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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 19, 2014 22:28:36 GMT -5
Well folks, no pics today. I went to get my photo lights out of the cupboard. My wife stacked her grandfathers old accordian on top of them. So today I ordered a new and better set of lights. Once the fog burns off in the morning, I may try some sunlight pics.
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Post by gingerkid on Mar 20, 2014 6:57:28 GMT -5
ouch, jamesp, a 300 dollar fine is a lot of money for having a little fun on a jet ski. Many thanks for the warnings about the dam release and will definitely check for release times and fishing license requirements. Sure don't want to get fined by a game warden. Hopefully, when the weather is warm and Rick has some time off from work, we can head out and scout for garnets.  Very sorry to hear about your lights, jakesrocks, and glad you ordered some. Sunlight pics would be nice though!  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2014 15:44:01 GMT -5
Wow ginger! That is an awesome collection!
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Post by gingerkid on Mar 26, 2014 15:54:20 GMT -5
Thanks, @tumbleon! Did you grab a few of the 'Bama garnets off of your computer screen that jamesp posted? 
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2014 18:43:32 GMT -5
gingerkid no those where all mine I posted, but I feel like I need a cigarette after going through all the pages of this thread..i did this earlier to see what one of mine would look like in silver before I broke a prong
I feel like a flea looking at your guys specimens
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2014 19:06:18 GMT -5
edit I am slow jamesp post where equally as awesome as yours, wish I had that much to play with=] |
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lennyb0b
off to a rocking start
Master Crafter of Homemade Lapidary equipment!
Member since March 2014
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Post by lennyb0b on Mar 27, 2014 19:01:05 GMT -5
Gosh, drocknut, I'm sorry to read that you don't have cabbing equipment. I hope you are able to get a machine soon to accompany your beautiful wire wraps and creations. I used to use a nail salon tool, wet/dry automotive sandpaper, and knife sharpening blocks to cab materials, then polished with Turtle Wax polishing compound. It takes long time to cab a stone, but you can watch tv while you cab. Welo opals are fun to cab using this method. WOW Gingeerkid, THAT is DEDICATION! W/D Does work but takes for EVER! I don't got no real equipment either but check out my HAHA 50mm Flat Lap Machine under "Homemade equipment Posts". |
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Post by gingerkid on Mar 29, 2014 9:31:53 GMT -5
Thank you, @tumbleon & lennyb0b! Sure hate to hear that the prong broke, @tumbleon. That would've made a pretty garnet pendant. Have you used your tumbled garnets to create any other pieces? I like your lapidary setup, lennyb0b, and look forward to seeing the pretties you produce using it. (love the name of it, too!) |
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Post by Pat on Mar 31, 2014 14:07:21 GMT -5
Jan, here is my garnet in schist. I bought it at the rockshop in Prineville, Oregon. It was love at first sight! I'd like to know how it was formed. Any idea the source? It's about the size of the palm of my hand.  IMG_0698-garnet-in-schist by Pat6489, on Flickr |
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 2, 2014 14:29:25 GMT -5
Taken with the new copy stand. No shake, but still have to figure out the lighting and focus. Spessartine Garnets & Smokey Quartz. -- Tongbei Area, Fujian Provence, China.  |
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Post by washingtonrocks on Apr 2, 2014 16:20:32 GMT -5
gingerkid, your garnet collection is nothing short of awe inspiring! I'm jealous.  I've collected several green Grossulars over the years and a few of them have that deep green color that most Demantoids seem to have. Any info on what makes a Demantoid a Demantoid? Is it just an arbitrary trade name based on richness of hue?
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 2, 2014 17:36:19 GMT -5
Demantoid is a variety of Andradite garnet. It's a calcium/iron garnet. Grossular garnets are a calcium/aluminum garnet. The green color is probably due to trace amounts of chromium. The more chromium, the deeper the green color.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller 
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,041
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 2, 2014 18:26:45 GMT -5
I've collected several green Grossulars over the years and a few of them have that deep green color that most Demantoids seem to have. Any info on what makes a Demantoid a Demantoid? Is it just an arbitrary trade name based on richness of hue? "Demant" is the Dutch name for diamond. The demantoid variety of the andradite garnet species was given that name because of its spectacular "fire" or dispersion, somewhat comparable to diamond's, that returns rainbow colors to the eye. It also has a very high refractive index which means it can be very brilliant if properly cut. Apart from its calcium-iron chemistry, those two properties easily distinguish it from green grossular (Mint or Tsavorite garnet.) Demantoid is a garnet variety name, not a trade name (but Mint and Tsavorite for green grossular are trade names. In fact Tiffany & Co. got into the mineral-naming business when it promoted green grossular as Tsavorite after the Tsavo game refuge in Kenya near where the gem was first noted.) If you have cuttable clean green grossulars you have valuable stones. Can you reveal the general area where they were collected? Apart from the major sources in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar) the only other important localitiy I'm aware of is Asbestos, Quebec. |
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Post by washingtonrocks on Apr 2, 2014 18:39:16 GMT -5
jakesrocks, gemfeller, thanks guys. There are so many garnet varieties, "sub-varieties", and trade names...It's maddening, I tell you. Yeah, Tsavorite is what I should have referenced I guess. Not Demantoid. We have something called Hydrogrossular here in WA State. I think you can find them in Cali as well...It can take on many different appearances in its own right. So many garnets, so little time!
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 2, 2014 18:46:57 GMT -5
A Washington friend brought me a large chunk of the massive form of Hydrogrossular a few years back. Still haven't sliced it, but it looks like nice material.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,041
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 2, 2014 21:02:57 GMT -5
I doubt much of the CA and WA material called hydrogrossular is actually pure hydrogrossular. I think it's usually a mixture of idocrase (a.k.a. Vesuvianite) with white grossularite and often some serpentine. Years ago the experts decided to call it Californite although the popular(inaccurate) name is Happy Camp Jade. The fine material from Pulga, CA looks like this:  Hydrogrossular, mis-named Transvaal Jade, was originally found in South Africa. It can make very beautiful cut stones in green, pinkish-red and green/red combinations called "watermelon." I have examples in my photo library but can't post them because I'm working with a new computer and my software is in a total snarl. |
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 2, 2014 21:20:18 GMT -5
Rick, the friend who brought me the material sent a piece to a lab for analysis. It was in fact Hydrogrossular. He has filed a claim on the deposit, and is keeping the location secret at this time. He was chasing down a jade location when he stumbled on this deposit. About all I can tell you about the location is that it's a 1-1/2 day hike into high country to get to it.
He also ran onto a deposit of high grade Listwanite near the Hydrogrossular deposit. He also brought me a chunk of that to play with.
It isn't Californite. I've collected that material myself when I lived in California.
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 2, 2014 21:42:37 GMT -5
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,041
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 2, 2014 23:47:26 GMT -5
Don, authoritative books on garnets are hard to come by. Some good ones have been written but they go out of print quickly. When they show up on used booklists the prices are usually insane. A good one that might show up as used is a classic, "Garnet" by John D. Rouse, Butterworths Gem Books, ISBN 0408-01534-9. A friend at Caltech alerted me to a copy in their bookstore about 10 years ago and it's my basic garnet textbook. Another excellent book is the Lithographie text "Garnet: Great Balls of Fire," <www.lithographie.org> ISBN 3-921656-35-4. Gorgeous photos! One of the best books on garnet(IMO) but hard to come by is Dr. William Hanneman's original edition of "Naming Gem Garnets." He put out a second edition but it's no substitute for the first. A really excellent on-line resource is this one: gemstonemagnetism.com/template.htmlSinkankas's several books about gemstones of North America also contain numerous really important references to garnet and its complexity. Happy reading! |
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 3, 2014 8:52:53 GMT -5
Thank you Rick. I'll put all of those books on my "Most Wanted" list. Maybe I'll find one or two.
Tell me about out of print books being expensive ! After months of searching I found a very old out of print book on fossils. More or less the fossil bible. That one cost me $150.00, and that was cheap. I've since seen the same book going for $500.00 and more.
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I've collected several green Grossulars over the years and a few of them have that deep green color that most Demantoids seem to have. Any info on what makes a Demantoid a Demantoid? Is it just an arbitrary trade name based on richness of hue?
