Anyone Collect Gems or Minerals??

funkfingers · Aug 16, 2010

I dunno took a few pics tonight..interested to see if there are any other gem or mineral collectors out there?

Smokey Quartz, with Spessartine Garnets, China

mSeTxOiNcEaRn · Aug 16, 2010

Very cool, i havent begun my collection yet, mainly because i hav no room right now.
I love rutilated quartz, its like a cheaper demantoid garnet with the horsetail wisps, although not green and not as cool, or rare

TruthOrLie · Aug 16, 2010

i heard citrine and cyanite attract no negative energy

funkfingers · Aug 16, 2010

Some Blue and Purple Fluorite, w/ quartz inclusions, I found @ the tailings of the Sweet Home Mine, in Alma, ..

mSeTxOiNcEaRn · Aug 16, 2010

Very pretty!

4 cleavage directions? Very soft too? I cant remember lol

Ive wanted to go visit a mine but am always turned off by the idea that i may not find crap lol

funkfingers · Aug 16, 2010

YEp and Yep..It's actually pretty easy to find stuff if you research into where you're going to go...

Here's some Bi-Colored Tourmaline,from Pakistan..

Andyo · Aug 16, 2010

mostly feldspar and granites of every kind

mostly feldspar and granites of every kind

Ive always enjoyed hunting minerals ect .
lots of granite here in my area of thailand ,
lost my whole collection in uk bust but with a bit of research i can start again fancy i will prefer to find it myself .

Phedrosbenny · Aug 16, 2010

Very ineresting collection.Sounds like it would be a cool hobby for me and my son.He is still a little feller,so he loves to collect rocks and sticks.Thanks for showing me this.And a very beautiful collection.Mother Nature is a wonderful artist isnt she.

funkfingers · Aug 17, 2010

Quartz w/ drusy Amethyst and Purple Fluorite, China

Quartz w/ drusy Amethyst and Purple Fluorite, China

Here's another one..

funkfingers · Aug 22, 2010

Here's a few pieces of quartz..

Elestial Rose/smokey Quartz, Brazil

Growth interference Quartz, Russia

joeking · Aug 22, 2010

I have always been drawn to tourmaline, mostly watermelon, but most any will do

i remember when I first started collecting, the Sweet Home mine was producing some beautiful minerals...OMG!!1

Anyhoo, that was many girlfriends ago, it seems like when they dip, they take more than they come with

g0vnaa · Sep 11, 2010

Awesome colention man.
Those are beautifull :thank you:

I found some cristal at home recently. Nothing special.
It now sits on my PC desk.

mriko · Dec 31, 2010

My, how come i haven't seen this before !

Funkfingers, that's a very nice brazilian quartz you have here, I like the color very much. Is it the same in person ?

I happen to collect minerals & gemstones (beside trying to make a living out of them...), here a few pieces, some from my personnal collection, some not.

Hematite from Pakistan

Ruby from Afghanistan

Anatase from Baluchistan

Color-change sodalite var. hackmanite from Afghanistan

Emerald from Swat, Pakistan

Clinohumite & Spinel from Afghan-Tajik border

Emerald from Pakistan

Come on people, share your goodies !

Irie !

mriko · Dec 31, 2010

Here a few gems from my personnal collection

Topazes

From left to right, starting upper left corner : Russia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Russia, Brazil, Russia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Russia

Garnets

From left to right, starting upper left corner :
- Hessonite from Eden Mills, Vermont, USA (2x)
- Pyrope from Ant Hill from Arizona (rough gems are brought up to the surface by ants)
- Spessartite from Amelia, Virginia
- Hessonite from Spain
- Pyrope from Bohemia
- Grossular (Rosalite) from Mexico (2x)
- Color-Change from Bekily, Madagascar (blue color, very rare)
- Topazolite from Urals
- Demantoid from Urals
- Green grossular from Bajaur, Pakistan
- Tsavorite from Tsavo park, Kenya

Beryls

From left to right, starting upper left corner :

- Green beryl fro Malishevo, Russia
- Aquamarine from Mozambique
- Goshenite from Urals
- Aquamarine from Burma
- Sunstone Beryl from Madagascar
- Aquamarine from Pakistan (x2)
- Green beryl from Brazil
- Emerald from Brazil
- Heliodor from Tajikistan (x2)
- Heliodor from Ukraine
- Morganite from Pala mine, California

Irie !

GR8FUL1 · Feb 19, 2011

Those are some sweet stones mriko.Did you cut those or cbuy them already faceted?I have a fair amount of opal rough that I will someday cut(one of many hobbies).I have a wide assortment of agate slabs and some petrified wood also.I'll be back with pics once I get used to my new camera.

mriko · Mar 5, 2011

Thanks GR8FUL1, I bought them already facetted, some in pakistan but most on ebay (I sure couldn't afford it otherwise !).
Hmmm, opal, I love opals ! Started my mineral collection with some from Ethiopia, I like a lot those form Virgin Valley as well !
I also have a nice amount of different rough materials for cutting and I intent to learn facetting gemstones, hopefully I'll do my first steps within a year or so.

Irie !

303hydro · Mar 5, 2011

Here's a couple pieces-

Citrine.... Stick this one in the piggy bank.....

This next piece is very debatable. Some say it's actually a form of petrified bamboo. It is definitely a beautiful piece, and was not cheap.

Bebopp · Apr 8, 2011

I collect florescent minerals like autunite. Fluoresces amazing.

GOOROO · Jun 18, 2012

saw that bamboo at the tuscon show this year.

I am an absolute freak for fluorite and opal. Have over 50 specimens from all over the world of just fluorite alone. Some of my favorite are from africa, and then the classic rogerly fluorite.

gotta love those gems...

got a 23g chunk of moldavite and a bunch of smaller pieces of besednice.

justablunttool · Jul 26, 2012

Australia has the worlds best opal, also many other gems. I lived and mined sapphires at Central Queensland Gemfields for over 20 years. Some of the largest sapphires in the world came from there. It is a very tourist friendly area, and you can dig your own stones there for the cost of a fossicking licence, $6.80 a month. Tourists do find some very good stones in shallow wash, even on the surface. Some of the best remaining ground is set aside for tourists in fossicking areas, some of which are enormous. The gemfields is almost 900sq km in area situated on tropic of capricorn 300km inland from Rockhampton. It also has the largest gem show in the southern hemisphere www.gemfest.com.au. You can also find opals at Yowah which also has fossicking areas. Where else in the world can you go out in the bush and dig your own gems legally?

Anyone Collect Gems or Minerals??

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