Olivenite-Caution should be taken with this stuff as it is a Copper Arsenate.
Returning to Tucson after 2 1/2 days exploring the Desert Gardens Show and several other locales around Quartzsite, we re-lived our adventures by taking a close look at our spoils.
A few of the very fine Imperial Jasper slabs I selected.
Cobra Stone-India (AKA Coquina Jasper). Some is wet so you can see the color better.
There were several slabs I picked out from at least that many dealers. One was an interesting stone from India called “Cobra Stone”. By looking at it you can see why it got its’ name. In actuality the reddish matrix is filled with a multitude of clams. When the stone is oriented and cut the little clams look like cobras.
I also mentioned the scarce crystal Rhodocrosite from Argentina I stumbled across. There is some left, but I picked the top pieces I saw. You can still find this beautiful pink material around, but is is uncommon. Generally a story comes with a rock purchase. With this Rhodocrosite we were told that Chinese bought the Rhodocrosite Mine from an unwilling to sell miner. The wrote him a check for so much money, he just walked away. The
Crystal Rhodocrosite ( color not enhanced)
Chinese converted this mine into an open pit operation in search of precious metals and rare earth minerals, doing so much damage, and violating so many mining rules, that they got evicted. In the meantime their dynamite destroyed a wonderful gemstone mine.
Coprolite-Yes I did indeed buy this crap.
I found some great Apatite-included Cheetah jasper at T-Rocks. This is actually spoil rock from the Brazilian Apatite Mines. It used to be just left in the discard pile until someone realized what great cutting material it is. The rock varies widely in color and pattern, but nice Cheetah Pattern is what most look for. The beautiful Apatite is a bonus.
Condor. The colors were classic Condor. Some of this is damp, but the Az sun just dried the slabs off immediately.
I bought a couple pieces of Condor Agate. I usually am not excited by most of this stuff, but occasionally I find such beautiful coloration that it just screams “CONDOR”. I found these two pieces, out of the whole box, begged me to pick them out.
Pickings were very good, but there were no crowds. Maybe shoppers are waiting for the week end.
All these rocks we bought with the plan of turning them into the top-quality wire wrapped stone jewelry that we sell. You might not be able to see it yet, but come back over future months to see the results! Like us on Facebook to keep up with new items and all our blogs from Tucson.
A nice slab of Purple Opal (AKA Bertrandite, AKA Tiffany Stone)
Some of the deluxe Amazonite from near Pikes Peak.
A fist sized piece of superb Chrysocolla picked from the 60# I found at the Desert Gardens Show.