Stones I have cut

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JCU might be your best best for a really definitive answer. If you have close-up photos of the host rock they came from that would be helpful. To me the stones in the pic look like peridot but first-hand examination would be necessary. It would be pretty cool if you have discovered a deposit of gem-quality tourmaline because there isn't much of it known from Australia that I'm aware of. Not here in QLD at least. Probably plenty of prospective geology given the geology of eastern Australia, just not aware of anyone actually having found any.

Cheers
 
It might be a new variety, given the enormous complexity of tourmaline. You might get to name it - Lucas-ite, or whatever you wanted :D
 
lucaswilliam said:
The green one come back with a SG of 3.26. MOH 7-8 and streak test was white
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Well that has a decent hardness to make a faceted gem at least.

.
 
That just barely scrapes into the SG range of tourmaline - if it's tourmaline it's about as heavy as it's possible for tourmaline to ever get. But I've always had difficulty getting consistent results with SG tests and I know I'm not alone.
 
Yer the Sg and hardness didn't add up for peridot I didn't think jcu def seems on the cards be good to get a positive I'd. from wat Iv seen on the Internet and other ppl have seems to be to dark for peridot? Or does it come in a few colour varietys
 
lucaswilliam said:
Yer the Sg and hardness didn't add up for peridot I didn't think jcu def seems on the cards be good to get a positive I'd. from wat Iv seen on the Internet and other ppl have seems to be to dark for peridot? Or does it come in a few colour varietys
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The hardness and SG actually do add up for peridot by my understanding at least :Y: But more testing will be needed.
 
Wouldn't it be great to be the world's first cutters of Lucasite :cool:

Love the name, regardless of what it is, the name should stick for that stone from that locality.
 
Wouldn't you just love to be the discoverer of a new mineral variety? Wallyite and Leftyite have a ring to them as well :lol:
 
Lefty said:
lucaswilliam said:
Yer the Sg and hardness didn't add up for peridot I didn't think jcu def seems on the cards be good to get a positive I'd. from wat Iv seen on the Internet and other ppl have seems to be to dark for peridot? Or does it come in a few colour varietys
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The hardness and SG actually do add up for peridot by my understanding at least :Y: But more testing will be needed.
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Peridot is a bit softer than quartz, tourmaline a bit harder than quartz (the difference is only 1 to 1.5, but the relative hardness to quartz makes it sensitive). Powdered peridot will give a browny colour in a flame , tourmaline always a really bright green (the boron in it). They have vastly different optical properties (except for refractive index).
 
How would you do it? Place the powder on a charcoal block or something and touch a gas torch flame to it? Just thinking if you dipped the end of a nail or something in the powder the chemicals in the nail/and galvanise would react.
 
Lefty said:
How would you do it? Place the powder on a charcoal block or something and touch a gas torch flame to it? Just thinking if you dipped the end of a nail or something in the powder the chemicals in the nail/and galvanise would react.
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Really just powder dropped in a sodium (eg candle) flame. See my:

Series on identifying minerals - part 7 FLAME AND BEAD TESTS
 
Cool :Y: If I can find those couple of busted up, specimen-grade tourmaline crystals I know I've got stashed somewhere I'll give it a try.
 
Is there any way to post videos from facebook to here? I just finished a nice, 5 carat Kilicrankie diamond and while the still photos do it no justice at all, the video came out really well (for once).

Apparently uploading to youtube is excruciating to the point of impossibility with my connection, is there any way to just post the facebook video here? Any tech-people know the answer?

Cheers
 
Maybe through the Adobe uploading file u might have to convert the video but u should be able to do it like that I think
 
lucaswilliam said:
Maybe through the Adobe uploading file u might have to convert the video but u should be able to do it like that I think
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Cheers Lucas :Y: Might have to get help from tech-support - ie, 17 year-old kid :lol:
 

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