show and tell

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Amber l brought with bugs in it.l brought it off the internet ,l hope you like it
1469838178_win_20160730_09_27_05_pro.jpg
 
Very nice amber and a very very nice amethyst specimen, lovely colour.

One thing I'd like to ask is can you please either keep all these different "show and tell" threads all in 1 thread from now on or put them in the dedicated "Gemstone & mineral show n tell" thread at the top of the gemstone section page.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1685&p=57

It will make it easier for members to search and make it easier for you to keep a reference of you own collection and pictures.

Thanks. :)
 
Very nice pieces of amber there LGH :)

The piece you bought at the garage sale might possibly be fluorite by the looks. Careful not to drop it, it breaks easily - I dropped a piece and broke it at a gem show :(
 
Little gem hunter said:
I brought this at a garage sale and the lady didn't know anything about it, so l was wondering if someone knows what type of gem it is ,thank you.https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/7955/1469838609_win_20160730_09_12_59_pro.jpg
Looks like a banded agate , sometimes dyed .
 
Little gem hunter said:
I brought this at a garage sale and the lady didn't know anything about it, so l was wondering if someone knows what type of gem it is ,thank you.https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/7955/1469838609_win_20160730_09_12_59_pro.jpg

nice bit of agate there :)
 
Looks like a banded agate , sometimes dyed

nice bit of agate there smile

That's why they rant about photo ID on some forums - it can be very difficult to determine by looking at a photo :) . LGH, maybe get mum or dad to try and put a tiny scratch in a place where it won't show with an ordinary nail - fluorite will not be difficult to scratch. If it's an agate it will be very much harder. It does look like the banded fluorite I have seen - you won't believe how many different colours fluorite can come in :eek: - but it could be agate or something else as well.

I have a piece of fluorite banded in green and purple that is so pretty I've always thought about cabbing it - but you would probably only put it on a display shelf, it's a bit soft for jewellery really.
 
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think your talking about this stuff lefty . Knew I had a piece somewhere . I'm pretty sure that other stuff is agate , yet testing is the way . I think scratch testing is pretty average though , better ways to go about things but if that's all that's available , then ...
 
Yep, that looks like fluorite Barney. Thing is, it's highly variable-looking stuff. I've seen it everything from monochrome crystals to multi-coloured massive bits that look like banded agate. Scratch testing is a pretty primitive - but there is a vast difference between the hardness of agate and fluorite. I would use agate as a cabochoned stone for setting, I doubt I would bother with fluorite despite how nice it looks, it's so much softer it wouldn't stay nicely polished for very long.
 
Here's some banded fluorite...

f28b64c44a79a8d5f3f776be2056e083.jpg


148954_465xV.jpg


Fluorite%20slab_500x401.jpg


The top piece especially looks similar to LGH's piece. I have a piece myself somewhere. But as usual, it's very difficult to make a positive ID from a photo.

But do keep posting photos LGH, we can still make a guess based on things we've seen before :)
 
More fluorite here..

Rainbow-fluorite.jpg


Now this looks effective...

Purple_Banded_Fluorite_Oval_Pendant__94124.1463194847.190.285.jpg


As a pendent, it probably won't get bumped around too much. But I've seen fluorite set in rings and I can't help but think that it will inevitably end up scratched and/or chipped. Maybe if a setting was raised up around it to protect the stone from knocks.....
 
Thank you all for your replies, l love seeing all your photos of your gems. Well l went out and tried panning for the first time as my panning kit came in the mail, we went to Daylesfords twin bridges. Even though it was cold l had heaps of fun,l walked around the dry digging and then went to work panning for gems,l didn't find much but its a start.
I think there red zircon.
1470816554_win_20160810_16_08_51_pro.jpg
1470816672_win_20160810_16_01_46_pro.jpg

These crystals were found at castlemaine. my sisters teacher told her where to go to find them.
 

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