Alright. Since I said hello here about 3 years back I've found our local gem and rock society, worked a few gem shows, honed my skills in making cabs and faceted stones (my icon was my first rough facet of Apache Tear), and got a lot better with identification. A big show is coming up in a few weeks and I'd like to catalogue my collection and figure out what else is out there I might not have.
Now with 5000+ minerals, I'm overwhelmed! Every list I find is different. Ranging from 100-400 different types of minerals, rocks and organics that have been cut as gemstones. Not to mention all of them having different varieties and trade names! Before I go through the trouble of busting out my excel skills and trying to create a definitive list of gemstones, is there by chance out there a checklist for the collector? I feel like everything I'm close to knowing my gemstones, a whole new bunch pops up. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I have many links, books, and software that gives me great access to gemstone information, but a simple list of stones I can cross off as I go along would be superb!
People collect minerals in different ways. Some just want "one of everything". Some want "nice specimen" of everything (like a museum). Some concentrate on a single mineral, like agate or tourmaline.
I should mention that tourmaline is really a lot of different minerals, as is garnet. Whereas beryl could be Aquamarine (anything from blue green to blue), Maxine-type Red Beryl (bixbite) Golden Beryl / Heliodore Morganite Emerald Goshenite and some related minerals like Pezzottaite
Some people collect color, like purple: sapphire, tourmaline, Red beryl, amathyst, etc....
So it is hard to tell you what checklist to get. Barbara's list of minerals is great if you just want to collect one of everything. (Do realize that new minerals are still being discovered.)
If you want an exhaustive listing of minerals, mindat.org is the place. However, not all minerals have gemstone potential, and if that's what you're after more specifically, then the most complete list of gem material I know of is in the book 'Tables of Gemstone Identification', by Roger Dedeyne and Ivo Quintens (and this book also feature all the necessary data for identifying your gemstones).
Now, let me share a piece of collector wisdom: Novice collectors usually start by randomly accumulating stuff, and in the process they're gaining general knowledge. Now, random accumulation really isn't satisfying in the long term, but at some point knowledge turns the novice into a connoisseur, who will be able to show some focus and selectivity in regard of his acquisitions...just have fun in the process, collecting should never get too serious (I could feel my words getting a little to serious here ). Also, when building a collection, keep in mind that's it's always wiser to acquire a few high quality pieces rather than hundreds of low grade ones (moreover, in the future, quality is also what will make it possible to resell a few old pieces from your collection so to acquire more interesting ones).
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 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