it is from, but that opened my eyes to how different looking Aventurine can be. Jo
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 24, 2012 23:16:53 GMT -5
Ok, this website is really upsetting me. Link again. You have to highlight it, copy and paste into browser address bar. I don't know what store wants to prevent people from seeing their sales items, and pay for expensive SSL certification like a bank to do it. www.crystalarium.com/jewelry-s13/gold-rings-c20/strawberry-quartz-cabochon-18kt-gold-ring-to-221-p11946Strawberry Quartz Cabochon 18kt Gold Ring $2,511.00 Dimensions Item #: TO-221 Height: 22.31mm (0.88in) Width: 13.35mm (0.53in) Depth: 8.62mm (0.34in) Weight: 24.92ct Size: 7.25 Dimensions are for the stone only. This exquisite ring features a rare, natural Strawberry Quartz gem cabochon so heavily included with tiny glinting pink needle crystals that is is a vivid reddish pink color. This vibrant gem is set in regal 18kt yellow gold handmade ring. Please look at it. It is nearly IDENTICAL to Chris's stone (bit longer stone) This is same dumb site selling a rasberry Adventurine: www.crystalarium.com/jewelry-s13/silver-pendants-c21/aventurine-pink-raspberry-aventurine-sterling-silver--14k-pendant-uo-269-p6815Aventurine-Pink Raspberry Aventurine Sterling Silver & 14k Pendant $292.00 Dimensions Item #: UO-269 Height: 28.76mm (1.13in) Width: 21mm (0.83in) Depth: 8.7mm (0.34in) Weight: 48.82ct Dimensions are for the stone only. The glittering specks of this darker Pink Aventurine cabochon crystal give off a powerful brilliance, in this handmade Sterling Silver handmade pendant, with a 14Kt accent on bail. Chris's stone looks exactly like the $2500 strawberry quartz, and very little like the $300 2x bigger rasberry adventurine.
|
|
|
Post by Woodyrock on Feb 25, 2012 2:30:49 GMT -5
Woody's two cents worth........the best quality red glass uses gold to produce the red colour. Most red glass uses copper oxides. Putting an example of each together quickly shows the difference. The crystal clarity of the gold glass is outstanding....and, as you might guess, not common.
Woody
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 25, 2012 3:21:30 GMT -5
Woody, pink glass, specifically soda-lime Rubino, uses 24K. Mixed with copper, you still get a pink magenta tinge. You can't get a true red with gold, just because of that gold sheen you mentioned. I totally agree with you, the cranberry glass was/is outstanding:).
In the long run tho, it's far cheaper to fume 24K gold than to buy rods by using actual coins. With gold at $1750/oz now, no one's fuming gold anymore:P.
But since you mentioned it, the color of that stone is very close to a rubino red/pink. Hrm.
Tag's Elvis I don't think has gold in it at all. But it's probably the nicest transparent red.
WOW! Woody and Sue, I might be able to do it, I just realized how... *facepalm*
If I can pull it off, you each get one free!
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 26, 2012 19:01:46 GMT -5
Just updating... while I think it might still be doable... it's not easy. This was the best effort of 5 different attempts. Another angle I can get pinfires... I can't get needles. That said, I haven't tried to make many simulated gemstones, these are my first 'cabs' ever. I have no tools to help shape anything this small, or even grab it safely once it comes off the punty, so the shaping is a bit off because it's pure gravity shaped. So, I'm back to thinking that the original stone is real.
|
|
|
Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Feb 26, 2012 19:39:23 GMT -5
That'sstill kinda cool! I especially like that first picture!
|
|
|
Post by helens on Feb 27, 2012 2:29:34 GMT -5
Thanks Donnie:). Every picture of it will be different. Depending on how the light hits it, it will go from 0 visible fire to BLAZING all over. You can tell it's not an opal tho, because glass fires cannot shift, and are always locational. It's little things that always gives glass away, so I don't see a point in simulating gems in glass unless it's a truly odd one like this. Too bad I can't do it, just because it's so beautiful.
|
|