Rock Hound Needed

I'd say it was quartz. and I'd add: rock, rock hound, rockhound, to the tags.

Roy, are there any other terms for those obelisk-shaped facets?

sio2,silicon dioxide,inclusion

i may be able to help with identification, although it can be difficult from just a photo. There are a bunch of diagnostic properties that are used to identify minerals including color,luster,density,taste, reaction to acid (calcite), cleavage (no of planes; angle between them),crystal shape/form,taste (halite),hardness,streak (color of powder). I have to lecture on minerals and rocks later this afternoon.

hexagonal, pyramidal, rhombohedra, transparent, translucent

I just bought 2 Smithsonian books: one on gemstones and one on rocks and minerals. I was a rockhound as a teenager and want to re-learn and find out more about this field of study :) I'm a perpetual student!

Jim, I got the books (small pocket field guides) used through Amazon and only paid a few dollars for each and they are "like new". Really nice books for referencing.

Yes I could probably work out some of the identifications from books...

looks like plain old quartz to me. or quartz crystals. you could mention the facet type.

you might get sales from amethyst, it holds magical properties. ideally though i'm not sure if the rock itself would sell. or if you can set them up in a fantasy still life.

---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Jim, I'm glad to try and help identify any rocks you have :) But yes, these little Smithsonian books are great for keywords (that someone looking for specific rocks or minerals might know, but are not common, every day words). There is a full page description for each rock, mineral or gemstone...and in full color on nice shiny stock paper. The pictures are really great. I'm really having fun educating myself :)

I have some amethyst, maybe I'll do that next. And then stuff it with all sorts of New-Age-y keywords. Yes I'm kidding.

The interesting part to me is the focus stacking. To get the extreme depth of field in this small section of quartz I stacked 10 images. I've sold some sea shell photos, maybe rocks and crystals will do something.

Use the new-age-y keywords. No I am not kidding! The photography side of things might interest you, but to target the most amount of buyers, include info and keywords that the science type rock hounds AND the new-agers would use.

So things like clear quartz cluster, meditation, crystal healing, metaphysical - and google 'metaphysical properties of rocks and crystals' for other ideas. No point missing out on a huge potential customer base IMO.

Prism, if that wasn't mentioned.

its rose quartz and its medicinal and has energy.

I have to disagree - it is not rose quartz. Rose quartz has a distinct pink color, which this does not.

I agree with you, Steven, it is "colorless" quartz. I don't see a pink cast at all.

The color isn't quite 'true', I tweaked it a bit. The actual specimen has more of a yellowish cast, and I adjusted things to bring out some other colors. Not hugely, but enough to make it hard for experts to identify, sorry. It isn't rose quartz, I have some of that too.

Michelle, I think you're right, I'll toss in a few of those keywords. It's not keyword spamming, because people actually associate 'meditation' and 'inner peace' with crystals.

Quartz cluster. I am a crystal healer. Quartz crystals are the most powerful energy amplifier on the planet because of its unique helical spiral crystalline form. Quartz points have different facet shapes. In healing, quartz crystal stimulates the immune system and brings the body back into balance. You could use any of those keywords. Good luck. Let me know if you want more information. :)

Interesting because I have now have a number of crystal specimens that might produce good photos and I didn't realize they had all these associations for people. Finding the really interesting/beautiful spots, experimenting with lighting, and post-processing a stack of multiple images is a bit of work, but I like the results so I'll do at least a couple more. They're not going anywhere so it can be a long-term project.


Since I'm going extreme macro - does anyone have a suggestion for getting a crystal specimen really, really clean - removing every little speck from the facets and crevices? I tried a brief soak with spray cleaner, brushed it a bit and rinsed it, but that didn't quite do it. On the other hand I can't use something that might etch the surface.

How about this one? It's 2" tall, perfectly clear, no color. Is it quartz?

looks like salt. what's it taste like?

each rock has its own crystal shape


http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-calcite/490775334 looks like calcite.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&biw=1490&bih=697&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mineral+identification+transparent&oq=mineral+identification+transparent&gs_l=img.3...5727.7602.0.7921.12.11.0.0.0.0.130.920.3j6.9.0....0...1c.1.64.img..3.2.208.ELpuRX6rSOY

this should narrow down the clear ones.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

No it's not quartz. A bit hard to tell from the photo but I'm guessing either halite (also known as stock salt), or calcite. If calcite it may be what is called iceland spar. How do you tell them apart. The easiest way is taste - halite is rock salt so it would taste salty. Are the faces at 90° or are they closer to 60°/120°. The former would again be halite; the later would be calcite. if it is iceland spar you should be able to see a double image through he crystal (put it on a piece of paper with some writing on it. Iceland spar was used as bomb sights in WWII.

The exterior faces and interior planes are 60/120, no taste, optically clear - depending on the orientation, I see a very clear double image through it. So, I conclude it's calcite.

Not really satisfied with that photo, I'm reshooting in another orientation.

Thanks. guys. I have some others that may be more of a challenge.

I'll go with halite as the face looks a little concave, which is mentioned as one of the crystal's qualities. Does it taste salty?

edited: I think we were typing at the same time. If there's no taste, definitely not halite.

This still looks like quartz to me. Hard to tell from a picture. It could be cut to that size and shape?It looks to have some beautiful inclusions. :) Be careful using cleaner or water with some crystals...some will actually dissolve in water. (Example: Flourite.) Quartz will not dissolve in water. If it is halite it may dissolve or go cloudy after using water. Check for saltiness... :)

Jim - your observations indicate that it is calcite. Additional you can check their hardness - quartz has a hardness of 7; calcite has a hardness of 3.

Steven, I know hardness can be measure with a specialized gauge, which I don't currently have; I also think it can be roughly determined by what other known materials can scratch the one in question.

In case anyone is interested, I've replaced the photo with a better one that I think makes the geometry more clear.

I stand corrected :-) sure looked pink from where I was sitting .

..............

Pamela, if it looks distinctly pink that might mean your monitor isn't calibrated, or alternatively it's calibrated but you're using IE, which doesn't support monitor calibration. And things get worse if you have a newer 'high gamut' monitor. Is one of those scenarios the case?

Jim - in geology we don't use a specific gauge - you can get sets of pins with minerals of specific hardness (from 1-9; diamond is 10 MOHs scale of hardness.). However we use common things to approximate hardness - if I remember correctly a fingernail is 2.5, Penny is about 3.5, knife is 4-5, glass is around 4-5, and he then quartz is 7. If you really want to you can scratch samples discreetly.

A couple more every day things to measure hardness: quartz itself is 7, a coin such as a dime is 3, a knife blade such as Swiss Army knife or Leatherman tool is 5.5

I'll try some scratch tests tomorrow.

I can scratch it with a finger nail. So I'm going with calcite.

Here's another.


This one looks like calcite too, but with color. The angles are 60/120 and I see a double image through it. Hope that's right.

Probably is, but hard to tell from photo.