Victoria Stone Boule

Nice, I been wanting to get some too!

That is worth bragging about!
Scott

We are not going to cut it, for now...... it was expensive, i will say that. lol
mary ann

This post made me think... I have an idea how it was originally made. Glass manufacturers spend a lot of time trying to ensure there are NO cracks and NO fractures in production... but... internal cracks and fractures are not hard to make.

I fired off an email to a friend who is a glass formulator at a glass manufacturers, and he is now looking into it. He knows HOW it was done, it's the stabilizing that is tough (stabilizing is to ensure it won't crack further or crumble when cut).

I believe that Dr Iimori was a rock man... not a glass man. When I sent them the info, it was the first they had heard of this stuff, or that there might be a market for it...

It may be worth hanging on to because of the antique value... but if it can be put into production, not sure how the price will hold up.

That said, IF/When they come up with something, I'll let you guys know and already planned to send out some testing pieces. I wasn't going to say anything about it til there was a result, but IF there is a good result, I don't know that the price of the existing pieces will stay quite as high as they are now, so I thought it fair to give you a heads up on the potential.

We'll see. There are only about 4 glass formulators worldwide that have the means to do real testing... not with little pieces but who manufacture art glass raw material (the glass world version of 'rough') and can access enough raw materials to test to their hearts content.

This one's been formulating for about 40 years and never once heard of Victoria stone. That tells me right there that these 'labs' are not glass manfacturers.... because new glass formulas get out FAST in the glass community.

Lets see what he does... this guy is one of the very best that ever lived. If HE can't do it, I'm trying it in my kiln at home, I'm convinced it's doable.

Keep in mind something... from what I read, Dr Iimori 'seeded' the crystal growth using REAL ROCKS. Well real rocks contain impurities. It said he used mostly quartzes... well Quartz is just SiO2... which is the base component for glass. So there is SOMETHING else that he used to get that effect... and I have a few suspicions and ideas that will get tested over the next few months. We will see.

And if he can't figure out how to do Victoria glass... I'm getting samples of what he does come up with, he knows the criteria. 1. Asymmetrical PATTERNS (Asymmetrical because right now, dicroic glass and Gilson opals are symmetrical, this is what a glass manufacturer does... creates perfection. Can't help it, that's their criteria. These perfect components cannot compete with real gems because pure symmetry is undesirable in the rock world). 2. REFRACTION if possible (I want opal rainbows ideally, and real sick would be contralux effects). 3. Stability. You can cut it and grind it.

It won't happen in a few days, who knows, maybe months/years. I'm not going to talk about it again til something does happen. If/when it does, the people on this forum will be the first to know:).

do your glass manufacturers have the means to create it the same way, under intense pressure over many months?
Also this was created in Japan I believe

It IS glass:
www.lopacki.com/stone/victoria/

Ideally the fibers would interlock, similar to those that give nephrite jade its toughness. Unfortunately, this did not occur. The glass matrix of the "boules" developed severe internal strains much similar to unannealed glass.

The mass looked like a fat carrot, weighed about five pounds and sold for $20.00/lb. Instructions cautioned you to carefully grind the white rind from the "boule" so as to relieve the strain. You must also take extreme care not to overheat the material in cutting, doping, or polishing. You could also purchase a ready-made cabochon from the company.

Another Reference:
www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/?p=159

Articles from Lapidary Journal that I located show piles of natural materials (quartz, magnesite, feldspar, calcite, fluorspar, and others) stacked near Iimori’s laboratory in Tokyo.

These materials were pulverized to dust and melted into molten masses. The secret beauty of Victoria Stone comes from the “crystallizers and crystal habit regulators” which Iimori added to the molten mix. The molten material resulting from the brewing was poured into molds and cooled under pressures, up to 2000 pounds, for several months.

When the Victoria Stone “boule” was released from its mold they had a crust on them.

I have seen these boules, which are a cylindrical shape with one flattened end and weight perhaps 3-4 pounds. My friends have told me that when working this material you had to remove the crust carefully and let the boule rest for a few weeks. They say that the boules would actually make cracking noises when the crust was removed. Expansion inside the boule caused these noises. The older the boule, the less cracking could be heard. They would cut a couple slabs off each end of the boule; leave is set for a couple weeks, and then cut two more slices off each end, etc.

Note... the "crystal habit regulators" are a standard in borosilicate glass manufacture - this is DIRECT reference to glass.

Now... from those notes, quick chemical info for ya from the above stones mentioned: "quartz, magnesite, feldspar, calcite, fluorspar, and others":

Glass chemistry = 75% silica (SiO2) plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives
(amorphous crystalline structure)

Quartz chemistry = SiO2
(trigonal crystal structure)

Agates/Chalcedony chemistry = SiO2
(crystocryptolline crystal structure)

Magnesite = MgCO3 (which is crystalline magnesium carbonate - one of the chemicals used in making glass... )

Feldspar = KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8
-- note the SiO- but different crystalline structures from the extra oxygen molecules

ALL these chemicals are part of making colored glass as well, or can be used as additives.

Calcite = CaCO3
-- basically a form of calcium carbonate... go back up to look at the ingredients used in making glass:P

Fluorite (also called fluorspar) = CaF2
-- chemicals also used to make color glass

Is Victoria stone glass? Yes. Can it be made WITHOUT digging it out of the ground? Yes. Whether Iimari just told everyone he made it with stones to sound more mysterious, or he did make it with stones, it's STILL glass.

This is because glass comes from stones in the first place. Glass IS refined stones (think melted SAND), with additives to stabilize.

There are MANY kinds of glass, as many as there are say different kinds of agate. Glass formulas have been closely guarded secrets from the roman days, and continue to this day. His behavior is normal in the glass world.

HOWEVER... when a new glass comes OUT, you may not know what's in it, but EVERYONE hears about it in the entire comunity from one end to the other. The glass community never heard of Victoria stone. Now they have.

You are very, very lucky! I love Victoria stone in all its colors. I have some slabs of another stone he made. It is a turquoise-y color with a dark dot in the center. Interesting.

I don't think Helen ever took up the project. But, others have tried and failed. Secret seems lost.