blueyblue
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Member since November 2021
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 12, 2021 14:59:11 GMT -5
Does anybody work on this kind of gemstone? thanks I can see some deep green and purple in the photograph, though the gem appears to be black without magnification. It weighs about 2 lbs.  |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 12, 2021 15:09:54 GMT -5
Where was this found? Can't really tell from the photo, but it does not look like black schorl to me. Again, judging by the dark photo, I can't see the lined texture on the sides of it. It looks too "flat", it should shine some.
Will upload a photo of what I am talking about.
If the shorl is large enough and hard enough, it can be worked. I have cabbed some in the past.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Nov 12, 2021 15:31:34 GMT -5
blueyblue , For some reason your images aren't appearing on my monitor. Odd. If it's tourmaline it can easily be cut. But schorl is basically black, unlike other much more valuable tourmaline hues. Large schorl crystals are not unusual.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 12, 2021 16:06:43 GMT -5
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blueyblue
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Member since November 2021
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 12, 2021 16:10:18 GMT -5
Where was this found? Can't really tell from the photo, but it does not look like black shorl to me. Again, judging by the dark photo, I can't see the lined texture on the sides of it. It looks too "flat", it should shine some. Will upload a photo of what I am talking about. If the shorl is large enough and hard enough, it can be worked. I have cabbed some in the past. It was found in the granite mountains of Virginia. The fractures are rhomboidal if you enlarge the picture. Here's a video of the same. It is definitely a crystal shape. There is a very deep greenish purple hue to it. Blue quartz found at the same site:  |
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blueyblue
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 12, 2021 16:14:06 GMT -5
From SoCal, pegmatite country    Great shots, Yours is better formed, and I see the same deep green and deep purple. The river bed was a massive vein of pegmatite running through it that looks about like this: geology.com/rocks/pegmatite.shtml |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 12, 2021 17:13:21 GMT -5
The previous schorl crystal I posted was found by my husband, in the mountains east of San Diego. This one is a little bigger, not personally found. It came from the swap meet, but chances are, it was also found in San Diego county. Photos are taken dry, not wet.  Reverse side  Bottom end  Third side   This large chunk of rock came from a pegmatite area where they mined lepidolite. The roundish ends of the schorl crystals are about the size of a half dollar coin. The balance of the rock is comprised of quartz, feldspar, and mica. There's probably some purple lepidolite in it as well.  Another rock from same area. The purple above the rock is a piece of lepidolite.  |
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blueyblue
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 12, 2021 17:53:04 GMT -5
That looks like the same thing except mine has a lot more fractures. The original crystal must have been about 4" "diameter". It's actually a hexagon shape.
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quartzilla
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Post by quartzilla on Nov 14, 2021 13:38:01 GMT -5
Love tourmaline! I will post some pics of some of mine later today if you you guys don’t mind!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 14, 2021 13:46:19 GMT -5
Please do! Bring it on, quartzilla ! I love tourmaline, unfortunately, I've found more schorl than tourmaline. There was a really great display of native gems a few years back at the local Natural History museum. |
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quartzilla
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Post by quartzilla on Nov 14, 2021 21:03:00 GMT -5
Schorl on quartz / pegmatite matrix from Lakeview Mountains in Riverside County   Schorl Crystals ( I think these are also from the Lakeview Mountains, I’ve had them for a long time)  Green Tourmaline from Brazil (Quartzsite AZ purchase)  Colored tourmaline float finds from Bautista Canyon, Riverside County  Monster sized double terminated schorl my brother gave me; guessing this is probably from Brazil   I have a bunch of others but can’t get to them right now, they are pinned in the corner of my garage until a new roll up door is installed in the next week give or take a few days. |
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blueyblue
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 15, 2021 18:57:33 GMT -5
Colored tourmaline float finds from Bautista Canyon, Riverside County okay now that answers some questions. I showed something quite similar to a university geologist, and he said it was quartz. I usually find a few on every outing. There is an ancient volcano maybe 15-20 miles away in the VA mountains. Do you suppose this is a tourmaline?   |
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quartzilla
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Post by quartzilla on Nov 15, 2021 21:37:07 GMT -5
Colored tourmaline float finds from Bautista Canyon, Riverside County okay now that answers some questions. I showed something quite similar to a university geologist, and he said it was quartz. I usually find a few on every outing. There is an ancient volcano maybe 15-20 miles away in the VA mountains. Do you suppose this is a tourmaline? . I’m not an expert but that doesn’t look like tourmaline to me. My experience is if a tourmaline has striations they are very fine like the ones in my hand in the photo. I’ve seen andalusite look like your piece but I’ve also seen metamorphic rock look the same. A good test for tourmaline is hefting it and comparing with a similar size piece of quartz. Tourmaline is noticeably heavier. There are great videos on YouTube showing how to do simple specific gravity tests, the only thing you’d need that you don’t already have lying around your house is a gram scale. |
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blueyblue
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Post by blueyblue on Nov 16, 2021 0:58:22 GMT -5
quartzillaYes these crystals are quite heavy like they have metal-ore in them.
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