Uncut stones..How do you know what they are?

[MelanieJ]

I recently mined for gemstones,but now I am unsure of what I have if anything. The mining was done in North Carolina. Does anyone know of any really good reference online with really good pictures that I can look at,or possibly someone online I can send pictures to that might know what they are? I think I have a emerald,and a couple of garnets,but I am unsure. Any help would be great!

 

[DiamondExpert]

Why not send the pics right here

! We''re always interested in seeing things, and perhaps someone can help you out...the price is right, anyway!

 

[MelanieJ]

How do I post multiple pictures?

 

[widget]

Date: 6/8/2007 8:05:28 PM
Author: MelanieJ
How do I post multiple pictures?

The only way I know is to stitch them together in my photo editing program, then post them as one "collage" in the message.

Most of us post one picture per message: Post one, "reply" to your own post, post another, etc etc.

Can''t wait to see what you found! Did you go to one of those parks where prospecting by the public allowed? I''d love to hear more about that...


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[MelanieJ]

Okay, here they are.

 

[MelanieJ]

I think these might be Garnets.

 

[MelanieJ]

Maybe Sapphires?

 

[MelanieJ]

Not sure...

 

[MelanieJ]

Maybe a Emerald?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Melanie, I''m just bumping this up for you!

 

[neatfreak]

I really have no idea what they are, but they don't look like any gem quality rough I've ever seen. But I am NO expert. For reference, here is what uncut sapphires look like before being cut. They look quite different than what you're posting, but I don't know if it's just because they're at a different stage than yours?

 

[boston_jeff]

One more bump for this... I think this is really interesting stuff. Hopefully Gary or someone else will chime back in.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Can you narrow this down at all by taking a look at what gemstones are typical of this area? I would imagine that certain types of terrain/soil/climate/flora/fauna/age give rise to different probabilities of finding different types of gems (sortof like different types of coal are found in different areas b/c of the type of trees and the way the land developed and aged). But I''ve never looked into this. Just a guess as to how you might narrow the field.

 

[Nicrez]

MelanieJ, usually the stones you are talking about are found in crystal form, and exhibit some form of translucence. The items you are looking at seems to be a composite of minerals, such as Quartz and Marbles. There are SO many minerals out there, I can't say which is what, but gemstone crystals usually exhibit more structured shapes than composite minerals. That could mean they are just fractured, or composite.

Here's a good website i found that details the shapes of gemstones a bit: Crystal shapes

This picture of of Garnet crystals. See the transluscence to them?

 

[MelanieJ]

I took them to a couple of places that sell loose stones,and everyone said that I did''nt have anything of value. Does this mean it will be of value if I get it faceted? or should I not even bother? I thought one of the stones that I have might be aquamarine,and that you would just have to cut to get to the good shiny stuff inside,but I am guessing that this is not how it works. So all gemstones are crystal,and translusent? I am new to this,so any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[chrono]

I''m afraid what you have is too poor quality to be cut, much less identified. For a gemstone rough to be cut quality, it has to be translucent and in crystal form. Sorry.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Even if they aren''t "valuable" gemstones, they might come out very pretty if they were tumbled -- some of them have lovely colors and patterns.