With so much talk on the forum lately about gemstones and their proper names, I thought it might be helpful to have a thread where people can post pictures of their gems and ask questions. You can use this if you have a gemstone you haven't identified at all, or if you've been given a name but you're unsure if it's legitimate.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for this thread.

Lindsay 

 

Hi Lindsay,

I think this is an EXCELLENT idea!  However, could you make it into a forum category of its own under Jewelry & Beading?  It was only by accident that I clicked on FAQ's and found it.

Linda

Hi Linda,

We're trying to limit the number of forum categories we have — it makes it easier to moderate, and it makes the forum look cleaner and less intimidating. But I will post a notice about this thread in Bead Talk and Show Us Your Work.

I'm glad you like the idea!

Lindsay
 

Hi there, newbie here and I was wondering if you've heard of ribbon rock or ribbon rock turquoise?  I have a couple of pieces bought at retail, but have been unable to locate this stone anywhere else.  I posted this question on the "Where can I find" forum, but didn't get any responses, so I thought I'd try here.  TIA

Lindsay

I found this bit of info on stones/gemstones I found may pertain to this.  If not it may be of use to those selling and I am in the wrong spot and really don't know where to put it.  Hope it helps someone....

 

  Additional Notes: If you resell gems obtained from us, or any gems for that matter, it is your responsibility to provide all information pertinent to the enhancement of a gemstone at the time of sale. If a stone is man-made, it is the seller's responsibility to disclose that fact. This information is required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Failure to identify enhancement of natural gemstones, when present, is an unfair trade practice. Such information is required at each and all levels of jewelry commerce. Failure to inform buyers could subject violators to civil as well as administrative remedies. Anyone who is uncertain about these requirements may write the American Gem Trade Association, 3030 LBJ Freeway, Suite # 840, Dallas, TX 75234

 

 Sweethomea,

I did reply to your other post at http://cs.beadstylemag.com/bdscs/forums/p/3013/14591.aspx#14591 .

I think the name  "ribbon rock turquoise" is a made up descriptive name for thin bands of turquoise running through native or matrix rock. See http://jewelry.hsn.com/ribbon-rock-turquoise-sterling-silver-6-3-4-cuff-bracelet_p-3221216_xp.aspx

for an example.

It might even be a man made stone but it looks like real stone. The name capitalizes on the very thin veins that turquoise often forms in. If you tried to cut the good blue turquoise from the matrix in this sort of thin vein you'd only have very small pieces of turquoise.  By giving this fancy name to a stone that is mostly non-precious matrix they are able to sell for a higher price without as much lapidary work. It's a way to sell an interesting  stone that is mostly matrix.

I suggest you e-mail Sunwest Silver with a link to some of the  pictures you've found of finished jewelry and ask if they have an beads made form this kind of material. www.sunwestsilver.com

 I forget which mine some of the e-bay listings said the bright blue and creamy matrix stones came from. If you still  have that info, you could start looking for sellers of beads from that mine and ask them for strands made from that kind of material.

Hope this helps. 

How can I find the thread where I can post a message about "what kind of gemstones are these".

Russ, from Rings-N-Things sent me a link to an online gem resource that RNT has that is AWESOME...   I of course can't find it right now!  But if you go to their website you can find it.  It's great...

Also, if you order the big jeweler's catalog from FMG and go through the gemstone pages they have good pics of each of the gemstones you can use as a reference... 

I personally don't recomment their gemstone board they sell.  It's nice to have but it doesn't cover enough variations of the stones to be very helpful, at least to me... it's nice to have to set out at shows so people can look at it as part of a display though.

 

You can ask gemstone-related questions right here in this thread. Simply post your photo/question.

And Rings & Things does have a very informative gemstone resource. You can check it out here.

 

I have a 'gemstone' that I don't know what it is. Can you help me? Here is a picture of it:

 I think it is an agate, a very pretty agate, but I have no idea where it came from or if it has a specific  type-of-agate name. 

I know that's not very helpful.  I'm in China right now buying stones and beads. It's really hard to pin down exactly what some stones are, particularly when the dealer only had  descriptive  name in CHinese and you're not sure  you;ve seen a stone quite like it before.

Thank you for your answer. I checked the Rings N Things website under agate and I think I am closer to identifying it. I'm thinking that it could be either Montana Moss Agate, Earth Agate, or maybe Blood Agate. (That last one might be pushing it a little) Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question.

Kitty

Hey Lindsey and fellow beaders! I wanted to know what is Bronzite made of? I have the crystal bible and it doesn't list it there. I love this stone and it's been driving me crazy! Ok not crazy but I sure would like to know.

From Healing Gemstones and Crystals:

Bronzite: Found in India, Western Australia, China, South Africa and Brazil. Also found in meteorites. Hardness of 5-6. Formed of orthorhombic crystals. Bronze in color with silvery traces.

Healing Properties: Brings inner peace, removes stress, protects against depressive moods and works favorably on the psyche. Also helps you to overcome the effects of agonizing memories. (this is just information and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical conditions)

 From the Rings & Things Gem Index:

Bronzite is actually a hypersthene (part of the pyroxene group) that has been chemically "weathered." The process creates a new, opaque stone with a submetallic luster, especially on its cleavage surfaces. Weathering on the hypersthene occurs due to moisture and temperature conditions within the igneous rock, metamorphic rock or meteorite where the stone is found. Bronzite often contains inclusions of highly reflective minerals, such as hematite and goethite, which give it a beautiful bronzelike effect when polished (hence its name). Some beads also exhibit a cat's-eye effect. Bronzite ranges from greenish-black to brown and has medium hardness. The stone is found in Syria, Austria, South Africa, and the U.S.A. (Montana). 

The line about chemically "weathered" makes it sound like it can happen in nature and also helped out by man. 

We've added a number of new stones to the Rings & Things gem index and added some new info to some existing entries. 

Hi kittjen, what you have is a pretty piece of amazonite (blue), tourmaline (black), and white and brown part some other mineral - could be a number of things such as quartz or another type of feldspar (which is what amazonite is).  Sometimes they will also have pyrite in them (metallic gold color).  These type of beads are being sold as just amazonite beads by most retailers w/o clarifying what the other colored minerals are. 

An example of these stones can be seen at the bottom of this page

http://www.firemountaingems.com/shopping.asp?SKW=KWGSBEADAMAZONITE&Shop_Page=3 

and here as well (one of th few places I've seen that bother to mention the tourmaline!)

http://www.limabeads.com/Amazonite-Blk-Tourmaline-Gemstone-Beads-C748 

 

Hope this helps! 

 Good catch, Serenetysowl!

I didn't think any of our cutters had offered us this interesting amazonite/tourmaline stone but my main stone buyer corrected me. We've had small quantities called "rainbow amazonite," "multi color amazonite" and "amazonite with pyrite." There seems to be quite a variety of colors of this mixed stone. We'll try to find out where the rough material comes from.

We will have some of this material cut into beads at our next trunk shows on the swing we make from Minneapolis through Chicago down to Kentucky. 

Hi, Michaels is selling "Australian Jasper". It has various tones of green with dark blotches. It looks like it has been dyed. Some of the green looks like malachite and sometimes the green looks more like turquoise. I know that Unakite is from Australia. I wonder if it is dyed Unakite. Is anyone familiar with this new stone?

 Some unakite is from West Virgina. The rock is an interesting mix of red/pink feldspar, white/gray quartz and epidote (a pistachio-colored gemstone, calcium aluminum iron silicate hydroxide). Its coloring and compact, hard structure make it a nice stone for jewelry. It was named for the Unaka Mountains in the Southeastern U.S.A., where it was first discovered.  --From the Rings & Things Gem Index.

I've not seen unakite dyed but anything is possible. 

Well there's some reference to 'austrailian jasper' being mookaite (which is an unofficial name for a silicified porcelanite in Western Australia).  However most mookaite I've seen is usually a reddish brown, yellow, or cream. Not green.  So without seeing it I can't really tell you for sure (I don't have a Michaels where I'm at to go check it out!)