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 9:00 pm

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 1:27 am 
Offline
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type

Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 3:48 pm
Posts: 2
It's Black when not exposed to lights. When it does, it turns moss green. There are sort of white stains when it's in contact with water. It's very light. The carving is man-made. And it's not so expensive.

Image
you can see that it's a little greener when you look at it with bright light
Image


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:06 am 
Sorry Steveb, I doubt that there is anything to say from those photos. Further, stones cannot normally be positively identified from a photo even if the pic is high quality. You could run down the contact details for your local rock and gem club and show it to someone there who might be able to give you a good steer.

You say it is very light. Are you *sure* it is stone and not some plastic?


Top
  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 2:59 pm 
Offline
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type

Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 3:48 pm
Posts: 2
Thank you very much. I'll run down to the local store. Hopefully it's not just some plastic.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:12 pm 
steveb wrote:
Thank you very much. I'll run down to the local store. Hopefully it's not just some plastic.


Heat a needle until the tip is red hot. Touch your 'stone' with the hot tip, somewhere that a mark won't show. If you have a stone, nothing will happen. If it's horn or plastic it will mark and smoke a little. The smell is indicative of the material. Amber, Copal and Jet the same - but I'd be surprised if your object was one of these last three.

That said, a friendly jeweller/gemologist can probably tell you what it is, using tests that wont leave a mark if it is an organic gem material.


Top
  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:52 pm 
Offline
Gold Member

Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:56 am
Posts: 1284
could possibly be some dark serpentine too. Hard to identify a stone from a picture, especially when the pic is all blurry.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: What type of stone is this?
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:06 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm
Posts: 21602
Location: San Francisco
I was getting that waxy serpentine kinda look too.
I hope SteveB wil report back when he finds out.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 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