[Rockhounds] Gemstones in a War Zone...

[Hans Durstling]

Hi all,
I get the bring-back-from-Afghanistan (and elsewhere) queries a couple times
a year; they immediately make my heart sink and set off the alarm bells.A
few months back a Canadian soldier called to ask would I look at a rough
emerald he had brought back from Afghanistan. My first question was how did
he get it. An Afghani friend had given it to him. Well that was at least a
little promising; a no-money transaction would enhance the chance - albeit
still slight - that the article might be genuine. Upon arrival he took out
of his pocket a champagne cork size dirty green "stone," conchoidally
fractured, bubbles and swirls all through it, the most obvious piece of
bottle glass you'd ever want to see. It happens all the time.
CheersHans Durstling
in Canadian winter whiteout in Parrsboro Nova Scotia

On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:35 PM, Charles Baran <kcbaran at arczip.com> wrote:

> GcB:  Please tell your cousin that an old Vietnam Vet thanks him for his
> service as a Warrior, and whishes him God Speed.
>
> Chuck Baran
>
>
>
>
>  Well, there's a ton of really cool minerals from Afghanistan/Pakistan.
>>
>> Personally, I'd not ask a neophyte to choose minerals for me, the
>> probability of disappointment is high. Eg. what if he brings back a pretty
>> pink tourmaline crystal, looks great but no termination, for a bargain price
>> of $500... and you have to pay him. Or say a nice aqua on matrix... but it's
>> glued on. It's your choice though, taking a flier on a hundred bucks might
>> be fun.  I'd be extra dubious about gem rough, you really want to see that
>> stuff in person, and know what the current state of
>> faking/treating/enhancement is. Buying minerals at or near their source
>> seldom guarantees any sort of bargain price.
>>
>> Any mineral show will provide you with a nice selection of material from
>> that area, as will the internet. Lazurite, afghanite, sodalite xls,
>> brookite, anatase, spodumenes, tourmalines, aquas, bastnaesite, forsterite,
>> tons of choices.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> T
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Brown" <
>> gbrown at catspaw-minerals.com>
>> To: "'Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem
>> collectors'" <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:58 AM
>> Subject: [Rockhounds] Gemstones in a War Zone...
>>
>>
>> Oh my, let's get off the flames, eh?
>>
>> A note from a friend:
>>
>> ~~~~~
>>
>> My cousin's heading back over to the war zones for a couple of months,
>> specifically Afghanistan, and we got to talking about stones. He picked up
>> some emeralds last time he was there, relatively cheap, which turned out to
>> be fairly good stones. One of them, about 2.5 carats with nice color, was
>> his wife's valentine's present. He wanted to know if there was something
>> else he could be on the lookout for, too, besides just emeralds.
>>
>> Any ideas? I'm thinking not so much cut gemstones, because I suspect he
>> got very, very lucky this time (although if you saw him, probably not all
>> THAT lucky—I sure wouldn't want him coming to me to ask for his money back
>> in an annoyed way...). But what about collector's stones, crystals, etc...?
>>
>> ~~~~~
>>
>> And so, huddled masses yearning to give me answers.  What sayeth thee?
>>
>> GcB
>>
>>
>>
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