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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 12, 2015 7:55:19 GMT -5
I cant help with the I.D. but that's a beautiful stone you got there. Maybe not quite big enough for a cabochon but certainly would be great tumbled. Did you just find the one like that or were there more?
chuck
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Mar 12, 2015 9:01:52 GMT -5
Looks a lot like the gem form of glaucophane....Mel
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 12, 2015 9:58:10 GMT -5
Whatever it is,pick more of it up!!! Great trading material for ya'! Thumbs up That is a cool stone!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 12, 2015 10:34:55 GMT -5
Just asked some Washington hounders-they say its natural tumbled granite...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2015 16:00:15 GMT -5
I was gonna say granite.
Bithin' granite, but granite still.
Bitchin' granite is as nice as any other rock! Tumble it!
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lilacmoth
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2015
Posts: 160
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Post by lilacmoth on Mar 12, 2015 21:27:06 GMT -5
Lol, thank you! Never seen granite this color before and this is the only one I've seen like that. Oh well, if it's common but bitchin', it's still cool, yes? I'll tumble it when I get my hands on someone who has a tumbler. Currently I'm in an apartment and can't have one, though we're hoping to move to a house before fall and then I'll get allll the toys.
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Post by deb193redux on Mar 12, 2015 22:04:12 GMT -5
careful. the interesting surface may be lost tumbling. it might be nice just buffed up a bit and left with the high relief on the surface. also the exact shade of blue could be surface oxidation, and the color just below the surface may not be as nice.
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Post by snowmom on Mar 13, 2015 6:24:53 GMT -5
Daniel, I find that is true of almost all of the things I find here. I also wonder about tumbling on that particular piece, since the matrix (black areas) seem to have already undercut quite a lot. It is beautiful as a blue nugget, lilacmoth. A glass bowl full of them would look awesome! find more!
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Post by washingtonrocks on Mar 18, 2015 16:06:35 GMT -5
lilacmoth, what you have there is a Saussuritized Feldspar - Diabase (how's that for a mouthful!) which essentially makes this a type of Gabbro. I usually just call it a 'Sea-Foam' Diabase. It's composed of Feldspar crystals that have been altered to Saussurite (the blue-green areas) in a hornblende or augite or basalt matrix (black). I run into this stuff quite often. Here's what this material looks like cabbed. The hardness between the black and blue/green can vary, making this a tricky stone to work as others have suggested. However, I've run into specimens with approximately uniform hardness as well. It's a case by case basis with this stone. Give it a tumble when you get the chance!
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lilacmoth
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2015
Posts: 160
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Post by lilacmoth on Mar 20, 2015 7:21:32 GMT -5
Thank you, washingtonrocks! It's a neat little rock, I'll have to watch out for more of them. There are so many green rocks around here that it might be difficult to spot, lol. Are you in the western part of our state?
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Post by washingtonrocks on Mar 20, 2015 18:09:11 GMT -5
lilacmoth, they're pretty common on Puget Sound beaches so definitely keep your eye out for them! Some of them can be pretty gemmy. I'm in Mill Creek/Bothell. Where abouts are you? Welcome to the forum by the way!
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lilacmoth
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2015
Posts: 160
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Post by lilacmoth on Mar 21, 2015 7:08:35 GMT -5
Thanks! I'm over on the Kitsap peninsula and we go to the beaches on the Olympic peninsula a lot. I just got Gem trails of WA so we're going to check out some of the closer locales soon.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 21, 2015 9:03:41 GMT -5
Not to get too philosophical here, but I'm going to. This thread is a great example of the wonderful interactions that occur on this forum. A reasonable question was asked (admittedly with little info to guide the response) and everyone chimed in with a positive response constantly moving closer and closer to a conclusive, informative, and positive answer for the op. I learned something and so did she, I'm guessing. Thanks everybody. Now lets all go out and collect more bitchin granite, not because its valuable, not because its great to cab, but just because we enjoy what we do, its pretty to hold, look, at and possess. Me, I'm going to a rock show today, because the Olympic Penn. beaches are just too far from New Mexico to make the drive today. Tom
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Post by washingtonrocks on Mar 21, 2015 11:36:00 GMT -5
Tom, excellent post and well said. I've joined a number of online "communities", for rocks and otherwise, and this forum is by far my favorite. It's a wonderful resource for all things lapidary and everyone I've interacted with is friendly and adds something valuable with their experiences, questions, etc. I can't tell you how much I've learned from this place! lilacmoth, you're in prime Poppy Jasper territory! The west side of the Sound is a great place to rockhound. Be sure to share with us your future finds!
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Post by snowmom on Mar 21, 2015 11:52:37 GMT -5
Tom Peruano- Don't forget we want to hear about that show. I got an email from our friend who attended yesterday, but I want to see a good trip report here too. (subtle, right?)
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Post by stephan on Mar 26, 2015 20:33:44 GMT -5
I agree with Mel: gem glaucophane -- www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/5486532190www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/5477103508It is an indicator for jade, which you do seem to find in Washington. In California it occurs in the Clear Creek area, where there is jade. It also occurs in Paso Robles in a greener form: www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/5477103508Some people also said this stuff was diabase, and there are visual similarities. However, it is found where there are other metamorphic rocks (again, jade) formed by subduction, and diabase is volcanic. The expert on this stuff appears to be Chris Rowe of RFTF (see my Panoche Hills set) who now calls it "Blue G." It seems some people on this board have goe out to Area 54 and "The Big Pile" with him.
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Post by glennz01 on Mar 27, 2015 0:55:52 GMT -5
I found a bit of stuff like that with the blue... its probably Diorite (granate). The black could be hornblende.
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Post by washingtonrocks on Mar 27, 2015 19:29:54 GMT -5
These are definitely not Glaucophne, although I can see how someone might think they resemble it. What lilacmoth and I are finding are rocks in the Gabbro-Diabase family. Frank (lithicbeads from the "other" forum) is a real credit to this type of stone. His appreciation and craftsmanship of it was what compelled me to pursue this stuff further and actually seek it out. He's a fellow Washingtonian, very knowledgeable with local stones, and he's the one who helped me positively ID mine. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing his work with this 'Sea Foam' Gabbro (he coined the term). The blue-green is altered Feldspar (the crystal formation is very distinct in this pendant) in a highly silicafied basalt with hornblende. This is one of his pendants from this material:
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Post by snowmom on Mar 28, 2015 7:11:38 GMT -5
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