New pendant &earing T.V. stone.

[colormyworld]

Has any body seen labradorite. I think it is similar to a stone they find in the pacific north west. The hardness is around 6 I have a very nice one of about 6cts. I think it comes in shades of red and orange and some green. I think there is a color shift/change. Anybody have any info? This is a pic of mine. Please excuse the dust specks from it jar padding.

 

[belle]

i have a labradorite ring, but it looks nothing like that. i will get a pic in the morning if you would like to see it.

here is some info on labradorite

and some good pics here

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 9/5/2005 10:31:38 PM
Author:colormyworld
Has any body seen labradorite. I think it is similar to a stone they find in the pacific north west.

Labradorite, sunstone and gem andesine (image) are all feldspar gems.
Individual members of the feldspar group are notoriously difficult to identify with certainty for lots of complex and boring reasons I won''t go into. The andesine, which has also been marketed as labradorite, is currently being found in both Africa and China. The color is gorgeous but it''s soft for a ringstone. Feldspar mineralogy is very complicated but the group yields many other gemstones including moonstone, amazonite, a labradorite with schiller also known as spectrolite, yellow facet-grade labradorite, orthoclase, etc.

Richard M.

 

[colormyworld]

Is the andesine they find in Aftica & China similar to what is found is found in the pacific north west? I would llike very much like to see a picture of your ring!

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[MINE!!]

OOOHhh. Richard_M those are nice!! I love the color!

 

[belle]

Date: 9/6/2005 1:34:20 AM
Author: Richard M.

Labradorite, sunstone and gem andesine (image) are all feldspar gems.
Individual members of the feldspar group are notoriously difficult to identify with certainty for lots of complex and boring reasons I won't go into. The andesine, which has also been marketed as labradorite, is currently being found in both Africa and China. The color is gorgeous but it's soft for a ringstone. Feldspar mineralogy is very complicated but the group yields many other gemstones including moonstone, amazonite, a labradorite with schiller also known as spectrolite, yellow facet-grade labradorite, orthoclase, etc.

Richard M.

thanks richard, for the information. you know we would love to hear about the 'complex and boring' details too!

hey colormyworld,
here's a pic of my ring (i am such a sucker for shiller)

 

[widget]

Belle...beautiful ring!

Colormyworld...I wonder if you and I have been watching the same TV vendor! I''ve been admiring that red "labradorite" for a while now and tried to look it up in my gem book, but found nothing remotely resembling your beauty, or the stunners posted by RichardM.

Too bad they''re too soft for rings. (I''m a sucker for red). Are these stones treated or enhanced in any way?

widget

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 9/6/2005 5:14:58 AM
Author: colormyworld
Is the andesine they find in Aftica & China similar to what is found is found in the pacific north west?

Probably but I haven''t actually inspected the "new" andesine. I posted the image for information only -- I don''t own any or sell it. The sunstone/labradorite found in Oregon appears to have some unique qualities though, including copper found in its composition. In the past MJO has posted nice images from his collection as have others whose names don''t come to mind immediately.

I''m rushed getting ready for an appointment now but later I''ll try to post more info on the andesine, said to come from the Congo, later.

Richard M.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 9/6/2005 10:09:51 AM
Author: widget
Colormyworld...I wonder if you and I have been watching the same TV vendor! I''ve been admiring that red ''labradorite'' for a while now and tried to look it up in my gem book, but found nothing remotely resembling your beauty, or the stunners posted by RichardM.
widget

Widget, your gem book may not be much help with feldspar gems. (We have the same TV vendor in my area, I believe). To quote gem expert Joel Arem: "...it may take years for a mineralogist simply to understand the complexities of the feldspar group, let alone contribute new data." As he further comments, pinning down exact feldspar species requires sophisticated optical and x-ray analysis.

The chemical/structural differences between feldspars are tiny yet significant. On top of that localized or marketing names confuse the issue further. The gems in the image I posted were offered by a French dealer at Tucson this year. He said they were from the Congo and the source is depleted. We have only his word for that of course. Scarcity usually drives prices up.

Yet I see lots of red "labradorites" being pitched on TV at relatively low prices. As you say, the quality doesn''t compare with the stones I posted. I have a hunch but no proof the source for stones on TV is China.

Certainly some of the finest (and very expensive!) faceted red sunstones from the Plush, OR area are comparable to the Congo gems although of slightly different color in my experience. I don''t know whether they''re chemically exactly the same though. Some of the OR "sunstones" have been identified as bytownite, others as labradorite, and not all have copper. Some of the plain yellow-to-whitish labradorite from that location facets into unexpectedly bright little sparklers. Some stones even exhibit dispersion.

Richard M.

 

[colormyworld]

Thank you all for your replys. Widget I did get this stone from a T.V. vendor but from an auction site they have . Up until about a year ago they had some really nice stones but now most of the stuff is really not worth looking at. So sad

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" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/33.gif" align="absMiddle border=0">Two and three years ago there were some really good deals . I made a mistake on the ct wgt. of my labradite it is 11.99cts Richard thank you for the info. Doug

 

[colormyworld]

That is a very beautiful ring Belle. From what I have seen of Labradorite. That is an execlent example!!!!!

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" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/21.gif" width="15 border=0">Thanks for posting the picture.

 

[belle]

thanks for the nice comments widget and colormyworld.

i don''t watch much television, so i didn''t realize that the ''t.v. stone'' title meant it could be purchased from the t.v.!

thanks for enlightening me.

so we are dealing with feldspar here....is it safe to call cmw''s stone adensine and mine spectrolite? would that distinguish them from other feldspars (and labradorites) and ''classify'' them in such a way that one would know what they looked like (within reason) without seeing them?

 

[colormyworld]

I did not know I was going to open such a complex can of worms. My head is still spinning

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" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/33.gif" align="absMiddle border=0"> I am by no means an expert but I will put my 2 (maybe only 1 1/2) cents. I think the stone you have is the first type of labradorite. Named for were it was first discovered in Labrador Canada.

 

[guardian]

I love the color of your red labradorite. Do you mind if I ask where you got it? I''d love to have one. Thanks!

 

[fatafelice]

Ooooh! I''m so glad to find some discussion of labradorite. I have been buying beads like the ones below for a necklace I want to make, but I didn''t know anything about those reds. Very interesting to read more about this stone and where it comes from! Thanks, guys!

I guess I''m a sucker for shiller, too, Belle! I love your ring.

 

[belle]

thanks fatafelice!
what are your thoughts on moonstone?

i would love to see your necklace when it''s done

 

[colormyworld]

Belle, I thought I would chime in and say that I regret not getting some nice moonstone when I had a chance. I did not think much of it at the time but I have come to appreciate it. That floating soft blue glow is really nice.

 

[belle]

ooooohhhh.....''soft floating blue glow'' ...i like that description! it almost captures the essence of ''that something'' that i am so in love with about moonstones.

nice.

sorry to hear you didn''t get any though

 

[valeria101]

''TV stone'' !?

this is TV stone ... literally.

The weirdest collection of unusual optics... (described rather well on this one page).


Just for the sake of posting something related to the initial sibject after all

... That is quite a piece you''ve got! I''ve seen these new red stones on offer for quite a while, but only few large ones. And those that are still around are presented with quite some amount of pride by reputable sellers; among these Pala International - take a look if you wish.

 

[colormyworld]

Thank you Val. I was pretty happy when I won that auction. they had just started selling it as sunstone but I think they had to start calling it something else. So then they called it red labradorite. The site is also on the T.V. I wish I could get a good picture of it. I don''t know what to do with it yet. One idea I had is on a black velvet ribbon as a chocker. Does that sound out dated? To me the stone looks stop light red.

 

[colormyworld]

I have never heard (saw) that before. That is so cool. Thanks for the info.

 

[louisesam]

Date: 9/12/2005 9:05:01 PM
Author: colormyworld
I have never heard (saw) that before. That is so cool. Thanks for the info.

ditto that.

 

[MissAva]

Oh very spiffy info!