Showing posts with label Rocks and Minerals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rocks and Minerals. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Precious Opal with an "eye" effect
07 Precious Opal with
an "eye" effect
Description:Recently, the Wello (Wollo) locality in
Ethiopia has produced some exceptional precious Opal specimens and gemstones.
The highly desirable "Contra Luz" play of color and large
"harlequin" patterning that can be seen in the top gems and specimens
is comparable to the best of Mexican Opals and even resembles color patterns
seen in Australian gems. Opal is one of those minerals that looks as beautiful
and impressive when it is opaque as when it is water clear. The amazing range
of this material (considering the simplistic chemistry) makes it a cool mineral,
and that's saying a lot considering the species does not even have any crystal
form !! This piece features a very attractive section of Precious Opal with a
notable "eyeball" effect that is highlighted by flashes of gold,
yellow, orange, green and blue. Despite the smaller size, this piece has great
color and form, and could end up being a great bargain for one of you lucky
bidders out there who do not have a piece of this material in your collection.
The following was taken from the article on mindat by Jon Young from last year:
"This newly discovered Opal found in the Welo Amhara Regional State
Highland plateau 2.500 – 3.200
meters above sea level of Ethiopia is a new find that is quickly gaining the
attention of the opal community. This opal was the hit of the recent Tucson
international gem show. Welo opal requires a mountain of patience and some
special cutting techniques but the finished result is every bit as stable as
the better known Australian opals. The color is brilliant and rivals any top
grade opal in the world. Most have a brightness level of at least 4 to 5 on the
brightness scale with hot neon multi-color and multiple pattern mix. Welo opal
is not generally classified as contra luz opal although I have seen a few. The
color play is face up and in a lot of cases, as bright in artificial indoor
light as it is in direct sunlight. This opal just loves any light source. This
is hydrophane opal which when soaked in water allows the base color to clear
up...sometimes highlighting the play-of-color, sometimes making it vanish. The
best trait of the Welo hydrophane opal is that when it's dry and polished it
can be one of the brightest opals in the world. From my experience, the Welo
opal is as stable as the best of all that I have cut in the last 10 years. It
can take twice as long to cut a finished stone, but the visual rewards are well
worth the time. Different types of opals require specialty care for the beauty
you enjoy... Welo opal is no different. No chemicals or detergents...If soaked
in water, it will take one to two weeks to completely dry out and return to its
original beautiful state. Do not try and accelerate the drying by any
artificial means. Do not use ultrasonic cleaning for any opals. Gondar and
Wollo (Welo) are not regarded as desert at all – it is on the Abyssinian highland plateau of
Amhara Proper, Amhara Regional State. The Welo opal is found in the same type
of geological formations as the Australian opal. Welo opal is the most stable
opal find in Ethiopia to date. Ethiopian Opals are region specific in character
traits just like Australian opals. The Ethiopian Government does not own any
mines. All land is owned by the government: In Amhara it is administrated by
the Regional State who does not allow mining by others than registered and
licensed farmer co-operatives.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Moroccan Ammonite
Moroccan Ammonite with a calcite replacement of its cellular structure and inlaid sections of synthetic Opal
“Halley’s Comet” Opal
The 2000 carat “Halley’s Comet” Opal - Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest uncut Black Opal nodule. Found at Lightning Ridge, Australia in 1986
Monday, July 20, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
The stone of spiritual enlightenment
09 Seraphinite
Source http://site.douban.com/186615/widget/photos/12712750/photo/1944252314/
Friday, July 17, 2015
Dendritic agate
07 Dendritic agate 26,20 ct
Beautiful sagenitic agate pear cabochon. B. Chatenet's
ex-collection.
Weight : 26,20 ct
Size : 28,0 x 28,0 x 6,2 mm
Clarity : Opaque
Shape : Cabochon
Color : Grey, black
Provenance : Turkey
Treatment : None8-Black Opal
08Largest
Freeform Black Opal In The World
1200 gr or 6000 ct Largest Freeform Black Opal
In The World. #-COL0017 P.O.A.
The huge carving weights 1.2 Kg or 6,000
carats, making it the largest freeform black opal in the world.The carving is
12" long 9" wide and 3" thick at the top tapering down to
1" thickness at the bottom. The color bars go right through and out the
back of the piece.
