January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:40 pm

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Very odd...cool...star Garnet with double star
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:53 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergod
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:24 am
Posts: 4997
Location: McDonough GA
Image

Auction here.

Jason

_________________
http://www.selectgem.com


Last edited by Jason on Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:02 pm 
Offline
Moderator
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:42 pm
Posts: 4091
Location: the Netherlands
very freaky indeed! For that current price I'm quite tempted too!! You gonna go for that one J? (don't wanna end up driving that price up for you...)
Nevermind, stupid question, you wouldn't have posted it if it where so...


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:19 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergod
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:24 am
Posts: 4997
Location: McDonough GA
LOL!

Nope, I'm not bidding on this one. Go for it!

J-

_________________
http://www.selectgem.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:23 pm 
Offline
Moderator
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:42 pm
Posts: 4091
Location: the Netherlands
I want to see inside that one with my scope! what could cause this? a twinned crystal?

will know in a week or two...


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:04 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergod
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:24 am
Posts: 4997
Location: McDonough GA
Congrats on the win! Let us know the results of your investigation.

Jason

_________________
http://www.selectgem.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:43 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:27 pm
Posts: 764
Location: Western NY
Very good deal -- even with the shipping. The collector in me (who shouldn't even be looking at auction listings) is jealous.

It's a twinned crystal for sure, but the surprising part is that it survived cutting. I would have expected a twinned garnet crystal like that to fall apart in process.

Come to think of it, it's also remarkable that the cutter had the foresight to fashion the stone that way.

I hope ROM notices this post -- maybe he has some more insights on this oddity.

_________________
Peter Torraca, GG
gemcutter
http://www.torraca.net
<><


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:00 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergod
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:24 am
Posts: 4997
Location: McDonough GA
pt wrote:
It's a twinned crystal for sure, but the surprising part is that it survived cutting. I would have expected a twinned garnet crystal like that to fall apart in process.


Peter, if you look closely at the pics in the auction you can see that there are some fractures in the piece. Certainly the piece is under stress and you are right, its a wonder it didnt explode. It really is a unique and fascinating stone!

J-

_________________
http://www.selectgem.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:03 pm 
Offline
Platinum Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:20 am
Posts: 2756
Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
pt wrote:
It's a twinned crystal for sure, but the surprising part is that it survived cutting. I would have expected a twinned garnet crystal like that to fall apart in process.


Hi All,

I think it's a so-called "penetration twin," two actual crystals that have intergrown, each one displaying a 4-ray star. I doubt there's much danger of it falling apart since it's structurally a single crystal.

I've cut a fair amount of Idaho star garnet and the stuff can be a little touchy, especially in the sanding stage. It is quite friable and subject to fracturing from heat. I used to do most of the sanding and polishing with diamond compound on a spool polisher similar the one Graves makes. I think the fractures Jason mentioned were either there to begin with and left in the interest of cutting the double star, or were the result of a little too much heat in sanding/polishing.

I'm writing a short article on orienting and polishing Idaho star garnet, mainly to preserve old knowledge that's hard to come by these days. It will explain the theory behind garnet asterism -- from that locality, at least! I hope to post it to my website when my Webmaster shows me how: I'm not computer-smart. Stay tuned.

_________________
Rick Martin

www.artcutgems.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Very odd...cool...star Garnet with double star
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:34 am 
Offline
Established Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:55 am
Posts: 31
Oh that's a bit of a tease, did a search of the forum for star garnets and came up with this thread, only to realise it's a bit old, and the auction is no longer listed, so I can't see it! Sounds like it was an interesting stone :)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Very odd...cool...star Garnet with double star
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:37 am 
Offline
Valued Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:34 pm
Posts: 381
Location: Sweden
baobei18 wrote:
Oh that's a bit of a tease, did a search of the forum for star garnets and came up with this thread, only to realise it's a bit old, and the auction is no longer listed, so I can't see it! Sounds like it was an interesting stone :)


Ask Tim for a picture! He´s a kind person! :wink:

_________________
~~~Lennie~~~


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Very odd...cool...star Garnet with double star
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:06 am 
Offline
Moderator
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:42 pm
Posts: 4091
Location: the Netherlands
When I come across it I'll post a new pic, I have no idea where that stone went. We're about 5 moves further now so it could be anywhere...


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Very odd...cool...star Garnet with double star
PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:32 am 
Offline
Established Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:55 am
Posts: 31
Tim wrote:
When I come across it I'll post a new pic, I have no idea where that stone went. We're about 5 moves further now so it could be anywhere...


Awesome, would love to see it when you next come across it ;) I was attempting to find info on star garnets from Madagascar (gem assignment) - didn't find anything (have to hit the library at school I think), but found plenty of other cool star garnets :D


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock