zircons gemstones

Anyone for a Zircon? Nice pics guys, they shine up nicely Col.

eureka wow said:

mine might be sapphire

Click to expand...

Nah it's a Zircon.

Hey Col,

How did you tumble them? Do you use a normal lapidary tumbler? What grits did you use? I presume since they're already waterworn they can go straight to very fine grit?

eureka now: zircons are really heavy. In my sieves they always end up sorting with the tin, with the spinel and sapphires around them.

the natural light seams to distort when I show it in the light looks great

whats heavier zircons or sapphires

Zircons.

I think zircons have beauty and fire ,and are under estimated these stones cut up simply superb ,and as for ruff show some smick colours with light through em ,love these little fellows ,and dare say I will go to tas and get me a TUB of these!

mines not as heavy

Totally agree Varts, way under estimated, great stones.

are they valuable and rare

eureka wow said:

are they valuable and rare

Click to expand...

Not really, they're pretty common and they're a bit too soft for some types of jewelry. As a result they're not hard wearing and not very sought after.

then mine must be a sapphire as its not as heavy and has a shiny complexion and distorted light through it

mfdes said:

Hey Col,

How did you tumble them? Do you use a normal lapidary tumbler? What grits did you use? I presume since they're already waterworn they can go straight to very fine grit?

eureka now: zircons are really heavy. In my sieves they always end up sorting with the tin, with the spinel and sapphires around them.

Click to expand...

Mate used my x-mas pressie Lortone 33B which is a normal tumbler used coarse 80 silicone carbide grit for three days just to knock off any rough bits then into a med/fine 220 grit for 7 days, then into Aluminum oxide pre polish for another 7 days then into polish which I let for 9 days. Didn't burnish but I might later on.

Cheers

Col

eureka wow said:

then mine must be a sapphire as its not as heavy and has a shiny complexion and distorted light through it

Click to expand...

It's a Zircon mate

Check out some of the stones in this post https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=921

Cheers

Col

eureka wow said:

whats heavier zircons or sapphires

Click to expand...

The specific gravity of sapphire is between 3.98 and 4.02
The specific gravity of Zircon is 4.6 and 4.7

Cheers

C&L

where can one find a cheap tumbler

It is not uncommon to find a ruby within the zircons, $50 and you can be sure with a diamond tester

charlie123 said:

where can one find a cheap tumbler

Click to expand...

Hey Charlie,

Try Gemcuts.com.au

Cheers

Col

mine could be a ruby

Dude, these guys know what they are looking at, lol. Where did you find it anyway?