Some Gem Pictures...

[silverstar1]

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Here is the best photo I could get of the bubble, it is between the lower iron spot and my thumb in the picture , it is really hard to capture without movement as the bubble moves when you tilt the stone. Also a picture of the top , no termination but nice and clean.

 

[silverstar1]

Source: Some Aquas I found ,although maybe ugly , defiantly not for sale.

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[lucky luke]

http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/2758_antaqua2.jpg
Source: Some Aquas I found ,although maybe ugly , defiantly not for sale.http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/2758_antaqua.jpg
Source:

Was that a play on words? "Defiantly" not for sale? LOL Very apt!!

The second of those two pieces of aqua rough seems a very nice darker shade of aqua. Cheap aqua rough is almost washed out blue to nearly clear. That aqua would be a definite AQUA.

Aqua and natural blue topaz look similar in the rough. But cut, the blue topaz more often loses its "blue" tinge while the aqua becomes so much brighter with the blue standing out more.

I still very much prefer your green tourmalines though.

 

[Eureka Moments]

Minerals

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is based on the ability of one natural sample of matter to scratch another. The samples of matter used by Mohs are all minerals. Minerals are pure substances found in nature. Rocks are made up of one or more minerals.[5] As the hardest known naturally occurring substance when the scale was designed, diamonds are at the top of the scale. The hardness of a material is measured against the scale by finding the hardest material that the given material can scratch, and/or the softest material that can scratch the given material. For example, if some material is scratched by apatite but not by fluorite, its hardness on the Mohs scale would fall between 4 and 5.[6]

The Mohs scale is a purely ordinal scale. For example, corundum (9) is twice as hard as topaz (8), but diamond (10) is four times as hard as corundum. The table below shows comparison with absolute hardness measured by a sclerometer, with pictorial examples.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness

 

[Eureka Moments]

Dont know how or why different compositions and hardness occurs.

I just like rocks and stones. Prefer most examples in their natural form. Hoping some of the stonecutters or geologists on here can provide more complex info.

Or for that matter anyone who paid attention during high school science.

 

[lucky luke]

most crystals i have ever picked up have been six sided, not exact sided either. do all the above come in six sided as crystals and if so is the color and the composition different, looking for some education here

Yes most crystals are six sided a law of nature I guess , Tourmaline is a little more vague on where the sides actually begin and end but the top terminations are 6 sided , not sure what you are asking about the color and composition but I would be happy to answer any more questions if I can.

once picked up about a four inch long crystal. they are very soft though. i was wondering whether these stones are harder than crystal or are they related and is it just a color change? example, all trees are trees, some are hard and some soft. to anyone that does not know trees they look similar. these stones appear to have a similar birth so to speak, just wondering if they are harder and softer or the same as crystal and if they are the same do their names come from the coloring??? just a noob on stones but interested.

What sort of "crystal" are you talking about? All gemstones have a different hardness. Some gemstones, for example Ruby and Sapphires, come from the same family of gem "crystal" ie Corundum and get their name because of their color. A ruby is just a red sapphire. And sapphires can be almost any colour including parti sapphires which are not one distinct colour.

examples of gemstone hardness (whether in "Crystal" form or water worn form).

Tourmaline "crystals" 7
Quartz "crystals" 7
Garnet "crystals" 6.5-7.5
Beryl (which includes Emerald, Aquamarine and Morganite) 7.5-8
Corundum (which includes Sapphire, Ruby etc ) 9
Diamond 10

 

[silverstar1]

http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/2758_antaqua2.jpg
Source: Some Aquas I found ,although maybe ugly , defiantly not for sale.http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/2758_antaqua.jpg
Source:

Was that a play on words? "Defiantly" not for sale? LOL Very apt!!

The second of those two pieces of aqua rough seems a very nice darker shade of aqua. Cheap aqua rough is almost washed out blue to nearly clear. That aqua would be a definite AQUA.

Aqua and natural blue topaz look similar in the rough. But cut, the blue topaz more often loses its "blue" tinge while the aqua becomes so much brighter with the blue standing out more.

I still very much prefer your green tourmalines though.

Hi Lucky luke yeah these two Aquas are just not for sale because I found them , I can buy stones all day long but it is much more difficult to go find them myself and this area is so heavily claimed now I bearly go there . Yes the dark one is very nice it does have some fractures but also some nice gemmy material. The lighter one is nearly flawless and it was funny in that is was just lying on top of a mass scree field on top of a very steep mountain about 13500 ft. , just sitting there waiting to be crushed . glad you like them , yes the Tourmaline is some of my favorite ,I dont think I would have much chance finding that myself especially since the areas these come from are very dangerous, its dangerous enough just dealing with the miners...

 

[lucky luke]

Hi Lucky luke yeah these two Aquas are just not for sale because I found them , I can buy stones all day long but it is much more difficult to go find them myself and this area is so heavily claimed now I bearly go there . Yes the dark one is very nice it does have some fractures but also some nice gemmy material. The lighter one is nearly flawless and it was funny in that is was just lying on top of a mass scree field on top of a very steep mountain about 13500 ft. , just sitting there waiting to be crushed . glad you like them , yes the Tourmaline is some of my favorite ,I dont think I would have much chance finding that myself especially since the areas these come from are very dangerous, its dangerous enough just dealing with the miners...

I know what you mean in terms of the sentimental value of self sourced stones. I can buy topaz in quantity here at cents / ct. However I found an absolutely flawless riverworn piece the size of a small chickens egg. That I am determined to cut into a single large stone. What I'll do with it I dont' know. Maybe hang it around my dogs collar. :lol:

re: Tourmaline. I've sourced a few good sized lots from Nigeria as research in terms of material quality/colour. The attraction being Rubellite coloured Tourmaline. The plan was to do a trip or two over there to purchase some large lots first hand. Appears to be a little too dangerous now. That would also no doubt go for the lovely Tourmaline that can be sourced from Afghanistan/Pakistan. Still, who-ever takes the risks (along with the research entailed) gains the rewards. If it was easy to get, then everyone would have some.

 

[silverstar1]

If it was easy to get, then everyone would have some.

Too True..., could you post pictures of the large topaz ,what country is it from? , I would love to see that!

 

[lucky luke]

If it was easy to get, then everyone would have some.

Too True..., could you post pictures of the large topaz ,what country is it from? , I would love to see that!

re: topaz. With pleasure. The topaz is all Australian (Mt Surprise). One of the best Topaz producing areas in Australia. Also known for blue topaz but it is a very light blue and needs to be cut at the right angle so that the blue can be seen looking down into the crown otherwise the colour ends up washed out. The area is also know for aquamarine however, to be honest, I'm yet to see any.