Quartz, Smoky Crystal Clusters

Smoky Quartz Crystals Smoky quartz is a variety of quartz. It is characterized by quartz with coloring from light wispy greys to browns and black. We like cluster specimens so the natural radiation can be seen in varying degrees of color change on the specimens. Smoky Quartz has a few well known varieties. Cairngorm is…

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Quartz Natural Crystal Clusters

Quartz Crystals Quartz Clusters Brazil There is so much to know about Quartz natural crystal clusters that one has great difficulty learning all of the types and formations of the varieties of Quartz. While trying to locate new informative sources We found the most amazing site about Quartz and just have to share with all…

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Pyrite

Pyrite (Iron Pyrite) Pyrite Pyrite is the classic “Fool’s Gold”. There are other shiny brassy yellow minerals, but pyrite is by far the most common and the most often mistaken for gold. Whether it is the golden look or something else, pyrite is a favorite among rock collectors. It can have a beautiful luster and…

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Prehnite

Prehnite Prehnite is an orthorhombic mineral which is rarely found as distinct crystals. Found in association with volcanic rocks, it usually forms in aggregates with botryoidal habit. Prehnite is typically pale green to yellowish green with a white streak. It is named after a Dutchman, Colonel H. von Prehn, who discovered the mineral at the…

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Selenite

Selenite variety of Gypsum Selenite…is a variety of Gypsum… and is one of the most common, rock-forming minerals, developing thick beds formed by the evaporation of extremely salt laden waters. Gypsum is associated with halite and sulfur. It is deposited from lakes, seawater, hot springs, volcanic moisture, and sulfate solutions in underground veins. Anhydrite in…

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Scheelite

Scheelite-Powellite Group The Scheelite-Powellite Series is an uncommon secondary mineral, typically formed in the oxidation zones of molybdenum-bearing hydrothermal deposits. Scheelite is Calcium tungstate, an important ore of tungsten which is a strategically important metal. Scheelite is named for the discoverer of tungsten, Karl W. Scheele. Scheelite is a “Must Have” for serious mineral collectors.…

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Pietra Paesina (Italy)

Paesine/ Pietra Paesina “Pietra Paesina”, its literal translation, “landscape stone”, has been collected for hundreds of years (since 1465AD) throughout Europe where it was highly regarded for its rarity as a precious ornament and was very much sought after and in demand in the Royal Courts. The name refers to its unusual colors and designs.…

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Ocean Jasper

Orbicular Ocean Jasper The Lapidary Journal reported this description: “This new rock has been found along the northwest coast of Madagascar after years of unsuccessful searching. The deposit formed as a rhyolite flow but has been completely silicified. The rhyolitic eyes or orbs come in an astonishing array of colors and color combinations. The background…

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Obsidian, Jalisco

Rainbow Obsidian from Jalisco, Mexico Some of the pretiest Rainbow Obsidian cames from the state of Jalisco in Mexico hosts the fourth-largest obsidian deposits in the world. In pre-Hispanic times, obsidian was perhaps as valuable as oil is today because from it could be made into knives, scrapers and arrowheads, as well as jewelry and…

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Obsidian

Obsidian Obsidian is a rock which is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced by volcanoes (igneous origin) when a felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth. It is commonly found within the margins of felsic lava flows, where cooling is more rapid. Because of the lack of crystal structure,…

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