Name that stone (again)

[beaujolais]

Nice large facets on those stones there, Proteus.

 

[Pandora II]

Sorry, late again - was sorting out nightmare mortgage/lawyer debacle yesterday...

I''m going to go for Rubellite for # 3

 

[T L]

#4 some kind of labradorite.

 

[coatimundi_org]

3. Scapolite

 

[coatimundi_org]

3. ...or do you mean quartz (haHA!) evil eye = bullseye?

 

[Proteus]

You got it! It''s scapolite.

I think it''s evil because I''ve never seen one this color. It looks a lot like smoky quartz in most lighting. Scapolite is usually either yellow or purple, and is a lot like citrine or amethyst. Now there''s one that looks like smokey quartz, too!

I got it many years ago, I believe it was from a parcel of "botched" purple scapolite - it was probably treated incorrectly, and faded to this weird warm brown color. It looked different when I very first received it. Once I''d gotten around to cutting some of it, it had become much more brown. I was mad because I wanted (and expected) real purple scapolite, but the novelty of this made it alright.

 

[coatimundi_org]

YaY!

It''s a novel and cool stone indeed. That fluorite is cool too. What else do you have in your treasure trove of trickster stones? I want to play again!

(I recognized the spodumene from the cool inclusions--your photograph captured those really well)

How long have you been faceting? When did you get your G.G.?

 

[Proteus]

Date: 9/27/2008 2:00:48 PM
Author: coatimundi
YaY!


It''s a novel and cool stone indeed. That fluorite is cool too. What else do you have in your treasure trove of trickster stones? I want to play again!


(I recognized the spodumene from the cool inclusions--your photograph captured those really well)


How long have you been faceting? When did you get your G.G.?

Good work! It''s nice to see a GIA student so interested in gemology. When I was in class, about 90% of the students were just there because their parents wanted them to be. Only a couple others beside myself were actually hardcore gem freaks...

I do have a number of other fun stones... I''ll have to start another round once I get some photos!
I got my G.G. in 2003 (Carlsbad), and I''ve been faceting for over 10 years.

Photomicrography is a bit of a hobby of mine, too... I was thinking of starting a game of "guess the inclusion" sometime... Here''s a micrograph of the spodumene inclusion.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Please do start a game of guess the inclusion--that would be so fun!

I want to try photomicrography. Need to get a microscope first. I love photography--and inclusions are so cool. I spend a lot of time with the microscope at school.

Very cool photo of that inclusion!

oh, and my class is the same. I am the only gem freak. Most in my class prefer diamonds to colored stones. Diamonds drove me berserk! Colored stones is great-in my element. I''ll be studying gemology long after I graduate.

Now, another game!

 

[beaujolais]

.. I was thinking of starting a game of "guess the inclusion" sometime...

---

Oh, please do, when you can. I''m fascinated by inclusions.

Thanks Proteus.

How fun your name the stone posts are.

 

[Proteus]

Coatimundi,
It''s always nice to meet a fellow gem freak.

I think I was the only true freak in my class, too. There were a couple other students who did very well, but I think it was just because they were very competitive people, or under a lot of pressure from someone. I''m pretty sure I was the only self-motivated gem nut in my class. Diamonds do get a little boring, don''t they? Colored gems have so much more variety.
Photomicography is fun! The only problem I have is that I''ve photographed every cool inclusion I could find, and now I need more included stones. I''m starting to think flawless gems are boring. It seems like some cameras perform better than others, I''d suggest trying to find something with a lot of focal range, and a wide array of shutter timing/ISO modes. You will need the light of 1,000 suns to take high magnification photos. A fiber-optic light (or other massively intense light source) is a must.

Sonoma,
Thanks! Glad you''re enjoying things. I''ll be posting a "name the inclusion" thread shortly

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 9/27/2008 9:34:18 PM
Author: Proteus
Coatimundi,

It''s always nice to meet a fellow gem freak.

I think I was the only true freak in my class, too. There were a couple other students who did very well, but I think it was just because they were very competitive people, or under a lot of pressure from someone. I''m pretty sure I was the only self-motivated gem nut in my class. Diamonds do get a little boring, don''t they? Colored gems have so much more variety.

Photomicography is fun! The only problem I have is that I''ve photographed every cool inclusion I could find, and now I need more included stones. I''m starting to think flawless gems are boring. It seems like some cameras perform better than others, I''d suggest trying to find something with a lot of focal range, and a wide array of shutter timing/ISO modes. You will need the light of 1,000 suns to take high magnification photos. A fiber-optic light (or other massively intense light source) is a must.


Sonoma,

Thanks! Glad you''re enjoying things. I''ll be posting a ''name the inclusion'' thread shortly

Flawless gems are boring. I love finding inclusions with the loupe too--which is all I have at home. At school, I''m so focused on separating natural from synthetic alexandrite etc. that the other gems I examine through the microscope get a speedy once over--so many are clean at 10X. It''s cool to observe the natural organization of many of these inclusions--like oriented needles. Order within chaos.

I also spend a good deal of time finding optic figures in the polariscope. It is just so satisfying--even if I already know the identity.

haHA there are a couple of those competitive types in my class. For them it''s all about being "right"--for me it''s all about...well, it''s an obsession.

Thanks for the camera tips. I''m sure I''ll be paging you on the forum when I eventually get a microscope.