Monthly Archives: August 2010

Montana Agate

Montana Agate

Montana Agate

Agate is a moderately hard rock, primarily composed of silica (quartz). Montana agate and sapphire are the two State gemstones of the State of Montana. Montana agate is sometimes also referred to as “moss agate” (agate that has colored inclusions that may resemble moss) or “scenic agate”.

The Montana agate is usually a creamy light yellow to almost clear color with embedded moss structures in varying shades of brownish red to black. Most of these Montana agates are found in gravel deposits from the Pleistocene age (10,000 – 1,6000,000) in the area of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries. In general, agates form when silica in groundwater is deposited in openings in the subsurface.

It is generally believed that Montana agates were formed as the result of volcanic activity in the Yellowstone Park area millions of years ago, which deposited a tremendous amount of silica-rich ash over a wide area. Some Montana agates, such as “limb casts”, appear to have originated from wood that became buried by ash and fossilized after the volcanic activity.

Agate is the Mystical birthstone for the month of September and the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Gemini.

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Adularescence Moonstone

Moonstone

Moonstone

Moonstone is a translucent stone that has a shimmering affect called adularescence. It is often worn in rings, pendants or bead necklaces. Blue moonstone pendants are very stunning.

Moonstone comes in colorless, white, yellow, orange, and gray. It always has a white or blue sheen. That is, moonstone reflects light in a distinctive shimmering phenomenon known as adularescence. Moonstone has a hardness of 6 and it can be easily scratched.

Moonstone is found in Brazil, European Alps, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and USA (Pennsylvania and Virginia). Sri Lanka has the highest quality moonstones.

The moonstone is characterised by an enchanting play of light. Indeed it owes its name to that mysterious shimmer which always looks different when the stone is moved and is known in the trade as ‘adularescence’. In earlier times, people believed they could recognise in it the crescent and waning phases of the moon.

This gemstone is surrounded by a good deal of mystique and magic. In many cultures, for example in India, it is regarded as a holy, magical gemstone. In India, moonstones are also regarded as ‘dream stones’ which bring the wearer beautiful visions at night. In Arabic countries, women often wear moonstones sewn out of sight into their garments, for in their cultures the moonstone is a symbol of fertility.

For a few years, there have also been some green, brown and orange specimens on the market, as well as some with a smoky colour and some the colour of champagne, and some black and some reddish ones, mainly originating from India. Some have a cat’s eye effect or a four-spoked star as well as the typical undulating shimmer of light.

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Mother Of Pearl

Mother Of Pearl

Mother Of Pearl

Mother of pearl, also called nacre, is an iridescent layer of material which forms the shell lining of many mollusks. Pearl oysters and abalone are both sources of mother of pearl, which is widely used as an inlay in jewelry, furniture, and musical instruments.

These mollusks are found around the world from the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia to the Gulfs of Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

Nacre is the same substance that is deposited around an object that becomes lodged in the mollusk–either naturally or inserted by humans–to become a pearl.

Although pearls are popular today, some past cultures regarded colorful pieces of mother of pearl as more desirable decoration for jewelry and other objects.

Jewelry made from mother of pearl is in the group called organic jewelry, which includes all jewelry that originates from a living creature, plant or other living organism.

Nacre appears iridescent because the thickness of the aragonite platelets is close to the wavelength of visible light. This results in constructive and destructive interference of different wavelengths of light, resulting in different colors of light being reflected at different viewing angles.

Two substances actually combine to create mother of pearl. The first is plates of aragonite, a material which is secreted by the mollusk. Aragonite contains calcium carbonate and conchiolin, a natural protein. Alone, the plates are very hard, but also very brittle. As a result, the organism also secretes organic material similar to silk to layer between the plates. The result is a strong, flexible material which can withstand hard use.

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Orthoceras, The Beauty From The Past

Orthoceras

Orthoceras

Orthoceras or straight horn is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod. This genus is sometimes called Orthoceratites. Orthoceras fossils are common and have a global distribution, occurring in any marine rock, especially limestones.

Orthoceras fossil jewellery is more than 400 million years old and is the earliest recognizable animals. They are considered as the ancestors of the modern day squid family. These are considered as the most intelligent form of ocean life even though they were among the earliest form of ocean life.

The size ranges from a few inches to over six feet in length. They have the ability to swim and crawl on the ocean floor. They have the ability to fill their chambers with air and were able to float through seas.

As they died, the shells got accumulated on the ocean floor. These shells got covered by sediments and with the passage of time they got transferred into stone.

These stones when polished gave it a gem like quality making it look more beautiful than ever. These specimens are found in the Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.

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Pectolite

Pectolite Stone


Pectolite

Pectolite is a white to gray mineral, It crystallizes in the triclinic system typically occurring in radiated or fibrous crystalline masses. Pectolite, as mineral, is confused with other minerals like okenite, wollastonite, artinite and few others. The name “Pectolite” has been derived from the Greek word “Pectos” which mean “well put together”, and lithos – “stone”.

This semi-precious stone occurs in white or colorless, gray, light yellow, light brown, light blue, and light pink.

It is believed that pectolite softens, enlightens and even heals in a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual way. It was first described in 1828 at Mt. Baldo, Trento Province, Italy. Few decades ago, in the Dominician Republic, an ocean blue variety of pectolite was discovered. It was given the name of Larimar. Even this is popular in the semi-precious stone world.

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The Magical Peridot

Peridot

Peridot

Peridot, also called precious olivine, is a gem-quality transparent green olivine. The crystals of peridot have a vitreous lustre and conchoidal fracture. Gem-quality olivine is a mineral that composes a lot of the earth’s mantel, the layer below the crust. It is also common in basalts on the moon.

Gem quality peridot comes from Arizona, Burma, Norway, islands in the Red Sea, Hawaii and is sometimes found in meteorites. It’s been mined as a gemstone for thousands of years, and is mentioned in the Bible under the name of Chrysolite. Legend says that peridot was one of the favorite gemstones of Cleopatra and that some of the “emeralds” worn by her were actually peridot.

Peridot has been adored since ancient times and has been valued for centuries. People in the Middle Ages wore peridot to gain foresight and divine inspiration. Legend has it that pirates favored peridot to protect them against evil. Peridot was greatly prized by Egyptian Kings.

This beautiful stone is worn or carried for general healing purposes. Peridot increases strength & physical vitality. Peridot protects against nervousness and aids in healing hurt feelings. It helps liver & adrenal function. Peridot is also thought to protect lungs, sinuses, and wrists from illness and injury.

Peridot is used to help dreams become a reality. This very popular stone is believed to attract love. The deep green hue of the peridot also suggests a connection in wealth-attracting. Peridot calms a raging anger. It is also useful to dispel negative emotions, and it is believed to promote sleep when worn to bed.

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Peruvian Blue Opal

Peruvian Opal

Peruvian Blue Opal

Opal was formed many millions of years ago, when a combination of silica and water flowed into cracks and spaces in the ground. This then gradually hardened and solidified to become opal. Opals contain water, which makes them very sensitive to heat. They are soft and can be cracked or chipped easily. Opals should be stored in moist absorbent cotton.

Peruvian blue opal is relatively rare and is only found in the Andes mountains near San Patricio, Peru. It is a very translucent stone with color similar to the Caribbean Sea. Depending on how the stone is cut it can be clear, scenic (showing varying degrees of color) or dendritic which has black fern like inclusions.

This is the national stone of Peru and, unfortunately, in recent years dyed stones have been mass marketed by unreputable dealers as Peruvian Blue Opal. If the blue color is uneven you are probably looking at a dyed stone. Dyed stones are quite common and sell very cheaply at gem shows and on internet auctions.

The Peruvian blue opal has soft relaxing energies. Legend says that it takes the tension out of communication and helps ideas flow freely. It softens the impact of stress from the outside world and can help one to release the trauma of old wounds. It facilitates facing the future with a tranquil healing nature.
This stone is reported to be good for quieting the mind and as an aid to sleep.

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Petoskey Stone

Petoskey Stone

Petoskey Stone

Petoskey stone is a fossilized coral, the state stone of Michigan and is commonly found along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the United States.

In 1965, it was named the state stone of Michigan. It was formed by the fossilization of ancient coral, hexagonaria. These corals lived in warm shallow seas that covered Michigan during Devonian time, some 350 million years ago.

During Devonian time, Michigan was quite different. Geographically, what is now Michigan was near the equator. The area covered by a warm shallow sea which was an ideal habitat for marine life.

Characteristic to the Petoskey is its intricate honeycomb pattern made of calcite. Each hexagonal cell is unique as is each collective colony of cells. The never ending variety of configurations makes each stone distinctive. The stones also vary in color due to the different sediments which became embedded into the coral. To add to the stone’s intrigue, when dry, it is difficult to distinguish from more ordinary rocks. But when the stone is wet or polished, it’s delicate pattern emerges and it is much more easily recognized.

The name Petoskey is a derivation of the name Petosegay, the name given to the son of a Frenchman who married an Ottwa Indian princess and later became the tribes’ chief . The translation means “rising sun” or “rays of dawn”.

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Picasso Marble

Picasso Marble

Picasso Marble

Picasso Marble is found in Utah, U.S. It is a relatively soft stone between 4-5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Identifiable by its striking and dramatic combination of browns, blacks, grays and white colors, each piece is different. When cut en cabochon the stones often have a scenic appearance and look like forest trees or hill sides in winter.

Picasso marble is named after a geometric grid of black and tan lines that criss-cross the matrix of the stone, resembling an abstract painting. Marble is a metamorphic equivalent of limestone, and this material appears to have been altered to marble by its contact with igneous material, which “cooked” the limestone and flooded the stone with solutions that traveled through a network of fractures, coloring the stone. The marble is fine-grained, takes a satin-finish polished.

Picasso marble is good for Self-control, Clarity, and total recall of dreams. Assists in meditation. Protects, nurtures, strengthens. Aids in mind expansion and manifestation of physical and material goals. Stability. Helps to heal viral infection.

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Poppy Jasper, The Adrenaline Stone

Poppy Jasper

Poppy Jasper

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper is a famous, but increasingly rare orbicular jasper with red and yellow dots of “poppy flowers”. It is a brecciated jasper, meaning it probably came from sun-dried and oxidized iron-rich clay. The cracks were filled in by other substances. The material is quite attractive when polished and is used as an ornamental stone or gemstone.

Poppy Jasper enlivens your body by throwing vortices of uplifting energy toward areas where energy flow is blocked. These vortices break up physical impediments, energetic blockages, and encrusted patterns so your body can accept more life-giving energy. Poppy Jasper acts somewhat like adrenaline, waking up and energizing areas of the body that appear to be sleeping.

Jaspers of all kinds have long been attributed magical powers in just about every culture known to man. Jasper was used in Ancient European times as a “rain bringer” and it is interesting to note that the word for jasper in some American Indian cultures also meant, “Rain Bringer”.

Morgan Hill poppy jasper is found in the area of Morgan Hill, California, USA. Other popular jaspers are found in Germany, India, Russia, Pakistan, France and the USA as well as many other countries.

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