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Post by kk on Aug 4, 2012 6:09:12 GMT -5
Hi there everyone.
Had classes in a girls school for the past two weeks and since day one my pendants ( wearing a different one every day) was a good conversations starter.
So a couple of days ago, I dug out my Indian black rind agate, " letting go" and to my surprise, it looks like the girl-figure has lost nearly half of it's color-strength. Is that even possible? Or I'm just imagine that?
If possible; what do I do to stop it from further deteriorating?
Thanks for any advice. Kurt
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2012 6:47:16 GMT -5
Do you have any photos to compare it to? It seem pretty strange that it would be loosing color unless it is hanging in the sun. Even then I am not sure the sun would change or fade color. People hang Montana agate in windows without the color fading but that could vary from stone to stone. Most stones take a lot of effort to change the color darker or lighter. But I am no expert on stone color so I may be wrong. Just got struck by DUH on my part. Stones sit in the sun for thousands of years without loosing their color so the window thing for a few years means nothing. My guess is that you are loosing your mind KK so you had better find some photos to make sure that you are not. If you are loosing your mind we as a group will do anything in our power to help you find it. ;D ;D ;D Do not for one second take me seriously. I am having one of those mornings where I say dumb poop and I can not change it without a gun or very large knife.
I truly hope that it is not loosing color because that is always a big part of your carvings and it will change the look tremendously. Jim
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Post by roy on Aug 4, 2012 8:41:08 GMT -5
the sun will damage it ! montana agate is mostly clear
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Post by kk on Aug 4, 2012 9:06:39 GMT -5
Thanks for all the info thus far. I keep my finished pieces in a clear plastic box at the far side of a room. So no sunlight will ever directly get there. Will take pictures tomorrow and dig out old pictures taken last year in comparison. Thats the picture I had The girls body and head seems to have faded tremendously while the hand and arm has not. Will post new picture tomorrow.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2012 12:27:04 GMT -5
I find clear Montana agate right next to Montana agate with a lot of color so I do not understand why one would fade to clear and not the other one. I think they are just made that way. Any Montana agate experts out there? Jim
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Aug 4, 2012 13:19:22 GMT -5
send it to Geoff, have him irradiate it for you.
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575
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Post by grayfingers on Aug 4, 2012 14:10:45 GMT -5
I believe a cut slab can fade somewhat if exposed to direct sunlight over time. But even that should take quite awhile. Jim, from my experience MT agate can be almost crystal clear, nearly white, milky blue and so on. I am pretty certain they are made that way. The most solid agates are the clear to translucent ones, the better the color, often means the stone has more pores and areas that will fracture more easily than a solid agate. The clear ones I find actually are banded layed down in waterline or fortification, or turtleback.
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Post by geoff on Aug 4, 2012 15:41:59 GMT -5
I'll irradiate it. I'm still in Deadhorse until Thursday. Or maybe tomorrow. Don't know yet. Anyway, when I get home I'll find a piece of Montana and test it out for you. I'm also going to increase my source from 30 microcuries to at least 100 microcuries. That should speed up the process until I build my X-ray machine.
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Post by kk on Aug 5, 2012 4:34:16 GMT -5
OK so here is the comparison. No sun out today, so cant recreate the same light-conditions, but I think you are getting the idea. First and second pic from today, the third is from about 8 month ago.
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fe2o3y
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2012
Posts: 2
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Post by fe2o3y on Aug 5, 2012 6:13:16 GMT -5
Maybe it is the polish that is fading, or turning milky? When I look at the photo comparison the contrasts are still the same with the interior.
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Post by NatureNut on Aug 5, 2012 6:29:44 GMT -5
Kurt, if you get it wet, does it come back?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2012 7:45:42 GMT -5
Wow, that is a huge difference. Since it was not sitting in the sun I can not imagine what would cause that. Is the color really close to the surface on one side? If it is just barely below the surface it might have something to do with something as simple as the oxygen or humidity getting to it. I have not worked with any Montana agate in a fashion that fading would be obvious. For all I know it may be very common when the color is close to the surface. Whatever it is it is not good. At that rate the color could be completely gone in a couple of years.
gray, I could dump a bucket of my agates out beside yours and you would not be able to tell the difference. I pick up a lot of the little clears for give aways and I pick up a lot of the ones with color and end up giving them away also. lol I pick up way more what I call tea and coffee agates than any other and I am not sure why. Probably to give away. I have buckets of them. I have a few that are almost crystal clear and an inch thick that are solid as a rock. You could almost use them for doublets. Jim
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Aug 5, 2012 8:36:56 GMT -5
While anything is possible, quartz (i.e. agate) isn't generally known to react to UV exposure. It's widely considered to be inert. So....
What does the section of leather cord look like under the stone? Is it faded also or is it still the original color? The leather dye should be much more unstable than the stone itself.
Any chance you still have of the same uncut rough as a comparison?
While probably unlikely, what about the possibility of some type of chemical off-gassing? Is anything else loosing color in that area of the house?
It could be time to call in the Calvary on this one.
You might try contacting the Harmon family in Montana since they have cut and sold more of this material than everyone else combined. Mindat.org is another resource with some knowledgeable folks.
As that great 22nd philosopher Dr. Spock noted on many occasions "Interesting".
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Post by kk on Aug 5, 2012 9:07:55 GMT -5
Thanks everyone.
I'm going with simple stupid for the moment and have put into water (lets hope for the best). After that I will try and re-polish, to see if that will help.
The cord is of no use as I store the pieces without cord, and no; no other pieces seem affected.
Will have to go through the pictures of the rough, but I think this was the only piece out of the slab and the rest was to small to keep if I remember right.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Aug 5, 2012 10:13:08 GMT -5
If this piece does change color after being re-hydrated, it's a good indication that the chemical composition isn't solely SiO2 - agate. Its more likely to be a form of opal.
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