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August 2002
It’s been a wonderful summer, and we
have received a few small lots of new and unusual specimens to offer you!
 First of all, we were delighted to procure a lot of botryoidal hematite from
Iroud, Morocco.
Each piece has a layer of bubbly gray hematite on a red iron-rich matrix. We
have several pieces up to 3" by 2" for $24, plus one piece 6" by
5" with botryoidal hematite and light red, iron-stained drusy calcite
crystals for $45 and another piece 5" by 4" for $50.
A fast-selling item for us as recent shows
are the amethyst stalactite pendants shown in the scan to the right. These are
made in Brazil by slicing and polishing amethyst stalactites, then gluing on a
sterling silver bail. Each pendant has agate in the center with amethyst
crystals jutting outwardly like rays from the Sun. A few years ago, we were
paying the same price for just the slice alone, but now they are ready to wear,
and uniquely beautiful! We have pendants
about 1" in diameter for $26, pendants up to 1½" in diameter for $32,
and dual stalactite pieces like in the scan, $38
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Another hot item has been new carved gemstone roses, made in China, as seen
above. Each batch we receive has different stones– the latest are about
1¾" in diameter for $12, and are available in Burmese jade, rose quartz,
green aventurine (pictured above), serpentine (aka "New Jade"), Honey
Jade, and red aventurine. If you decide to order, please specify a second or
third choice in case we run out. One of the major high-end chain department
stores recently offered these carvings in dyed red coral with a sterling silver
chain (on sale!) for $64, with a regular price of $98 after the sale. These
would make great gifts!
 We also recently obtained a small lot of
an amazing, rare petrified fern from Araguaina,
Brazil. The species name is Tietea Singularis and they are believed to be
of Permian age. We have polished pieces and bookends showing the full beauty of
the multicolor pieces– check the Web for photos. On all these pieces, the
mineral replacement is so complete that you can see what appears to be the
cell-like structure of the plant– remarkable!
 We have two bookends sets, one
smaller set
with each piece about 4½" high and 3½" across for $54 (above right),
and one larger set about 6" high and 5" wide for $135 (right) The
larger set has large knothole-like holes on each piece, perhaps where the palm
frond went through it.
We also have a thin polished slab about 8" high and 7½" across for
$120, including a plastic
stand, seen to the right
A thicker slab about 1½" thick, 10" wide, and 6" high, cut
flat on the bottom so it stand up nicely, for $95, seen to the
right
A similar thick slab about 1½" thick, 9" across, and 5" high
for $80, seen to the right
And a smaller piece cut and polished flat on the front and bottom but still
showing the rough outer structure, about 3" thick, over 5" across, and
4" high, for $72, seen to the right
and below
We also received a few small pieces of sphaerocobaltite, also from the
Kakanda Mine, D.R.C. Because of the rarity of this mineral, even small pieces
are expensive. We have a couple of matrix pieces about 1" by 1" with
small blebs of cranberry-colored sphaerocobaltite on them for $25.
A collector brought us some wonderful
turquoise-blue chunks of Brucite [Mg(OH)2] in slag from a
historic mill site in Inyo County, California. These formed in the kiln as a
result of the processing of mineral salts from a nearby dry lake. We have
fist-size chunks up to about 3.5" by 2.5" for $18.
We also have more Okenite [Ca10Si18O46C18H2O],
our January 1998 featured mineral. These are the soft white puffball crystal
groups people routinely think is mold or some other strange growth! We have them
on a basalt matrix from India in Deluxe-size pieces up to 4" by 3" for
$22.50 and Junior size pieces up to 2" by 2" for $10.
We still have the small native iron pieces from the famous locality on
Disko Island, Greenland. Since most native iron found is in the form of meteorites,
these pieces are often called
Terrestrial iron in order to differentiate them. These are about 15mm in size,
and have oxidized to the rusty red-brown color we might expect to see, but if we
were to polish off the oxidation, we would see the silver-white native metal
underneath. The pieces are $3.50 each or 2 for $6
AMMONITE FOSSILS REPLACED BY PYRITE FROM MICHAILOV, RUSSIA We
just received a new batch of these beauties– the inside has been cut and
polished to show off the shiny pyrite and some of the details of the shell.
These pieces are up to 1" high and ¾" wide. Typical pieces are $12
each and show a good amount of detail– the best of the lot are $18. These also
look wonderful as pendants, and Cheryl can set one in one of her fabulous wire
designs for $35 more.
We have accumulated a nice set of Rocks & Minerals magazines-- all
18 bi-monthly issues covering January-February 1996 through November-December
1998. Lots of great articles and photos for just $30 plus shipping. Also, we
have obtained a new short/long wave UV lamp,
and
would
like to sell our previous lamp, which is shortwave only. We've had it for
several years, but it is in like-new condition. It's a powerful, hand-held
model, very nice. The list price is over $220, and we'll sell it for $150 plus
shipping. Call or Email if you need more details.
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