⭐ Gemstone & Mineral Show n Tell

[Gilly47]

well done Mr Fox, I can only Hope, Wish, Fight for a stone such as you have.

currently scratching around the sapphire rubyvale area scratching for some colour,

got a 51 carat bomb being skin polished ATM, will be lookin for a carver shortly to highlite the fish shape of the stone

the stone covers a 1 dollar coin

ray

 

[foxmyister]

Thanks for that Dihusky l we have lots to learn regards what we find, so are not going to be in any hurry with them.. Cheers Michael

 

[foxmyister]

Thanks Gilly. Must of had my name on them because they just dropped from the side of me diggings and fell at my feet.... Have Never found anything like these ever.. But we are beginners to this so lots more hopefully like them to find maybe... And yes your bomb if that's what it is doe's have a fish like appearance.. Will be cool to see finished..

 

[Sandbagger]

I've been pulling out lots of beautiful little garnets/red zircons in my pan while panning for gold. They are the size of large grains of sand and probably worthless, but I find them fascinating and beautiful. Today, I pulled out a blue one. It's tiny, well water worn and stunning! Close up with a macro lens and lit to reveal the inclusion inside it's transparent body. Gorgeous!

 

[NStone]

Thats cool...hopefully you can only hope there is bigger ones about.

 

[NStone]

Wow those bomb...are really great bombs!! Guessing they would of loved to take those off your hands!
Look like beautiful pretty clear sapphires to me. :inlove:

Here one that I recently found out of a bag of wash my father picked up in Ruby Vale for me. Not perfect but beautiful all the same. 27ct

 

[Wally69]

Nice finds and photos guys

........... I am also guilty of spending countless hours admiring the macro beauty of the glittering items I bring home.

 

[Heatho]

Interesting little sapphire there Sandbagger.

 

[Sandbagger]

Interesting little sapphire there Sandbagger.

You reckon it's a sapphire? Found in Murrumbidgee river.

Baz.

 

[Heatho]

Interesting little sapphire there Sandbagger.

You reckon it's a sapphire? Found in Murrumbidgee river.

Baz.

Yeah, certainly looks like one to me. It could be blue spinel but most likely a sapphire though.

I found this sapphire deposit on minview, which drains into the Murrumbidgee.

 

[NStone]

A stunning Zircon I found from Rubyvale.

 

[Sodabowski]

This one could do with some facets

 

[Heatho]

A stunning Zircon I found from Rubyvale.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/15102/1566941618_img_0023.jpg

Those reddish zircons really do cut into great looking gems, nice find.

 

[Splinter]

Long weekend in the creek at Billabong Blue, taking advantage of the dry to access some wash that is usually well under the water table. Approx 11 ct. Was getting crumbs for two days, then out of nowhere it came. Was a happy camper.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Time for a party Splinter. :Y:

Cheers

Doug

 

[Sodabowski]

Time for faceting!

 

[Pat Hogen]

I would like to see down the teal axis and would probably choose this design, it comes out nice and clean and bright - http://www.facetdiagrams.org/database/files/pc04133.html

 

[Dihusky]

Looks a lovely piece Splinter, depending on the overall shape of the stone, Pat's recommendation would produce a beautiful stone once the pavilion facets are adjusted for Sapphire, should end up with a 3 - 4ct stone once cut.

 

[Splinter]

Yes definitely time for a "party" hahaha then the faceting. Unfortunately I think the blue when you look through the C axis is a little on the dark side and takes a lot of light out of the yellow, so may need to be trimmed down a bit. Looking to get it professionally cut, as I have not started cutting yet (have been looking around for a faceting machine though). Thinking of sending it to Doug Menadue as he seems reputable and am willing to pay for a great cut on my first good find and peace of mind that I will not get a piece of glass given back to me. I very much like the cut you posted Pat and if I got a 3 ct cut stone out of it I would be very happy, thanks for the estimate Dihusky! If I do end up getting it cut, I will post the result! Thanks for the advice and happy digging/faceting to all.

 

[Dihusky]

Interpreting a bicolour sapphire takes a good understanding of light paths in the stone once cut, what you see on one axis is only part of the story, the next part is the cross table and how it absorbs/transmits light. To fully understand it is better to discuss the stone with the person who is going to cut it so you see how the cutter is interpreting the stone.

If blue on the C axis and yellow on the cross table, light traveling from blue through the yellow cross table is likely to come out green, so blue on the crown is not necessarily the best orientation whereas blue at the base of the pavilion will produce a totally different effect. Sapphire is also always cut between 7 & 15 degrees off axis, so that can change things again.

If you don't want to use a cutter on this forum, and there are some top notch cutters here, probably one of the best cutters for Sapphire would be John Broadfoot who is in Bundaberg. He is an acknowledged expert on Sapphire, extensively published and could probably be referred to a chief instructor for the AFG. He put together the recent AFG classes at the annual Casino event last month where I was studying gem repair and re-cutting.

If you want his contact details PM me.