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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 17:34:41 GMT -5
I didn’t know whether to post these as specimens or as cabs. Since most of them are polished on one end, I chose here. I have a few more somewhere but was unable to locate them for the group photo. The ones I couldn’t find are from India. Most of the rest are from Madagascar. The exception is the small group clustered around the silver dollar. These are from Idaho and were collected many years ago by my grandfather. The largest one is right at 3.5 pounds. It also has one of the best stars of the group. If you couldn’t tell, I really like minerals with an asterism. The three in the lower left are still in the process of being polished. I’m not obsessed, honestly.  |
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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 17:49:18 GMT -5
The stars aren’t really visible in this photo. If you would like to see a picture of any specific star, let me know. They’re difficult to photograph but I’m trying a new technique.
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Post by fernwood on May 19, 2020 18:14:11 GMT -5
Love that you have some that your grandfather found. Very special.
I would have never thought that some of those have stars. Could you photograph the big one?
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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 18:32:50 GMT -5
fernwoodHere is the star on the big one. 
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Post by hummingbirdstones on May 19, 2020 18:38:50 GMT -5
Great collection. Thank you for sharing it!
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Post by fernwood on May 19, 2020 18:46:21 GMT -5
That is exceptional. Thanks for the photo.
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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 18:49:51 GMT -5
fernwood Did the video load OK? Somebody suggested catching video of the star. The photo is a screenshot from the video. They are very difficult to photograph.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 19, 2020 19:08:31 GMT -5
Video worked for me. Both the image and vid are impressive. Mostly because of the sheer size. Love the group shot and all the different kinds.
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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 19:21:26 GMT -5
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Post by fernwood on May 19, 2020 19:21:30 GMT -5
I am not seeing a video.
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Post by Starguy on May 19, 2020 19:29:12 GMT -5
fernwoodIt only shows up as a play button under the photo. I’ve had mixed results with videos.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller 
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,064 
Member is Online
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Post by gemfeller on May 19, 2020 19:34:38 GMT -5
Great show! We share an interest in stones that display optical phenomena (so-called "phenomenal" gems). Star sapphires were among the first stones I cut, back in the days of silicon carbide wheels. Sometimes it was hard to tell which was cutting which since the hardness was about the same.
Do your stars from Idaho show gold against black? A dear departed friend operated the Dixie Star rock shop back in the day. It was named for his wife and the wonderful Idaho black star sapphires he'd collected and cut. I think they came from Rocky Flat between McCall and Meadows. I'm too old to go digging but I have an old falling-apart rock hunting guide book that outlines major corundum areas of Idaho. I can copy the corundum pages for you if you like.
There are a number of corundum areas in ID, some that have yielded rare gem-quality blues. In some areas the old-time gold miners hated the corundum because it was so plentiful it "boiled" their sluice boxes due to its high S.G. and made gold recovery difficult.
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Post by stardiamond on May 19, 2020 19:36:20 GMT -5
I was in Bangkok in 72-73 and picked up some small black star sapphire cabs (way before I knew what a cab was). I never attempted grinding one. Looks like fun.
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Post by Starguy on May 20, 2020 10:59:40 GMT -5
gemfellerThe Idaho corundum show stars that I would call silver on lavender. They don’t take the greatest polish as they are prone to undercut where there are softer inclusions, (hematite?). You can see the orientation of the rutile in them quite clearly. I flat lapped one on my facet machine. It shows a decent star on the domed side and the typical star sapphire pattern on the flat side.  If you have the time to copy the pages from your prospecting book, that would be appreciated. I was told these are from the Burgdorf area in Idaho. We spent a couple days there last summer. Mostly we soaked in the hot spring but we did take a hike to look at a couple old placer mines. We found lots of stream worn quartz but no corundum. We also drove up to the top of a peak that is an enormous intrusive quartz vein. We found a few nice quartz points but We didn’t have the right tools to collect many of them.
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Post by MsAli on May 20, 2020 11:10:50 GMT -5
Thank you Brent for sharing these! They are so cool
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JBe
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by JBe on May 20, 2020 12:40:53 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing! If I ever saw one of these rough in the wild I don't think I'd recognize it for what it was.
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Post by Starguy on May 22, 2020 19:50:41 GMT -5
MsAli JBe I found my first star sapphire crystal in 1988 in a South Dakota rock shop. The proprietor sold it to me as Montana in origin. If you want to find them, you need to look for what looks like growth rings in corundum crystals. They’re not all that rare with many sources worldwide. The bigger they are, the harder they are to find. I have developed an eye for “star” material. I always check corundum, rose quartz, and garnets sold in rock shops. I am lucky enough to live within a couple hours of a well known source of star garnets. I dug my tail off in the 1980s and collected a respectable supply. I am always happy to post pictures of my star material if you haven’t seen them. Thanks for your kind comments.
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
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Post by adrian65 on May 22, 2020 23:12:47 GMT -5
Impressive collection! What a contrast between the rough look of the specimen and the beautiful star they reveal when polished propperly!
Adrian
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Post by Roller on May 28, 2020 15:55:23 GMT -5
Huge star ... very nice
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Post by drocknut on May 29, 2020 11:24:38 GMT -5
gemfellerIf you have the time to copy the pages from your prospecting book, that would be appreciated. I was told these are from the Burgdorf area in Idaho. We spent a couple days there last summer. Mostly we soaked in the hot spring but we did take a hike to look at a couple old placer mines. We found lots of stream worn quartz but no corundum. We also drove up to the top of a peak that is an enormous intrusive quartz vein. We found a few nice quartz points but We didn’t have the right tools to collect many of them. Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. The star garnets I am familiar with from Idaho come from Emerald Creek area Emerald Creek, Idaho |
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