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Looking for Hard to find stones
https://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=24910
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Author:  Isi [ Sun Jan 13, 2019 7:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

How about a nice vanadium chrysoberyl, and of course a cobalt spinel from Vietnam, but with affordable prices. These are hard to find !!!

Author:  Marlow [ Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Isi wrote:
How about a nice vanadium chrysoberyl, and of course a cobalt spinel from Vietnam, but with affordable prices. These are hard to find !!!


No, I have enough... \:D/

Author:  Marlow [ Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

On my colored stones list:

red and/or blue Taaffeite, red Musgravite

FCD list

a fancy blue(ish)-green or green(ish)-blue intense or vivid diamond.

So expensive...

I am so modest.

Author:  Isi [ Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

I have both of them : a vivid blue an a green one \:D/

Oh, did you mean naturally colored, nor irradiated ? This is a different story.

There is only one solution : :smt053

Author:  Marlow [ Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Yes, natural untreated....

So only a tiny one with a few points...

Author:  Nick_G [ Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

dchallener wrote:
I am also looking for some of that Vietnamese transparent "Amazonite".


Or there's the similar mint-green transparent oligoclase from Kenya/Tanzania. AFAIK this is very rare but not too expensive. I have a chunk of rough that shows obvious pleochroism from bluish-green to yellowish green.

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Sun Jan 27, 2019 8:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

I'd love to see a picture of that rough.
Please post it. :D

Author:  Stephen Challener [ Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

The pale green stuff from Tanzania is often sold as sunstone, though much of it has a slightly murky tone to it. I have some pale rough somewhere which I picked out from a cab parcel, waiting to be faceted.
Apparently there was some spectacular material from Canada at some point, according to the GIA's documentation of the Gubelin collection:
Image
Though who knows if there was ever more than just the one, he was apparently pretty good at tracking down real rarities.

Author:  Nick_G [ Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Barbra Voltaire wrote:
I'd love to see a picture of that rough.
Please post it. :D


Here you go Barbra:

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This piece is about 35 mm by 24 mm and about 17-19 mm thick. The weight is about 25 grams.

Author:  Isi [ Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Impressive pleochroism indeed ! Especially for a pale stone.
I wonder what it would look like if it were cut ?

Author:  Nick_G [ Tue Jan 29, 2019 4:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Isi wrote:
Impressive pleochroism indeed ! Especially for a pale stone.
I wonder what it would look like if it were cut ?


Thanks Isi. The pleochroism is very pronounced using the LCD monitor as a source of polarised light. See below:

Image

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Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Holy guacamole!
Are you quite sure this is feldspar.

Author:  Nick_G [ Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Barbra Voltaire wrote:
Holy guacamole!
Are you quite sure this is feldspar.


Yes. The base has the typical striations as a result of repeated lamellar twinning. Another pic illustrating this:

Image

I actually bought this specimen about 8 years ago at a mainstream crystal shop in Salisbury. This was something out-of-the-ordinary as I've never seen anything like it for sale since, even at the Kempton Park Rock & Gem shows.

Author:  Stephen Challener [ Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

This tucson I picked up a crystal of feldspar (raman scan best matches albite, so likely at least plagioclase rather than k-spar of some sort) with very blue zones. It was mixed into a parcel of Madagascar sanidine. I've seen blue cleavlandite before but never this gemmy or this blue.
Image
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I also saw some of the classic 'masai sunstone' priced not that awful
Image
and some light blue oligoclase, priced who knows but given the seller definitely high
Image
I also found my baggie of green facet rough pulled from a parcel of cab-grade Masai sunstone. Small and mostly pale, but worthy.
Image

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Looking for Hard to find stones

Oh! I like that Masai sunstone....where does it come from and does it have anything to do with the Masai?

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