Let's play a game... rainbow gems.

[Crimson]

Hi @AudreyC your posts are very, very welcome but you are a bit of a mystery to me.

You used the terms "candy" and "boiled sweet" in the same sentence. Americans use the term "candy" and the whole English speaking world is well aware of the term, but you'd have to be brought up in the British Commonwealth to know what a boiled sweet is. One of my Mum's favorites because they lasted longest!

Maybe the best cabochons are found where they boil all the sweets.

I just read on another thread that Peter, @prs has passed away. Such a loss! He was witty and kind. I admired his discerning taste and knowledge about gems, and his great love for his wife. Rest in Peace, Peter. Heartfelt condolences to Mrs @prs.

 

[Starstruck8]

Back to red! Here is a little 12-ray ruby next to a marquise shaped ruby. The 12 rays were a surprise. I bought it online fr AJSGems as a star ruby, but when i examined it at home, i saw 12 rays - fun!

Fascinating! I'd really like to get one of these offset doubles, but they are hard to come by. I've never seen one in real life.

My avatar is a double with a fixed and a moving star. In the image, the moving star is in the centre, two rays of the fixed star can be seen below.

I also have this 12-ray, which in effect has two 6-ray stars, one a bit yellower and one a bit whiter. (If you look carefully, you can see the colours alternating.) These are caused by two different types of needle-like inclusions:


But I've never seen IRL a stone like yours, with two offset stars. I'm guessing that this must be caused by some type of twinning. But a small offset doesn't seem consistent with a 'natural' twinning angle. So it's a bit puzzling. Do you know of any literature on this sort of offset double?

Thank you again for sharing it.

 

[Crimson]

Fascinating! I'd really like to get one of these offset doubles, but they are hard to come by. I've never seen one in real life.

My avatar is a double with a fixed and a moving star. In the image, the moving star is in the centre, two rays of the fixed star can be seen below.

I also have this 12-ray, which in effect has two 6-ray stars, one a bit yellower and one a bit whiter. (If you look carefully, you can see the colours alternating.) These are caused by two different types of needle-like inclusions:


But I've never seen IRL a stone like yours, with two offset stars. I'm guessing that this must be caused by some type of twinning. But a small offset doesn't seem consistent with a 'natural' twinning angle. So it's a bit puzzling. Do you know of any literature on this sort of offset double?

Thank you again for sharing it.

@Starstruck8 Thank you for sharing yours too - it is so beautiful. Below is what i found in an article in Gems and Gemology 2015. It is caused by twinning
(http://dx.doi.org/10.5741/GEMS.51.2.112. Authors Karl Schmetzer, Martin P. Steinbach, H. Albert Gilg, and Andrea R. Blake)
”Asteriated natural sapphires and rubies with two slightly displaced six-rayed stars of identical white color have been mentioned on different occasions. This optical phenomenon results from lamellar twiinning with three series of rutile needles in each indi- vidual part of the twin (Koivula et al., 1993; McClure, 1998; Kondo, 2007).”

 

[Starstruck8]

@Starstruck8 Thank you for sharing yours too - it is so beautiful. Below is what i found in an article in Gems and Gemology 2015. It is caused by twinning
(http://dx.doi.org/10.5741/GEMS.51.2.112. Authors Karl Schmetzer, Martin P. Steinbach, H. Albert Gilg, and Andrea R. Blake)
”Asteriated natural sapphires and rubies with two slightly displaced six-rayed stars of identical white color have been mentioned on different occasions. This optical phenomenon results from lamellar twiinning with three series of rutile needles in each indi- vidual part of the twin (Koivula et al., 1993; McClure, 1998; Kondo, 2007).”

Thank you for the reference. One of the articles it references has a picture of a ruby like yours. Fig. 13 below clearly shows the interleaved twining planes. (But I'm still not clear about the small difference in orientation.) G&G Fall 1998 p 217:
https://www.gia.edu/doc/FA98.pdf

 

[Crimson]

Thank you for the reference. One of the articles it references has a picture of a ruby like yours. Fig. 13 below clearly shows the interleaved twining planes. (But I'm still not clear about the small difference in orientation.) G&G Fall 1998 p 217:
https://www.gia.edu/doc/FA98.pdf

Thank you, @Starstruck8 - really fascinating! There is a double star ruby available at AJSgems - with video - and there is a double star sapphire at Benny’s Gems.
Now, to continue the rainbow thread, we need ORANGE!

 

[Starstruck8]

Thank you, @Starstruck8 - really fascinating! There is a double star ruby available at AJSgems - with video - and there is a double star sapphire at Benny’s Gems.
Now, to continue the rainbow thread, we need ORANGE!

Thank you again. The one at AJS Gems is fascinating to look at, but just a bit beyond my budget...

I'm thinking that the sapphire at Benny's Gems may be a reflected double, not a true one.

Now, to continue the sequence, orange sapphire:

 

[Crimson]

Thank you again. The one at AJS Gems is fascinating to look at, but just a bit beyond my budget...

I'm thinking that the sapphire at Benny's Gems may be a reflected double, not a true one.

Now, to continue the sequence, orange sapphire:

Ooh, what a vibrant and energetic gem @Starstruck8. I get what you mean about the one at Benny’s - not clearly visible in the video. The price of the AJS stone is quite a bit higher than it was at the height of the pandemic.
On to Yellow!

 

[Autumn in New England]

@AudreyC That 12-ray ruby is insanely gorgeous... I don't think I've ever seen one "in person."

@Starstruck8 Also loving your 12-ray (is it black?) sapphire. I've always admired the one in your profile pic as well. I've also never seen an orange sapphire with such fine coloration. It's positively scrumptious.

Yes indeed, we're on to YELLOW.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Let's take a moment and honor our fallen comrade, Peter (@prs)... he will be greatly missed. Rest well, friend. Thinking of his wife and family today.

 

[Starstruck8]

@Starstruck8 Also loving your 12-ray (is it black?) sapphire.

Thank you. Yes, it's dark brown, almost black. It's Australian, from the central Queensland gem fields.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I woke up this mornimg thinking about Peter's wife
Its just all so sad

Anyway finally yellow

Not gem quality at all
But its fun
it sits on my kitchen window sill (one time it fell out the window and it took ages to find it in the 'wild' garden)

Anyway this is Kauri gum
the Kauri in a much revered tree of the native forest
Its a type of copal and can be used in jewlery
It was one of NZ's very first exports being used, as anoung other things furniture varnish and was exported to Britain (and the US) in the 1840s where it became widely used

One day i think i must buy a pendent made out of Kauri gum - just not a touristy one

 

[Crimson]

I woke up this mornimg thinking about Peter's wife
Its just all so sad

Anyway finally yellow

Not gem quality at all
But its fun
it sits on my kitchen window sill (one time it fell out the window and it took ages to find it in the 'wild' garden)

Anyway this is Kauri gum
the Kauri in a much revered tree of the native forest
Its a type of copal and can be used in jewlery
It was one of NZ's very first exports being used, as anoung other things furniture varnish and was exported to Britain (and the US) in the 1840s where it became widely used

One day i think i must buy a pendent made out of Kauri gum - just not a touristy one

Yes, so sad. Thanks for cheering me up with this beautiful kauri @Daisys and Diamonds. It reminds me of a boiled sweet, or maybe caramel or toffee. It also looks like fine honey jadeite. Love the organic look.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Next up green
King Harold from Shrek

 

[Autumn in New England]

@Starstruck8 I particularly love that shade of star sapphire... it's sort of an ebony, and reminds me of golden sheen obsidian, which I also love.

@Daisys and Diamonds I can honestly say I've never heard of Kauri! This has to be the most interesting material posted yet. Thank you for the education and smile, my friend.

I've been so sick over @prs' passing. I hadn't yet experienced the loss of anyone I interacted with on this site, and I'm not much of a social media person. Sometimes we speak with the folks here more often than our own friends. I guess being here sometimes feels like an escape from some of the more sad realities of life, and so this was a shock to the system. He was just chatting with us... it was so sudden. I'm grieving for his beloved wife and family. I wish she would join us one day.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I@Starstruck8 I particularly love that shade of star sapphire... it's sort of an ebony, and reminds me of golden sheen obsidian, which I also love.

@Daisys and Diamonds I can honestly say I've never heard of Kauri! This has to be the most interesting material posted yet. Thank you for the education and smile, my friend.

I've been so sick over @prs' passing. I hadn't yet experienced the loss of anyone I interacted with on this site, and I'm not much of a social media person. Sometimes we speak with the folks here more often than our own friends. I guess being here sometimes feels like an escape from some of the more sad realities of life, and so this was a shock to the system. He was just chatting with us... it was so sudden. I'm grieving for his beloved wife and family. I wish she would join us one day.

Its sad when anyone dies, its hard to explain to others how you can feel a loss of someone we never met, but our friends from the internet are there almost every day, its a real loss, its sad and it makes me wish (in a safe way of course) we all knew each other in face to face life

Seeing as green is next ...
The most fanouse tree in NZ is a Kauri

Tāne Mahuta - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A very short read on Kauri gum

Kauri Gum Mining | Engineering New Zealand

Kauri trees (Agathis australis) are unique to New Zealand and have grown here for more than 150 million years. Kauri grew throughout New Zealand prior to the Ice Age, but with this shift in climate their growth became restricted to the warmer, sub-tropical, northern regions of the country. Over...

www.engineeringnz.org

Of course it makes lovelly furniture but nobody cuts then down any more

 

[Crimson]

@Autumn in New England and @Daisys and Diamonds, I had the same feeling of loss. It was out of the blue. If it is like that for us, imagine what it was like for his loved ones
In honour of Peter, I post jade, the stone of Heaven. In ancient China, nephrite discs were used to represent the connection between heaven and earth.
Butterfiles (with the green jadeite here) have a paradoxical meaning in Chinese culture. They represent happiness and longevity but also the brevity of life and then rebirth and immortality . The background for these pieces is a scarf with a phoenix print.

 

[Autumn in New England]

@Daisys and Diamonds Wow, wow, wow! That trunk is massive. It reminds me of the sequoias and redwoods we have in the northwest US. I am a major tree-hugger, so again, thanks for making me smile. What you said about losing our "online friends" is so true.

 

[Autumn in New England]

@AudreyC This is just the loveliest way to honor @prs, my friend. So much meaning behind the nephrite disc, butterflies, and phoenix. Thank you for sharing!! I'm sure our site is the last thing on Mrs. prs' mind right now, but maybe she'll come across your post eventually and it will bring her comfort. Sending our most heartfelt and sincerest condolences to the family!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Autumn in New England and @Daisys and Diamonds, I had the same feeling of loss. It was out of the blue. If it is like that for us, imagine what it was like for his loved ones
In honour of Peter, I post jade, the stone of Heaven. In ancient China, nephrite discs were used to represent the connection between heaven and earth.
Butterfiles (with the green jadeite here) have a paradoxical meaning in Chinese culture. They represent happiness and longevity but also the brevity of life and then rebirth and immortality . The background for these pieces is a scarf with a phoenix print.

These are beautiful and well worth the wait
so glowy
And a lovelly tribute too

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I found some blue i had 'forgotten' about in the drawer
Another project
sigh
And they are actually blue, all be it a fairly dark blue

Not my best value for money moment
And no, i never planned a braclete, i just have to work out how to incorporate them into a strand of pearls without damaging the pearls (or perhaps i just buy extra pearls )

 

[Autumn in New England]

I love how you have all of these great forgotten pieces stashed away, @Daisys and Diamonds!

PURPLE is next, y'all!

 

[Starstruck8]

I've been so sick over @prs' passing. I hadn't yet experienced the loss of anyone I interacted with on this site, and I'm not much of a social media person. Sometimes we speak with the folks here more often than our own friends. I guess being here sometimes feels like an escape from some of the more sad realities of life, and so this was a shock to the system. He was just chatting with us... it was so sudden. I'm grieving for his beloved wife and family. I wish she would join us one day.

Thank you for posting this. It expresses my feelings exactly. As a relative newbie and an infrequent poster, I did not think it appropriate to comment in the memorial thread. But still, the news was a shock. Just a few weeks ago, he posted the fabulous and unique rhodochrosite ring he had had made for his wife. There was not the slightest sign that anything was wrong. And now,,, he is no longer with us. What a loss! You can repeat the usual (and true) phrases: carpe diem, or James 4:14: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. But it doesn't help.

Now for purple. Purple sapphire:

 

[Crimson]

Its sad when anyone dies, its hard to explain to others how you can feel a loss of someone we never met, but our friends from the internet are there almost every day, its a real loss, its sad and it makes me wish (in a safe way of course) we all knew each other in face to face life

Seeing as green is next ...
The most fanouse tree in NZ is a Kauri

Tāne Mahuta - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A very short read on Kauri gum

Kauri Gum Mining | Engineering New Zealand

Kauri trees (Agathis australis) are unique to New Zealand and have grown here for more than 150 million years. Kauri grew throughout New Zealand prior to the Ice Age, but with this shift in climate their growth became restricted to the warmer, sub-tropical, northern regions of the country. Over...

www.engineeringnz.org

Of course it makes lovelly furniture but nobody cuts then down any more N

Its sad when anyone dies, its hard to explain to others how you can feel a loss of someone we never met, but our friends from the internet are there almost every day, its a real loss, its sad and it makes me wish (in a safe way of course) we all knew each other in face to face life

Seeing as green is next ...
The most fanouse tree in NZ is a Kauri

Tāne Mahuta - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A very short read on Kauri gum

Kauri Gum Mining | Engineering New Zealand

Kauri trees (Agathis australis) are unique to New Zealand and have grown here for more than 150 million years. Kauri grew throughout New Zealand prior to the Ice Age, but with this shift in climate their growth became restricted to the warmer, sub-tropical, northern regions of the country. Over...

www.engineeringnz.org

Of course it makes lovelly furniture but nobody cuts then down any more

I love trees - I want to hug a Kauri! Thanks for sharing this, @Daisys and Diamonds. You are a great ambassador for New Zealand.

 

[Crimson]

I love how you have all of these great forgotten pieces stashed away, @Daisys and Diamonds!

PURPLE is next, y'all!

@Autumn in New England, I agree. I think @daisys and Diamonds’ house must be like a cornucopia. I can’t wait to see her creations. I tried setting/making my own jewellery - didn’t turn out so well
PINK is next!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Such beautiful sentiment, @Starstruck8. Thank you for sharing that. I think maybe this is a good time to tell you what a great addition you've become to our forum... and @AudreyC. @Daisys and Diamonds has is a seasoned veteran at this point! Hugs to all.

Now, what a perfectly saturated purple sapphire... good lawd!! It has the beauty of a top quality tanzanite, but with the durability and value of a sapphire.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Autumn in New England, I agree. I think @daisys and Diamonds’ house must be like a cornucopia. I can’t wait to see her creations. I tried setting/making my own jewellery - didn’t turn out so well
PINK is next!

Thank you
You are too kind Audrey
really its more a cobbled together collection of modest inherited (well made) sentimental pieces, ad-hock intrrnet auction finds and over priced mall jewler wimsey


But
i really have not spent wisely in the not too distant past and im really on a buying ban until i make what i have wearable
I already had a big cull when gold prices first went high a wee while back

And now Bruce Springsteen is announcing tour dates tomorrow and my piggy bank is bone dry so i might have to put the breaks on anymore sparky works for a while
perhaps a good time to learn to knott

No way am i getting on a plane to go to America -(as much as i would like to) covid is not finished with us - i have a young English friend who got stranded in NJ with covid and then had an unrelated medical incident (very bad gall bladder trouble) and could not fly home for mon and lost her job because how long is too long to hold a job open for ?

I will buy the concerts as offical downloads and hope he comes back down here ...but not till after ive built up my emergency Bruce fund again

So i must be happy with i have
Which is getting eaiser with thread like this

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Back to pink already
The Queen of Pink (although in my day my barbies had orange dresses and platform shoes)




Mind you the real Queen could give Barbie a run for her punk money although the new 'Queen-mobile' isnt pink

 

[Crimson]

Back to pink already
The Queen of Pink (although in my day my barbies had orange dresses and platform shoes)




Mind you the real Queen could give Barbie a run for her punk money although the new 'Queen-mobile' isnt pink

At the Chelsea Flower show! Wish we could have got a closer view of her brooch in the photos and video clips.

 

[Crimson]

Thank you
You are too kind Audrey
really its more a cobbled together collection of modest inherited (well made) sentimental pieces, ad-hock intrrnet auction finds and over priced mall jewler wimsey


But
i really have not spent wisely in the not too distant past and im really on a buying ban until i make what i have wearable
I already had a big cull when gold prices first went high a wee while back

And now Bruce Springsteen is announcing tour dates tomorrow and my piggy bank is bone dry so i might have to put the breaks on anymore sparky works for a while
perhaps a good time to learn to knott

No way am i getting on a plane to go to America -(as much as i would like to) covid is not finished with us - i have a young English friend who got stranded in NJ with covid and then had an unrelated medical incident (very bad gall bladder trouble) and could not fly home for mon and lost her job because how long is too long to hold a job open for ?

I will buy the concerts as offical downloads and hope he comes back down here ...but not till after ive built up my emergency Bruce fund again

So i must be happy with i have
Which is getting eaiser with thread like this

I think a collection like that is like a time machine - each holds different memories. I don’t know much about Bruce Springsteen despite having lived in the US for over 4 years! I wonder what you think of this? He is not The Boss but he won!

 

[Niel]

I was ready to post a picture of all my gems as it would have covered every color…. Except pink
If only that ring DK is making me was finished