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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 5, 2022 23:45:17 GMT -5
I bought the Black Agate (I think that's what it possibly is...) at the Rock Shed out of their Back Agates bin out in the yard. I was thinking the bin was full of Black Skin Agates. So I got two pieces. One actually WAS a Black Skin Agate and the other was this one. It doesn't work or cut like agate. It acts more like a chert or a Flint. It definitely takes a good polish! The Goldstone slab I bought had an imperfection in the slab...where there was no gold flaking material. So, I used it as the centerpiece of this cab. It works pretty similar to Obsidian. It was a nightmare trying to get a picture of the "sparkles"! LOL Thanks for taking a gander.  EDIT: Mel may have identified the first two as Zebra Lace Agate...    |
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 5, 2022 23:50:39 GMT -5
Wow! That goldstone is cool!
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 6, 2022 0:33:42 GMT -5
Wow! That goldstone is cool! Thanks Tela!  It really is! LOL - I had no clue what it was when I saw it at the rock shop. I thought it was some weird Obsidian. The lady who was working told me it was man-made. She showed me some of their polished specimens, and I thought what the heck, why not! |
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Post by vegasjames on Feb 6, 2022 2:32:31 GMT -5
That second black agate is my favorite.
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Post by fernwood on Feb 6, 2022 2:40:43 GMT -5
I like the goldstone. The back looks like a freeform inlay.
The focus is pretty good, too. I have a heck of a time photographing goldstone.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,496
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 6, 2022 8:12:28 GMT -5
First two appear to be Zebra Lace (also called Day and Night Lace) out of Mexico. Beautiful cabs and great examples. Zebra Lace can be pretty vuggy and fractured.
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Feb 6, 2022 8:40:34 GMT -5
That goldstone is very cool! If it was solid sparkly material, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.
I’m loving the variety of material in your latest posts. Not that I don’t enjoy the teepees and prairie agates (and lace and obsidian, etc), but it is not just fun to see new materials, but also to see that you are able to make them all look great!
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Post by orrum on Feb 6, 2022 9:20:52 GMT -5
That Goldstone is splendiferous!!!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 6, 2022 9:41:24 GMT -5
The goldstone just about knocked my socks off! You picked a perfect way to make a flaw in the stone into the main centerpiece of it. Gorgeous!
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 6, 2022 11:07:50 GMT -5
That second black agate is my favorite. Thanks James! Yeah, that second one really has a lot of cool stuff going on in it! It's a tie between the second one and the Goldstone for me. I like the goldstone. The back looks like a freeform inlay. The focus is pretty good, too. I have a heck of a time photographing goldstone. Thanks Beth! It probably took me 15 pictures to try and get the sparkles to come out. This pic was the best out of the bunch...but yeah, it's SUPER difficult to capture a good pic (with my phone camera!). First two appear to be Zebra Lace (also called Day and Night Lace) out of Mexico. Beautiful cabs and great examples. Zebra Lace can be pretty vuggy and fractured. Thanks Mel! This one has really thrown me for a loop! I looked up Zebra Lace, and I found a couple examples that look dead-on. The reason I'm not sure, every piece of rough that I saw online, looks completely different than the piece of rough I picked up. The exterior looked exactly like a Black Skin Agate. The pieces of rough I saw online didn't look anything like this piece...but some of the finished pieces looked exactly like the finished product... That goldstone is very cool! If it was solid sparkly material, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. I’m loving the variety of material in your latest posts. Not that I don’t enjoy the teepees and prairie agates (and lace and obsidian, etc), but it is not just fun to see new materials, but also to see that you are able to make them all look great! Thanks Brian! People throw the word "blessed" out sometimes...and I really do know the meaning of that here lately! I'm super grateful that I've been given some amazing material - as well as trading for some really awesome material as well! It's been fun to try and work a lot of these different pieces...a lot successfully...and a few I struggled with...but that's part of the learning curve. Don't get too tired of the Teepees though...I still have a HUGE bag of preforms...and once the weather turns for the better, I'll probably be back up there hounding for more! LOL That Goldstone is splendiferous!!! Thank you very much! I wasn't too sure how it would be "accepted" since it's a man-made material! LOL The goldstone just about knocked my socks off! You picked a perfect way to make a flaw in the stone into the main centerpiece of it. Gorgeous! Thanks Robin! Keep your socks on...it's been too cold down in AZ lately for sandals!  There was no doubt in my mind that "flaw" had to be the focal point for that one. The rest of the pieces I have are solid gold (remember that show? LOL) so they'll be sparkly, but not as interesting... |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,496
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 6, 2022 14:15:00 GMT -5
You know, when I first started hounding in the 50's I visited a rockshop with a grand selection of goldstone. They had green, blue, that bronze in a couple of shades, even seem to remember a very dark blue, almost black form. Recently it seems I don't see it nearly as much and when I do, it's mostly the bronze/gold stuff. I know it was developed in Italy but I wonder who manufactures it now days and if there is some reason it is less commonly seen? May be synthetics are less popular now?
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Post by Son Of Beach on Feb 6, 2022 17:49:43 GMT -5
I had no idea goldstone was synthetic. Dunno why that never occurred to me....
I really like what you did with it Jason.
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 6, 2022 18:35:02 GMT -5
You know, when I first started hounding in the 50's I visited a rockshop with a grand selection of goldstone. They had green, blue, that bronze in a couple of shades, even seem to remember a very dark blue, almost black form. Recently it seems I don't see it nearly as much and when I do, it's mostly the bronze/gold stuff. I know it was developed in Italy but I wonder who manufactures it now days and if there is some reason it is less commonly seen? May be synthetics are less popular now? I think I read somewhere on the forum the other day the source is China. Interesting that it has gone from prevalent to scarce... I had no idea goldstone was synthetic. Dunno why that never occurred to me.... I really like what you did with it Jason. Thanks Chad! Yeah...I had one of those "duh" moments when the lady working there told me it was man-made. LOL |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Feb 6, 2022 19:30:58 GMT -5
Thanks Brian! People throw the word "blessed" out sometimes...and I really do know the meaning of that here lately! I'm super grateful that I've been given some amazing material - as well as trading for some really awesome material as well! It's been fun to try and work a lot of these different pieces...a lot successfully...and a few I struggled with...but that's part of the learning curve. Don't get too tired of the Teepees though...I still have a HUGE bag of preforms...and once the weather turns for the better, I'll probably be back up there hounding for more! LOL I don't think I could ever get tired of Teepees. I'm a big fan of those things. Fingers crossed that you find some great ones this year! |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,496
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 6, 2022 23:20:45 GMT -5
Yeah, goldstone is synthetic aventurine glass. Developed in Italy in 17th century. Looked it up on Wikipedia and they say there are examples in jewelry from Persia going back 400 years earlier than that.
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Post by holajonathan on Feb 8, 2022 21:18:45 GMT -5
That must be Zebra agate from India. I've got Zebra agate from Mexico and it doesn't look like that. Yours is much more solid, more lace, and less zebra. Cool to see something new. I wish they made Goldstone like that! I like it better than the normal Goldstone. I bet it sparkles like a drag queen named Sparkles.  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 8, 2022 21:26:48 GMT -5
That must be Zebra agate from India. I've got Zebra agate from Mexico and it doesn't look like that. Your is much more solid, more lace, and less zebra. Cool to see something new, regardless. I wish they made Goldstone like that! I like it better than the normal Goldstone. I bet it sparkles like a drag queen named Sparkles. The rough really doesn't look like anything I've found online. My piece is by far mainly black with only a small section having the white lace. Most of the material I see online shows a hefty amount of lace within the rough. A 4"x4" slab may only produce 2 opportunities for a cab...there's that little lace in it. I will say though, it really does polish amazingly well! LOL There was no doubt that Goldstone cab was getting created like that! I wish I had more pieces with the "flaw" in it too! LOL - I did hold it up to my neck to see how it might look as a pendant...and it did make my toes twinkle!  |
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