Radical Rocks

How to be a Rockhound Have you ever gone on a walk off the beaten path, maybe in the desert or mountains, alongside a stream or the ocean, only to see the pretty rock, maybe it was shinny or a color that jumped out at you or it was a unusual shape or pattern? Me too. It’s no wonder that rocks and gemstones have fascinated humans since the very beginning. I had a friend from work approach me and said, “hey you’re a rockhound aren’t you?” Proudly I said yes, I even have rocks in my head. Next he told me about this rock he had found and I asked him to bring it in. It  was a nice wulfenite crystal and I invited him to go hunting for shark teeth with me at Ant Hill (now closed off for housing tract). He and another work mate found some teeth and they became full-fledged rockhounds from that adventure. Well, if the above sounds something like you, then you are a budding rockhound, congratulations! In this article I will attempt to give you a basic guide to get started so that you can...

Jaspers with Orbs How to Guide I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy looking at the amazing orb jaspers, the patterns of orbs, with the shapes of oval, round, egg as found in the “porcelain jaspers” are rare and favorites of collectors. Yet there is mystery on how these orb type jaspers were formed. There is a wonderful book by Marco Campo-Venuti, Genesis and Classification of Agates and Jaspers; a New Theory (Tipografia Luciani, Rome,2012) That the author presents a in depth discussion of jaspers and the major types, classified into four groups: Ocean Jaspers, Volcanic Jaspers, Jaspers Paedomorphic on Fossils, and Chemicals Jaspers. Orb Brecciated and Jasper-Agates. History  The name Jasper means "spotted or speckled stone" coming from Hebrew and likely Greek definition and possible even Persian. In Israel the first stone on the High Priest's breastplate, was a red jasper, whilst  Tarshish , the tenth stone, this dates to 1300 BCE. We know that Jasper occur in...

Opal How  to Guide   History and tidbits The word Opal is from the Roman word “opalus” which was derived from the Greek word “opallios” and both have the meaning “change of color”. Opal has a long history of ancient times being mentioned in the Bible were Opal in Hebrew means “ precious stone” This was one of the 12 stones to be placed on the high priest breastplate dating back to about 1300 BCE.   A writer named Sir Walter Scott started a rumor that could have damaged the Opal market back in 1829. One of his novels created a superstition that Opal was a bad luck charm. He must have been a pretty good writer because this created a decline in the Opal market. However, someone stepped in to set maters straight because she loved Opal and knew this was poppycock, and the one that dispelled these rumors was none other that queen Elizabeth herself. The Andamooka Opal Necklace   South Australian government wanted to present their new Queen “Queen Elizabe...