couple of questionable stones.

[Greglz86]

hey guys. The other week managed to get out for half a day so we made q quick trip up to grabben gullen.
We did ok, We got a Couple of smaller sapphires and garnets but a few are a little questionable. As in im not sure if i have something good or a bit of pretty quartz/glass.
The photos don't do it much justice but no 1 and 2 look like sapphires to me but with no 1's shape it kind of looks like quartz as well]. No 3 looks like a garnet however the color is a lot lighter than the pink-blood red ones i have been getting and depending on what angle you hold it it can look a bit blueish.
I will look into trying a scratch test in the next few days just thought id share the find and get an opinion off the PA gem experts
I should probably add that all stones were found in the heavies after i sieved and centered them.

cheers guys. Greg

 

[Guest]

Zircons get my vote Greg.

 

[Lefty]

Zircons get my vote Greg.

Seconded - that's what they look like to me.

 

[Heatho]

First 2 are Sapphs Greg and the third is a nice Zircon I think. You can tell the first one is a Sapph by the part hexagonal shape of the stone and the pattern in it following the outside shape it's a tough call though, 2nd one has a slight Blue colour on the top of it.

Farout, I had to be different didn't I fellas. :8

 

[Lefty]

Almost went sapphire on the second one but that first has a colour that made me think of zircon. Bit hard to tell if it's hexagonal or not since the shape isn't complete.

But now you've got me second guessing myself on the second - I reckon it might be a sapphire

 

[Lefty]

Pretty sure they are gemstones of some type - not glass.

 

[Lefty]

Quartz is not heavy either.

 

[WalnLiz]

Listen to Heatho's answer Greg. He's right on the money.

 

[Lefty]

Listen to Heatho's answer Greg. He's right on the money.

Number 1 would be about the palest sapphire I've ever seen if that's what it is. Perhaps they come in different hues down that way?

 

[Heatho]

Listen to Heatho's answer Greg. He's right on the money.

Number 1 would be about the palest sapphire I've ever seen if that's what it is. Perhaps they come in different hues down that way?

Not sure about only down our way Lefty, I have a few in the collection from Inverell like those, 1 even has a "g" shaped sort picture in it with a similar pattern, I'll post a pic tomorrow. Greg's is much lighter though, it's extremely light coloured for a Sapphire. It's the faint "Sergeant Stripes" in the right corner that give it away as a sapphire to me.

 

[Lefty]

You've got better eyes than me Heatho, I can't really see any striping

Think you might be right tho, the more I look at it the more the shape looks like it - but so very, very pale. I've never found one that pale myself.

Cheers

 

[Lefty]

Got that "stepping down" surface as well. But I have seen that on zircons before too.

 

[Heatho]

Got that "stepping down" surface as well.

Yeah for sure mate, that was another giveaway for me also. It's an interesting stone.

 

[Greglz86]

Thanks guys. Sorry for the late reply. I guess it pays to bring home everything thats questionable and not just flick it back in the creek.
still seems i have a bit to learn in terms of identifying gems and their different shapes/colours.
in the same hole i got some sapphires that were so dark they look like spinel until held to the sun.
Makes me think of how many i may have lost or left behind in the past :/

 

[Diggertom]

That's it Greg,

I pick everything up, all 3 of those are gems, but even glass can be pretty to look at, especially the older glass with one of a time colours!

Number 2 also shows the sapphire blue near the top.

Tom

 

[Greglz86]

It is a little blue however the photo makes it look alot more blue than when i hold it in front of me.
the zircon looks alot more redish in the photo as well.

 

[Greglz86]

I thought glass may have been a possibility because i was finding a fair bit of it. The creek was low and it seems that people like to throw empty bottles into it . Found the first bit by scrapping my fingers along it while it was stuck in the classifier.
I recomend gloves to go fossicking there now.

 

[Heatho]

I thought glass may have been a possibility because i was finding a fair bit of it. The creek was low and it seems that people like to throw empty bottles into it . Found the first bit by scrapping my fingers along it while it was stuck in the classifier.
I recomend gloves to go fossicking there now.

Was that GG? A lot of glass near the bridge, I'm amazed no one has cut themselves really badly as I've found heaps of glass it there also.

 

[Greglz86]

Yeah i think its from the occasional idiot chucking an empty bottle of two.
alot of people go through their now. I had one fella and his family from crookwell pull up to try there luck. They had no idea what to look for but werent affraid to ask if i could show them what they looked like. Just wish i had better examples lol.
The one that was speaking to me took a fancy to the wal banker. He was a metal fabricator and couldnt give a stuff about the fossicking but was asking how much its worth. How he could mass produce it and if theirs a big market for them.
Told him that im pretty sure wal has a patent on his invention