RAFB ROSC Welcome Get-Together !

Lapis Lazuli and Kyanite

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This coming Thursday Aug 27th, the Randolph AFB Officer's Spouses Club will host their Fall Roundup Get-together. The meeting will be held at the RAFB O'Club from 1000 until about 1230 hours in the main meeting room. Several vendors will be present with jewelry, craft items, snacks and household items. Jewelry by CnC will be there with some new jewelry pieces, show above and below, made especially for the show.

Yellow Turquoise & Pipe Stone-------- - Turquoise and Silver

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Onyx, Jasper & Quartz---------------Onyx & Agate

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New Hampshire's "Smoky Quartz" !

The New Hampshire State Legislature designated Smoky Quartz as the official state gem on May 31, 1985. Quartz is a common mineral found in many types of rocks, including Granite, which was also named as New Hampshire's official state rock.
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Sometimes incorrectly called Smoky Topaz, this brown transparent Quartz is sometimes used for unusual faceted cuts and is quite popular in many types of jewelry. Smoky Quartz has an unusual color for a gemstone and is easily recognized and is well known by the general public. Only a few other brown or black minerals are ever cut for gemstones such as black Diamond, smoky Topaz, the very rare black Beryl or brown Corundum. Smoky Quartz is also popular as an ornamental stone and is carved into spheres, pyramids, obilisks, eggs, figurines and ornate statues. The cause of the color of Smoky Quartz is in question but it is almost certainly related to the amount of exposure to radiation that the stone has undergone. Natural Smoky Quartz often occurs in granitic rocks which have a small but persistent amount of radioactivity and/or high hot therma fissures. Most Smoky Quartz that makes its way to rock shops and to some gem cutters has been artificially irradiated to produce a dark black color. Natural Smoky Quartz comes from many sources around the world, a few of the more noteworthy locations include Brazil, the world's largest supplier; Pikes Peak area of Colorado, USA, where it is associated with green Amazonite; Arkansas, USA in the Quartz rich area around Hot Springs, and the Swiss Alps, which has produced many tons of fine specimens.

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Smoky Quartz is found throughout Quartz deposites found in the Granite fields of New Hampshire. It is also know as Cairngorm, as when found it reminded the early settlers of their Scottish homeland.
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Louisiana "Agate" !

In 1976, the Louisiana Legislature adopted as the State's gemstone Agate, a variety of translucent microcrystalline quartz called “chalcedony,” which is characterized by well-defined banding. This might be confusing, because scientifically agate is considered a variety of the mineral Quartz. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Agate is considered both a mineral (cryptocrystalline Quartz) and a rock, and is formed by chemical precipitation from silica-rich solution in rock cavities. Agates are found within the Citronelle Formation and younger sediments in the Feliciana Parishes. Both Agate and cCert originally formed within limestones that covered the central United States. Erosion released the state's gemstone from these limestones, and ancient rivers carried them into Louisiana and they are still carried into Louisiana by today's Mississippi River.

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The best collecting localities for Louisiana's Agate is located close to Baton Rouge. The gravel beds along the Amite River are the primary collecting locality for this Louisiana gem. In this specific location a variety of banded Agate is quite common.
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Minnesota and Nebraska have also named the Agate as their State gemstone, but selected specific varieties. And like Texas, Louisiana has also named Petrified Palmwood as its State rock.
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North Carolina's "Emeralds" !

After several years of legislative debate, the North Carolina Legislature finally in 1973, settled on the Emerald as the Official State Gemstone. This selection was made hard by the fact that North Carolina is host to more than sixty-three different types of naturally occurring gemstones and minerals! Many of these are very rare, including Emerald, Aquamarine, Sapphire, Garnet, Topaz, Amethyst, Citrine, Rutile, and Tourmaline, along with an abundance of world class smoky and clear Quartz crystals. In addition, North Carolina is famous as the only place on earth where the very rare gemstone "Hiddenite" can be found!

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Nestled snugly in the foothills of the beautiful Brushy Mountains of North Carolina is located the small town of Hiddenite. This locality is recognized as one of the most unique and interesting geological locations on the North American continent. Each year, thousands of rockhounds, tourists and educational field trip participants flock to this popular North Carolina attraction to experience the thrill of finding rare gemstones in the rough. Whether a serious or amateur prospector hoping to fulfill dreams of finding hidden treasures, a student experiencing an enriching "hands on" learning experience or a family seeking quality outdoor recreation, they can all be found in this area.

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Another very popular area is in the mine fields around Franklin, in Macon County, in the western tip of the state. No matter which direction you arrive from, you'll pass through some of the prettiest areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Waterfalls, rock-clustered streams of rushing water, scenic mountain views, something for everyone. This area is especially noted for its Corrundum finds. Sapphires and Rubies are both variations of corundum. We tend to think of Sapphires as blue, but they can be green, pink, yellow, and many other colors depending on the presence of different impurities. All colors of Corundum are called Sapphire except one: Red Corundum is always a Ruby. A few mines in the area produce the rare Star Rubies and Sapphires, stones that produce a six-pointed star when they're cut into a cabochon shape, with a smooth, rounded, dome-like top. The star is the result of needle-like inclusions that react with light.

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Depending on who one talks with or which advertisement is read, there are between 30 to 50 gemstone producing mines in North Carolina, with only a small handful working commercially these days. Some mine have been in continuous use since the 1870s.

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Again, don't confuse the Emerald as being the State Gemstone with the State Rock named in 1979, which is Granite. Although Granite is found all over the State, the most famous location is Chimney Rock State Park which is located just 25 miles southeast of Ashville.

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Ohio's "FLINT" !

In 1965, the Ohio General Assembly adopted flint as Ohio's official gemstone. Large quantities of this gem exist especially in the eastern and central parts of the state.

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Flint occurs in nodules or beds in Devonian limestones and particularly in Pennsylvanian limestones. It is thought that the silica was derived from the siliceous spicules of sponges. The most conspicuous bed of flint is associated with the Pennsylvanian-age Vanport limestone at Flint Ridge in Licking and Muskingum Counties. Although most flint is gray or black in color, Flint Ridge flint is characterized by its light color with hues of red, green, yellow, and other colors. Flint, a variety of quartz, is a hard and durable mineral. Native Americans, both prehistoric and historic, used flint to make a wide variety of tools, weapons, and ceremonial pieces. Skilled workers started with coarse pieces of flint and fashioned such implements as knives, scrapers, arrowheads, and pipes.

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Flint Ridge was a major source of flint for Ohio's Indians. The Hopewell people traded flint with other Native Americans across the United States. Archaeologists have discovered artifacts made from Flint Ridge flint as far west as the Rocky Mountains and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The Ohio Historical Society now operates a museum at Flint Ridge. Visitors can see excavation pits that were made many centuries ago. Early European settlers of Ohio also used flint for various objects, including millstones and rifle flints.

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Today, artists use flint to make attractive pieces of jewelry. The gem's surfaces will take a high polish. Small amounts of impurities commonly give a wide variety of colors to flint. These colors include red, pink, green, blue, yellow, gray, white, and black. Some combinations of these colors in a piece of flint are considered to be very attractive and are highly prized by collectors.

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QUARTZ with "Inclusions"

Pieces of 'Clear Quartz' with inclusions can be a facinating study. I am not about to attempt to list or go into the many types of inclusions that can occur in Quartz, because for each one I mention, someone will be able to name a dozen more. For the purpose of this article we will talk about 'Rutilated Quartz', 'Dendritic Quartz' and 'Tourmalinated Quartz'. I will also present some pictures I have been provided of some other interesting included Quartz pieces.
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A piece of clear crystal Quartz known as a Sceptor.

Dendritic Quartz. The stains are found in microscopic fissures that cause them to branch out like tree limbs or fern like inclusions. Of course in nature no two things are alike, making each gem one of a kind. Like most of the included quartz, the primary sources of Dendritic Quartz are Brazil and Africa, but some have been found in the western United Satates and Arkansas.

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Rutilated Quartz. Rutile is a major ore of titanium, which is a metal used for high tech alloys. It often forms needle-like crystal inclusions inside the Quartz crystal. This form of quartz looks like small bars of imbedded gold. Rutile is a 6 on the Mohs scale whereas Quartz is a 7. Because of the difference in hardness between the two materials and because of the way rutile forms inside, this can be a difficult stone to attain a smooth surface without pits. Most Rutilated Quartz is found is Brazil, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Madagascae, Brazil and several locations in the United States.

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Tourmalinated Quartz. As pointed out many minerals may be found as inclusions in quartz. When Tourmaline is found within quartz, the quartz is known as "tourmalinated". Most of this variety of Quartz is found in Brazil but large pockets have also been found in California.

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Here are some pictures of some other types of included Quartz.

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Quartz with included Pyrite........ Quartz with included Gilalite

Quartz with included Lepidocrocite and Hematite

Lodolite is a term used for a varity of Quartz with included minerals from Minas Gerais, Brazil. The colorations and patterns come from three main types of minerals, Chlorite, Iron, and Calcite.

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It's an Oily Frog !

Let's have a fun look at some of the more unusual gems and minerals that can be found in our world!

At the International School of Gemology (ISG) study is done on specimens rather than by pictures from a textbook. This allows the students to learn more about all of the variables that gemstone properties can offer, rather than teaching a simple listing out of a textbook. To do this the ISG has collected as many gems and mineral specimens as can be found, bought, begged, borrowed or get donated.

Occasionally the finds are just so unique that they sort of defy explanation. And with so many students and friends in so many places world wide, the ISG has assembled one of the most unique collections of weird and unusual gems and minerals that you will find anywhere. This particular stone was donated by Trent at BKK Gemstones, Thailand.

This is a piece of Enhydro Quartz.

The fact that quartz crystals often form in hydrothermal intrusions into existing rock makes it no surprise that there are a lot of weird inclusions to be found in most quartz crystals. But few are stranger than finding Light Sweet Crude Oil inside a quartz crystal. But that is exactly what we have below. This is an enhydro quartz crystal that actually contains far more than first meets the eye. Let’s look at just a few of the unusual features in this particular specimen.

If you look below you see a fairly large pocket of petroleum inside this quartz crystal. This occurred due to the petroleum existing in the hydrothermal intrusion where the quartz crystal formed. As the hot water environment started to cool and the quartz crystal began to grow, the petroleum that was in the hot water was simply engulfed inside the crystal as it grew, leaving pockets of petroleum with gas bubbles inside the cavities of the quartz crystal. But here is where it starts getting weird.

Below you see a formation that has a lot going on with it. Not only do you have a spike looking formation of light and dark petroleum, you also have a lot of twinned crystals. Twinning is when two or more crystals grow in the same dimensional space. In other words, the molecules of the quartz are so tiny and far apart that you can actually have two or more quartz crystals growing within the same place, inside each other. This is what you see below with the many points sticking up to the left of the oil spike. These are simply a whole row of tiny petroleum filled quartz crystals that have all grown inside the larger host crystal. It is actually possible to have scores of crystals growing inside each other due to twinning.

Sometimes these twinned crystals are not full formations, but are sort of ghosts of crystals. What we appropriately call phantoms. A phantom crystal is one that is actually present, but you don’t really see the complete formation because it’s sort of a….well, a phantom. At left you see a phantom crystal that is partially visible due to a cavity that contains water. This water is millions of years old and was inside this phantom crystal when the larger host crystal simply engulfed it during formation. Sort of a "now you see me, now you don’t," looking formation.

But here is where it really gets fun! Below you see a 10x image of this crystal photographed from one very special direction. You can see the blue and yellow colors of the petroleum filled cavities inside the crystal. But WAIT!

What is that? Is that a FROG? An OILY FROG? It sure looks like it !

One of the most fun aspects of crystal study is just how weird some of the inclusions can be. And just how many people can see images in the inclusions….sort of like seeing shapes in the clouds in the sky. In imaging what this crystal looks like, this frog jumped out like a……well, a frog! No, no, no. It’s not a real frog. Just a really frog looking petroleum filled cavity.

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If one gets a chance to go to the Tucson GemFair, these are also the kinds of unique items that sometimes pop out at you as you look through the thousands of rocks, stones, gemstones and minerals that are for sale all over Tucson.

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Thanks to the ISG for pictures and information on this quartz.
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