u/slogginhog

Love this one, it's got clarity on the bottom, fully natural DT, and rainbows in the scepter end! About 3" long.

I know it's likely iron related but curious if anyone knows what type of iron oxide I'm looking at - zoom in closely and you'll see what looks almost like a hematite rosette - but yellow. Limonite? No idea here.

And the white balls inside are... Cristobalite IIRC - is that correct? I know about the Tyndall effect and what causes the "smoke" just would like to have the other minerals here correct. Thanks for any help!

Flawless tips on the main point, sidecar, and even the tabby tower - I love this piece!

Interesting fact - the "smoke" in these (visible in several pics) is caused by the Tyndall effect.

Elestial smoky amethsyt

Taraba state, Nigeria, 1.9 kilos

It's very dark smoky but you can see in the stills in the comments some vibrant purple amethyst where the elestial parts are. Amazing!

One problem - the seller told me there's a very good chance it has an enhydro - and I confirmed that online from the locale - the only problem is, how do I find it?!? It's so dark! I need a super bright flashlight and a lot of time I guess 😂

Of the stuff I picked up at the gem show. More to come later if I can stay awake long enough when I get home to post an ad 😂

This is amethyst and smoky, on milky quartz with interesting inclusions.

Chibuku mine, Zimbabwe Africa

Also got some Diana Maria fluorites, ultra HQ Columbian blue smoke quartz, Madagascar green fluorite, Moroccan Hematoid quartz, some amazing larger amethysts and agates on stands, Skulls, and more! Can't wait to show y'all 😊

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I used to be a shitty wire wrapper...

I'm still a shitty wire wrapper, but I used to be too.

Regardless, my wife loves these and still wears them ❤️

This style wrapping is a great way for beginners to start and learn. I got it pretty well down I think - the pair on the right was made while I was still learning and isn't as straight and tight as the tangies on the left I did more recently. You can see the bales improved too on the left pair vs the right. Super easy style to learn, and versatile, you can wrap a lot with it. I never really progressed past this stage though, and admire the work of better wire wrappers.

Anybody wanna show anything you've wrapped, beginner or more advanced? I'd love to see it! No judgement here on skill, as you can see I'm no master 😊 but I love to see the work of those who are!

This guy has a better collection than many museums and displays much of it for free in the Marriot hotel I visited in Savannah yesterday. Can't remember the dudes name who owns the collection, but some of y'all know I'm sure.

Found this beautiful, clean, nice quality beast of a spar log at HomeGoods yesterday on vacation. I liked that it's not one of those carved tower looking pieces you see everywhere, but still has a cool polished side so you can use it for a bookend or just back it against a wall, so I had to grab it. 8.3lbs! For $20 = $2.50/lb with tax. Cheaper than my local wholesale warehouse. Yet they had a small 5" carved spar bowl, maybe 3/4lb for the same price.

Here's the rundown if you want to hunt there: HomeGoods doesn't know shit about minerals or how to price them. But if you do, you can find some real steals sometimes. 90% of their crystals are overpriced for what they are. They'll have crappy quartz geode chunks for $25-$50 that are worth maybe $5. Most of their smaller amethyst cut bases are low quality and overpriced as well. Stay away from those, in general, unless you know the market value and how to judge quality and you can get lucky, especially on some larger ones, sometimes amethyst cathedrals although those are usually overpriced.

Their large banded Pakistan calcite pieces are usually the steals - huge pyramids, 8-13lb spheres and towers usually priced $25-$30. They have em when they have em and it's hit or miss, you just gotta check often, and as many locations as you can, the bigger the store the better. Check for damage/repairs though - they often get chipped in the store, or they got them because they've been entirely glued back together. Bring a UV if you can.

Hope this helps, happy hunting!

Love all the colors quartz can get from the same mineral/family of minerals in various states

Not sure if this is lithium or just another shade of iron coloring, but I had to have this piece when I saw it 😊

Can't bring em all, so for vacation I brought a nice little selection of some of my current favorite quartz. Congo hematite citrine, smoky, enhydro Brandberg, Himalayan clear, and an amazing smoky/amethyst/clear combo point I just got from a member here ❤️

For those particular about condition when it comes to their quartz points like I am - this one is truly amazing. Pretty much flawless tip as well as all sides, no noticable damage whatsoever.

Dauphiné habit with dendrites on the perfect Dauphiné face. Double terminated growth - although the smaller crystals at the base prevented the termination at the bottom from being complete, it's got 2 faces showing you it was growing that way.

Also includes a tiny moving enhydro bubble! (Possibly more than one) It's not a large enhydro, but it's there and shown in the shorter video that will be in the comments. Longer video of the whole piece will also be commented.

Ships from within US. PayPal, VenMo, or Cashapp accepted - and you're welcome to use the goods and services protection with PayPal or VenMo although it is not included in the price so the small 3.5% charge will be added (less than $2).

$50 plus shipping, DM if interested 😊

Two pretty cool skulls with different qualities - if you've ever wanted a larger one for cheap, the bigger is 730 grams and 4.25" chin to dome for only $40. It would run more like $70-$75 if it were perfect, but the maker has filled in a couple spots where there was material missing. It's a professional fill job and isn't going to come apart. Still looks cool overall.

The smaller one is very nice quality and carving work with no flaws that I can see. Don't have exact measurements now but I can get, for now you can compare size with his friend. It's around 2.25" minimum I would guess? $45 for this one.

They get along well and wouldn't mind going as a pair - if you get the pair, I'll take $10 off and you can get BOTH for $75! Easily over a kilo of skulls for a good price 😊

PayPal, VenMo, Cashapp accepted and youre welcome to use goods and services with PayPal or VenMo but the fee isn't factored into the low prices so you'd have to pay the small 3.5% fee for G&S. DM if interested!

Just got a shortwave light and re-discovering all my old specimens is a joy! 😁

All UV shots are under shortwave UVC 255nm. Although these also react and show the orange calcites and the green willemite under 365 longwave as well, they really show best under shortwave.

No piece shown is over $30, smaller pieces are $5, and I can build a small assortment of different pieces for $50 or less depending on how many you want.

This is an amazing locale if you want to get into UV reactive minerals, and no calcite in the world reacts like this stuff does under shortwave! The greens of the willemite are amazing and many pieces here also have the famous black, non-UV reactive franklinite.

Even if you don't have a shortwave light yet, like I didn't until recently, these pieces are still amazing under 365nm filtered longwave.

DM or respond for more info, close ups of any piece in particular, or shots of how it will look under 365.

PayPal, VenMo, Cashapp accepted and you are welcome to use goods and services with PayPal or VenMo for your protection - but I didn't build the fee for that into the low pricing so I'll have to add on the small 3.5% charge if you want to use G&S.

Lots of pieces available, circle any of interest for more info, pics, prices etc. - deals on multiple pieces

Venmo, PayPal, Cashapp accepted

Love this locale, and the first piece is my favorite - big milky phantom in the whole piece, then the little hematite phantom lines on that front baby crystal 🥰

I'm always looking for these, and they're getting harder to come by - found this one 4" x 3" x 3" and 500 grams!

Love the unique columnar crystals and the awesome UV reactivity on these. Anybody know exactly where they're mined? I know it's China but can't remember the specific locale...