[Rockhounds] Need ID of Massive Moh 7.5 Crystal

[Axel Emmermann]

Take a look at it through the polariscope. I bet this stuff is optically
inactive  .... as glass is ;)

Axel

> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com]
> Namens drtanuki
> Verzonden: zondag 5 oktober 2008 17:49
> Aan: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors
> Onderwerp: Re: [Rockhounds] Need ID of Massive Moh 7.5 Crystal
> 
> It is glass scrap that is sold at the Bangkok weekend market.  The scrap
glass mostly comes
> from China to be cut into fake jewels. The sharp fractures are incorrect
for garnet beryl
> and your other suspected suggestions.  Best in your purchase,  Dirk
Ross...Tokyo
> 
> BTW:  the glass scrap is sold in many colors for about 1$/kg or so, unless
they saw you as a
> fool.  I work often in Thailand and SE Asia and have seen this material
being sold for at least
> 20 years.  ddr
> 
> 
> --- On Mon, 10/6/08, Tim Jokela Jr. <tjokela at execulink.com> wrote:
> 
> > From: Tim Jokela Jr. <tjokela at execulink.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] Need ID of Massive Moh 7.5 Crystal
> > To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors"
> <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
> > Date: Monday, October 6, 2008, 12:11 AM
> > Wellll..... it's hard to judge from a single pic, but at
> > the risk of looking
> > foolish, as I'm no gem expert, here's my mental
> > process upon seeing the
> > photo:
> >
> > It's not a crystal or a crystalline rock, it's a
> > mass. No rounded edges, so
> > can't be from an alluvial deposit as one might expect
> > in that part of the
> > world. And hence can't be a tektite/moldavite. No
> > apparent crystal faces, so
> > no hints to ID there, though that lack is certainly a clue
> > - a piece that
> > big with no xl faces... hmmm. Absurd size for a garnet,
> > rather excessive for
> > a tourmaline, (would be kilobucks for a piece of tourmaline
> > carving rough
> > that size) not terribly large for a beryl, but the color is
> > very wrong for
> > beryl. Size also very wrong for say forsterite
> > ("peridot"), or diopside,
> > zircon, pargasite and other green rarities; what other
> > green minerals can I
> > think of... fluorite would show cleavage. Not a whole lot
> > of green minerals
> > found in 5" gemmy chunks you see. Shaky provenance, no
> > locality info...
> > great whopping hunks of gem material like that seldom fall
> > into tourists
> > hands; the path from miner to buyer then cutter is well
> > beaten.
> >
> > Taking into consideration the size, color, color zoning,
> > bubbles, perhaps
> > some hints of conchoidal fracture, no real obvious
> > cleavage, no apparent
> > matrix or crystal faces... looks a lot like glass to me.
> > Glass can have
> > variable hardness so that's not really hard evidence
> > against.
> >
> > A hands-on examination would confirm it quickly. Take it to
> > a local jewelry
> > shop with a good gemologist, or a local gem & mineral
> > club, or a
> > university/museum's geology/mineralogy department, and
> > see what they say.
> >
> > Given the above, I sure hope you didn't pay much for
> > this. If you did; let's
> > hope I'm proven wrong by the gem folks on the list!
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > T
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jim Marshall" <thai_buyer at yahoo.com>
> > To: <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 10:40 AM
> > Subject: [Rockhounds] Need ID of Massive Moh 7.5 Crystal
> >
> >
> > To all,
> >
> >
> > I need the help of a serious rockhound. My travels have
> > brought this large
> > crystalline rock into my hands. It weighs 2.15 kilos. It is
> > a dark green,
> > that transitions to brown with yellow/gold crystal
> > encrustations. The green
> > section is transparent / translucent while the darker
> > composition is less
> > so. Using a set of hardness pencils (points) I have done a
> > scratch test and
> > all results show - 7 does not scratch and 8 does. Locale of
> > origin: Thailand
> > / Cambodia. Based on the scratch test, it is obviously not
> > quartz or glass.
> > My best guess at the moment is a variety of green Garnet,
> > but I am not sure
> > which variety. Other less likely possibilities are beryl or
> > tourmaline but
> > neither comes from this area and I don't think either
> > one is found in a
> > similar size. You may email me (Jim) at:
> > Thai_buyer at yahoo.com if you would
> > like to discuss. Picture link below:
> >
> >
>
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v177/thai_buyer/?action=view&current=IMG_0
687.jpg
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jim
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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