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Any rock hounds (mineral collectors) here?

  1. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 27, 2015

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    I am reasonably versed in precious stones (and specifically opals) but more generally minerals are not my thing. However last weekend we made a trip to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) while we were in Toronto, and one of the areas we went to was the mineral section.

    I didn't take photos except one of this Canvansite specimen - the blue was absolutely amazing:

    [​IMG]

    I was totally blown away by some of the amazing colours in the (obviously) museum quality specimens they had there, and that had us thinking about getting a couple of decorative pieces. Some quick research showed that these can be quite pricey for the very top grade specimens, and those are generally not very large, and we are looking for some larger pieces to put above our fireplace on the mantle.

    I found a place fairly local to me that had some nice geodes shown on their web site, so we took a trip over there, and found some that we are considering. Of course we are not collectors, but just want them for their decorative value. Most of the large specimens were Brazilian geodes with amethyst in them. This is also found in abundance in Ontario, and on our yearly trips to the more Northern parts of Ontario I was always digging for pieces of amethyst when I could. The Brazilian material tends to be darker then what we get here in Ontario.

    So looking for some guidance from anyone who might have some knowledge about the rarity and collectability of the pieces I snapped these quick photos of.

    This one is 7 inches deep, and 10 inches high...colours are quite nice and dark in real life (they all look lighter here in the photos), bit it lacks any nice agate surrounding the amethyst:

    [​IMG]

    They had this one in the shop and its other half at their storage facility...decent colour and nice layer of agate surrounding, 8 inches deep by 26 tall, which is probably a bit too large:

    [​IMG]

    We are seriously considering these - a pair with a nice shape, 8 inches deep and 19 inches tall. Agate surround is quite beautiful, and although the amethyst is light, it also has a nice deposit of Calcite showing, which gives it some visual interest:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    We were also considering this fairly large Celestite geode - pale blue with large crystals - maybe 10 inches wide:

    [​IMG]

    So if anyone has any thoughts on selections here, or other alternatives, please let me know thanks.

    Cheers, Al
     
  2. Canuck Jun 27, 2015

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    I spent 35 years in the retail jewellery industry. Gemstones have always fascinated me. Diamonds, yes, particularly Canadian ones, but especially coloured gems. I list among my favorites, tsavorite garnet, rhodolite garnet, opal (of course, as it is my wife's birthstone), Imperial topaz, alexandrite, lapis, and oh! so many others.
     
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  3. Fritz genuflects before the mighty quartzophobe Jun 27, 2015

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    The mineral dispay at the ROM is enough to make anyone take an interest in minerals......

    in fact, I think I'll go get stoned right now.:rolleyes:
     
  4. UncleBuck understands the decision making hierarchy Jun 27, 2015

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    My wife is a rockhound. Me, not so much.

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  5. Fritz genuflects before the mighty quartzophobe Jun 27, 2015

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    ouch.... a girl with a hobby like that can cut into your Seamaster fund.

    OR..... you can remind her of her expensive habits when you are followed home by that new thing that needs a loving home....

    that 30mm Chronometer thing.... you know the one......
     
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  6. styggpyggeno1 ΩF Enforcer ....and thread killer Jun 28, 2015

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    I have no real knowledge of the stones you are contemplating but on looks alone I would go for the Celestite geode. The others look too "cut" for my taste. The Celestite geode looks more understated, mysterious and "real".

    And as for precious stones vis-a-vis wifes I am a lucky guy. My wifes favourite rock is this one - at my family summer house (pic taken at night in the midst of summer):

    [​IMG]

    The red granite of Åland is not precious but beautiful never the less. The red stone together with lichens and moss makes for an intriguing pattern and I consider it mother natures own art (as the ones you are contemplating - and that is why I think you should go for the more "natural" one).

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Mad Dog rockpaperscissorschampion Jun 28, 2015

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    Dang! Those are some good looking rocks posted here! Former 'wanna be' rock hound here but not a collector. My college degree is in Geology (BS, Emory University - Atlanta, GA, 1986) but upon graduation I couldn't find a job in the field of Geology...so I immediately entered the U.S. Navy pilot program. I haven't viewed any geologically specific material since 1986 so this thread has been quite a trip down memory lane.

    :thumbsup:
     
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  8. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 28, 2015

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    Well thanks for the comments here and in PM's. I am looking at options with a friend of mine who has some contacts in the industry as well, so hopefully something will come up that strikes our fancy maybe a bit more than these above do...

    We want to take our time and pick the right pieces for us. That Celestite example is quite nice and rustic, so it is definitely under consideration, mostly because it's quite different that pretty much anything else they had in stock. We also don't mind having the polished edges, in particular if there is some interesting agate surrounding the center, so both styles are options for us really. Too bad the photos taken with my phone don't really do these rocks justice as they do look much nicer in real life.

    And Canuck....any time you want to talk opals, let me know. Been to Coober Pedy once and Lightning Ridge twice, so opals are definitely my thing. Starting the long bus ride from Dubbo to The Ridge...

    [​IMG]

    This is my Chinese writing black opal ear ring...one of the best examples of this pattern I have ever seen, and I've looked at probably 30,000 opals on my buying trips anyway...

    [​IMG]

    I bought this boulder opal for my sister - she loves it:

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    Recently had this one made into another ear ring...

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    And I only wish I could have afforded this one at 84 carats....but I didn't have the $120k cash with me to pick it up!

    [​IMG]

    If you have some, by all means post some photos.

    Cheers, Al
     
  9. Canuck Jun 28, 2015

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    I had thought I might upload a picture of my wife's favourite opal. It's a 4.5 carat oval opal cabochon that I bought, loose, for our 25th anniversary. Later, we accumulated a number of other diamonds from other jewellery she wasn't wearing, and had a custom designed pearl enhancer (removable via a special hinged bail) made to accommodate the opal. I have refrained from uploading the picture because I simply have been unable to capture the fire in that stone. A stone I neglected to include in my previous post is demantoid garnet. Garnet comes in every colour but blue. Most garnet commonly seen is pyrope garnet. Nice, but there are many other examples of garnet that are much prettier.
     
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  10. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Jul 5, 2015

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    My favourite rock . Several thousand years in the making.

    image.jpg
     
  11. DirtyDozen12 Thanks, mystery donor! Jul 5, 2015

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    +1 for demantoid garnet, especially with horsetail inclusions
     
  12. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jul 31, 2015

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    Well just a follow-up to this thread, it's been about a month since we got these but it's been so busy we didn't have time to get them out to display them, but here is what we ended up getting:

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    On the left is a white quartz geode, in the middle is that Celestite geode I posted a very bad photo of above - here you can see the blue a bit better, and on the right a completely different piece of Brazilian amethyst.

    The amethyst is not the best specimen we saw (and not any that I posted above), but considering we had some constraints with regards to the size we could put there (proportions as well as how narrow the mantle is) I think we did okay, and didn't break the bank in the process.

    Thanks again for all who gave their input.

    Cheers, Al
     
  13. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Jan 8, 2016

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    Just bought this big, beautiful chunk of Labradorite from Madagascar.

    2500 grams / 18 x 11 x 6 cm

    [​IMG]
     
    Edited Jan 8, 2016
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  14. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jan 8, 2016

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    Coincidentally I was looking at a nice sphere of labradorite that displayed quite a lot of opalescence around it today...still debating if I should purchase it...

    [​IMG]

    Cheers, Al
     
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  15. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Jan 8, 2016

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    Cool! I bought a small piece in a shop in Zurich a few months ago, and gave it to a friend. But the striking colors stuck with me, and when I stumbled across the one above, I couldn't resist. Something about the luminosity, I suppose.
     
  16. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Jan 8, 2016

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    Where do you find stuff like that? They're quite nice.
     
  17. cicindela Steve @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 8, 2016

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    Yowah Nut blue Opal from my wifes collection. 2015-04-0015e.jpg
     
  18. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jan 10, 2016

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    So we passed on that labradorite sphere...too heavy to take back with us and heavy to ship as well. For the Canadians here, it's about the size of a 5 pin bowling ball, so not small. We did pick up a few small pieces on this trip, some from a shop we were in yesterday that had a great selection overall. This display greeted you as you walked in...

    [​IMG]

    Amazing pair of citrines, and the shorter one on the left was my height, so about 6 feet tall. They also had some really nice specimens of other types..truly one of the best selections I've seen in person. Nearly bought a rough malachite specimen (most you see are polished) but if I kept going I would need to buy another suitcase to carry all the stuff home with me....so settled for a couple of smaller examples I'll post sometime later.

    Clearly this is addictive...
     
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  19. cicindela Steve @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 10, 2016

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    Glad you had a good time Al. FYI, the "citrine" vugs are artificially created by heating amethyst to 450 degrees, sort of a "Franken Mineral" :rolleyes:.

    Here are just a few more specimens from Mrs Cicindela's collection 2015-04-0035.jpg
    True Citrine

    2015-04-0013.jpg
    Elbaite (var.Rubellite)

    2015-04-0014.jpg Beryl (Morganite)

    2015-04-0027a.jpg
    Hematite

    2015-04-0029.jpg
    Smoke Quartz , Swiss Alps.

    2015-04-0034.jpg Dal'neorsk Quartz, Russia

    2015-04-0036a.jpg
    Quartz, Dauphine' habit Dauphine France.

    2015-04-0040a.jpg
    Ilmenite Roses.

    IMG_0060.jpg Quartz, Japan-law twins

    2015-04-0043a.jpg Epidote, Prince William Isl, Alaska

    2015-04-0046.jpg Prase Quartz

    2015-04-0045.jpg
    Topaz (4in.)

    2015-04-0044.jpg
    Stilbite with Apophyllite, India
     
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  20. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jan 10, 2016

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    Yes like many coloured gemstones, I know that minerals can also be doctored with heat treatments, etc. I would never jump on anything too seriously priced before doing my due diligence. However I could not resist a piece of grown bismuth in crystalline form...it was cheap and cool looking. :)

    I can assure you I paid a noob tax years ago when I bought my first loose opal. Fortunately it was not a steep lesson in terms of price, but it forced me to research (pre internet days) what the differences and values are, which is fairly subjective even at the high end stuff. Now I can spot "cultured" Gilson opals, doublets, triplets, matrix that has had the sugar/acid treatment, etc. a mile away, but it takes time to get fully versed in the subtleties and values. I particular because all we usually see in Canada are white opals of fairly low quality. High value black opals are almost never seen in my neck of the woods.

    Last trip to Australia I went to a mineral/gem show...local gathering in a community hall we spotted along a drive somewhere. Most of what was available was trash all tarted up to make it look good (like dealer prepared watches), and when one particularly pushy vendor kept going on about how the colours popped on one opal he was peddling, I flipped it over and pointed to the black paint on the back side and said no wonder with how you have doctored the stone. The only thing I bought there was a piece of tiger eye for my brother as he is a big fan of it.

    Thanks for sharing those pics! Looks like she has quite a nice collection.