Purple Gemstones !

When one talks about gemstones and the color purple is mentioned, normally the conversation then tends towards the well known and very popular purple February Birthstone gemstone called Amethyst. Some will also think of the gemstone Ametrine, which is a unique dual gemstone of Amethyst and Citrine.

But there are some other purple colored gemstones that can also be used to make some very colorful and unique jewelry pieces. Four additional purple colored gemstones that are used quite often in jewelry are listed below.

Lepodolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored phyllosilicate mineral in the mica group that is a secondary source of lithium. It is associated with other lithium-bearing minerals like Spodumene in pegmatite bodies. It is one of the major sources of the rare alkali metals rubidium and caesium. It occurs in granite pegmatites, in some high-temperature quartz veins, greisens and granites. Notable occurrences include Brazil, Russia, United States,Canada and Madagascar.

Sugilite (also known as Luvulite) is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral. Sugilite crystallizes in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive. It is mostly translucent but can be opague when mixed with a host rock. Sugilite was first described in 1944 for an occurrence on Iwagi Islet, Japan, where it is found in an aegirine syenite intrusive rock. It is found in a similar environment at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. In the Wessels mine in northern South Africa, Sugilite is mined from a strata-bound manganese deposit. It is also reported being found in Italy, Australia and India.

Sodalite is a light, relatively hard yet fragile mineral named after its sodium content; in mineralogy it may be classed as a feldspathoid. Well known for its blue color, Sodalite may also be grey, yellow, green, or purple and is often mottled with white veins or patches. The more uniformly blue material is used in jewelry but the fashionable purple variety hold the greatest attention. It is normally fashioned into cabochons for pendants and beads. Lesser grade material is more often seen as facing or inlay in various applications. Although somewhat similar to Lazurite and Lapis Lazuli, Sodalite rarely contains Pyrite and its blue-purple color is more like traditional royal blue than ultramarine. It is further distinguished from similar minerals by its white (rather than blue) streaks. Sodalite's six directions of poor cleavage may be seen as incipient cracks running through the stone.

And last but not least we have to consider our tried and true gemstones made out of Agate. In one specific location in the Campo Morado area of Mexico, south-southwest of Mexico City, there is a very purple colored Agate. It is a naturally colored purple Agate called the Morado Agate. But as with many other Agates and Jaspers, buyer beware because many are dyed and purple is one of the favorite colors.

PYRITE - The "Fools Gold" Stone

Lets start by how you may see Pyrite when looking for it. First it could be a 'cube' attached to a host rock, or a bunch of small 'crystals' in amoung other crystals such as Quartz, or maybe the real fooler, a Golden Pyrite "clump'. These are not the only way Pyrite appears however, as can be seen in several of the following pictures.

There are several 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 interesting crystals. It is so common in the earth's crust that it is found in almost every possible environment, hence it has a vast number of forms and varieties. During their search for forture, many infamous shouts ocurred amid the Old West propsectors "There's Gold in that Riverbed !" only to be disappointed in finding Pyrite or as the golden rock quickly became known as "fools gold". Many a gold seaker was fooled by this shiny yellow mineral that looks so similar to gold.

Pyrite is a polymorph of Marcasite, which means that it has the same chemistry, FeS2, as Marcasite; but a different structure and therefore different symmetry and crystal shapes. Pyrite is difficult to distinguish from marcasite when a lack of clear indicators exists, as can be seen by the following picture of a piece of Marcasite.

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Almost any rock that looks a little rusty will mostly likely contain some pyrite. Pyrite is cubic crystals composed of iron sulfide; spherical and bulbous pyrites also exist; it is found in large quantities, mainly in coal mines and near clay workings. It comes in a vast number of forms and varieties, but the most common crystal shapes are cubic and octahedral.
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One sought-after form is flattened nodules found in chalk, siltstone and shale called “pyrite suns’ or ‘pyrite dollars’. These nodules are usually made from thin pyrite crystals radiating from the center.

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Enourmous amounts of small Pyrite crystal clusters come from Oruro and Colavi, Bolivia. In Navajun (Logroño), Spain, large cubic crystals, are abundant. They are frequently embedded in a light brown matrix, and are occasionally twinned.

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Perfect crystals occur in Rio Marina on the island of Elba, Italy. In the U.S., there are also many fine localities. In Park City, Bingham Co., Utah, very large, well shaped Pyritohedrons and Pyrite Cubes have been found, as well as in the American Mine in the Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake Co., Utah. Large, intergrown cubes, many times partially octahedral, occur in abundance at Leadville, Lake Co., Colorado. Pyrite "Dollars" are mostly found in Sparta, Randolph Co., Illinois. The French Creek Mine in Chester Co., Pennsylvania is famous for the octahedral crystals that occur there, although most are distorted. Many interesting nodules were recently discovered in Alden, Monroe Co., New York.

The use of Pyrite in decorations is also quite common. How many times have you visited a mine to see mining scenes in Pyrite avaiable on the sales counters.

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And more recently, Pyrite has been faceted so that it can be made into jewelry such as rings, pendants or earrings.

Show and Craft Fair Set-up !

There has always been a delima as to how one sets up a sales display for Craft Fairs, Bazaars and Shows. I am sure there is no right or wrong way, but over the years we have come to find certain ways seem to be preferred by customers. This may be a regional thing also. What works in Texas may not in Oregon or New York, but may in Georgia.
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When we first started out other vendors seemed to use the "L" or "U" shape, where the customers came directly into the sales area. So we started out with a "U" shape at the first show (pic #1), which wasn't too bad in a 12x10 space, but it made for very close quarters when using a 10x10 tent outside (pic #2 & 3). Outside events generally mean vendors use tents in a 10x10 or 10x20 ft vendor space. However, we have found inside spaces can be 10x10, 12x10, 15x10 and in some case 10x8 ft in size.
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.Using the larger 12x10 or 15x10 ft spaces inside, we tried several different varients on this theme for a while (pic #4, 5 & 6), but being so close to and almost in the face of someone looking at the items, seemed to be a bit awkard and intimidating to the customer.

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A Visit to the Tuscon Gem Show was an eye opener. Although those with very large booths had the come-in and look around set-up, the majority of the smaller booths (pic #7 & #8)seemed to be set up where the customer stayed to the outside and the vendor inside the tables. These pictures of two of the major shows at Tucson show this concept.

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Now after several years of trial and error, we have decided that usually the best presentation is where the items being sold are placed on a table towards the customers, and we stay behind the table to discuss their options and purchases with them (pic #9 & #10). We then leave a walkway, where once they are pretty sure what they want, we can go outside the tables to help them try items on and hold a mirror for them.

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Placing display tables along the outside even works well when using the 10x10 ft tent (pic #11).

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However the ideal situation ocurrs when one is lucky enough to be able to obtain a corner location (Pic #12 & #13), even if it has a pole as seen in the last picture.

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As can also be noticed in the later photos, backdrops and draps, if not against a wall, also greatly enhance the displays so customers are not looking through your displays into those behind or beside you.

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Just remember each time you setup, be prepared for a whole new experience and things happen that have never happened before.

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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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TURQUOISE - OPALS - CHRYSOPRASE

One thing that is essential in the markets today is that one finds a good supplier, an honest supplier, a supplier who can get the unusual, and a supplier with whom one can become friends with. With these objectives all in place, it is fairly easy to obtain some of the unusual and hard to find gemstones to be able to be creative in ones jewelry making. It has also become a necessity that one be able to make some of ones own items, to get the size and style desired. To this end, it is great when one can find Kingman Turquoise, Australian Opal, Peruvian Pink Opal and California Green Chrysoprase available in sizes large enough that will make interesting pendants and beads.
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Not all Kingman AZ Turquoise is blue, each vein can be a bit different.
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Crystal Opals from the Australian Outback.
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Peruvian Pink Opals from the Andes Range.
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Green Crystal Chrysoprase from the California Coast.
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CRYSTALS IN THE RAW 6 !

Addition crystals/minerals for viewing and starting to get into some lapidary slabs also as get polished up.

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Hematite Crystals from Morocco

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Cerussite Crystal from Morocco

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Amazonite Crystal from Colorado

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Chryscolla (Sanora Sunrise) Slab from Mexico

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Koroit Slab from Australia

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Thanks to several for providing specimens and to the Scapteguy for information on these crystals.
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