I am buying stones on ebay just trying to build a collection. I have a couple of questions I will put together.
1. I bought some rough rubies really cheap and I can't tell if they are real or not. They look like red rocks and I figured they were heat treated. They fluoresce bright orange under black light but only on the surface. When I cut them and polished them the fluorescence was gone. Are they real?
2. I was looking for calcite because I heard it would glow and I wanted it for my collection. I'm pretty sure fluorite fluoresces. I found some "glow spheres" and I thought they were cool so I got one. If you look at the listing they say stuff like "fluorite calcite quartz" so I'm not sure what it is. Is this a natural stone or something artificial?
I may be old fashioned, but I am not too happy buying stones off ebay. I like to know the person I am buying off and convince him that if he wants my continued custom, he needs to be straight with me. I also like to deal face to face, then I can ask about anything I am unsure of. Perhaps to illustrate the point "Fluorite calcite quartz" sounds like a complete lashup to me, fluorite is CaF2, calcium fluoride, calcite is CaCO3, calcium carbonate, and quartz is SiO2, silicon dioxide. All completely different minerals with completely different properties.
My options are limited but I'm making the best of it. Improving the Ebay messaging system might help but I ordered from China so there is also a language barrier. Gemstones are new to me and I have a few ideas I'm going to try. Sterling silver necklace and some bracelets. I get a lot of ideas. Maybe sometimes too many. I thought the sphere would look nice glowing in my living room but I don't know what it is. Thanks for the reply.
Plenty of Gem Shows in the US with lots of knowledgeable dealers. You might have to travel somewhat, but Shows are usually in interesting places that are worth a visit, so make a short break of it. I live in the UK and travel over most of Europe to talk to dealers, I have picked up some fantastic stones and specimens over the years.
I'm an introvert, I guess. It's hard to change that once you have it in your mind. I have a piece of Kentucky Agate on the way. Quartz is interesting. I have amethyst, rose quartz and a few odd pieces that I think came from Mammoth cave. I'm surprised by how many varieties of quartz there are. Each one of them isn't just "quartz", but it is considered a different stone. Mammoth cave is probably full of all kinds of minerals. I'm close enough to drive but I don't get out much even going to the store to get groceries.
It is important to get out and mingle, you will meet interesting and friendly people (there is nothing like being interested in the same things to break the ice), pick up some nice specimens and have a great time!
Maybe if I had someone to go with me. I'm talking in code again and I didn't want to. I wouldn't want to sound like a crazy person. I would prefer not "to be straight with you" on a public forum. After the things I've seen, I think you might have known that. Since you already knew, what would you like me to say? Just pull my strings. I can't do private message yet. Maybe email? We can both be straight with each other.
I can't get the p.m.. I got the email saying you sent it but no p.m.. I guess I have not been a member long enough. I have some very interesting stories but nobody to tell. The last six months alone are hard to believe. If I hadn't wrote them down I might forget that stuff happened. I don't think anybody will find my blog. Maybe it was my imagination. I still see strange things but it's normal now. Would you like to help?
After my introduction I got a link to a site with a bunch of pdf files. I scraped the whole site with wget. I hope it didn't bother anyone. I'm not trying to bother anyone.
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Pyrite can't get it Alan. Needs 10 approved posts.
That being said, we don't encourage correspondence through PMs. Why? Our forum is meant for sharing information with all.
Sidebar: Gem and mineral collecting is a great pastime for introverts. Pyrite, we welcome any questions you may have about gems, minerals and lapidary arts. We're all here to help.
Pdf's are meant to be downloaded. I have a huge collection. Collect all the information you can get your hands on.
What are the chances of it being real? You know, corundum with chromium for color etc. Like the question you presented me when I registered. I got it right on the second try. I don't think I need perfect stones, just the right elements. Mine was from India. I took mine and I made a nice heart out of it but it doesn't fluoresce now. It makes nice stones. They are not translucent but but still nice. I'm also concerned about maybe toxic chemicals used to treat it.
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