zircons gemstones

[Heatho]

Anyone for a Zircon? Nice pics guys, they shine up nicely Col.

 

[Heatho]

mine might be sapphire

Nah it's a Zircon.

 

[user 1769]

Hey Col,

How did you tumble them? Do you use a normal lapidary tumbler? What grits did you use? I presume since they're already waterworn they can go straight to very fine grit?

eureka now: zircons are really heavy. In my sieves they always end up sorting with the tin, with the spinel and sapphires around them.

 

[eureka wow]

the natural light seams to distort when I show it in the light looks great

 

[eureka wow]

whats heavier zircons or sapphires

 

[user 1769]

Zircons.

 

[Varts]

I think zircons have beauty and fire ,and are under estimated these stones cut up simply superb ,and as for ruff show some smick colours with light through em ,love these little fellows ,and dare say I will go to tas and get me a TUB of these!

 

[eureka wow]

mines not as heavy

 

[Heatho]

Totally agree Varts, way under estimated, great stones.

 

[eureka wow]

are they valuable and rare

 

[user 1769]

are they valuable and rare

Not really, they're pretty common and they're a bit too soft for some types of jewelry. As a result they're not hard wearing and not very sought after.

 

[eureka wow]

then mine must be a sapphire as its not as heavy and has a shiny complexion and distorted light through it

 

[Colin&Lee]

Hey Col,

How did you tumble them? Do you use a normal lapidary tumbler? What grits did you use? I presume since they're already waterworn they can go straight to very fine grit?

eureka now: zircons are really heavy. In my sieves they always end up sorting with the tin, with the spinel and sapphires around them.

Mate used my x-mas pressie Lortone 33B which is a normal tumbler used coarse 80 silicone carbide grit for three days just to knock off any rough bits then into a med/fine 220 grit for 7 days, then into Aluminum oxide pre polish for another 7 days then into polish which I let for 9 days. Didn't burnish but I might later on.

Cheers

Col

 

[Colin&Lee]

then mine must be a sapphire as its not as heavy and has a shiny complexion and distorted light through it

It's a Zircon mate

Check out some of the stones in this post https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=921

Cheers

Col

 

[Colin&Lee]

whats heavier zircons or sapphires

The specific gravity of sapphire is between 3.98 and 4.02
The specific gravity of Zircon is 4.6 and 4.7

Cheers

C&L

 

[charlie123]

where can one find a cheap tumbler

 

[charlie123]

It is not uncommon to find a ruby within the zircons, $50 and you can be sure with a diamond tester

 

[Colin&Lee]

where can one find a cheap tumbler

Hey Charlie,

Try Gemcuts.com.au

Cheers

Col

 

[eureka wow]

mine could be a ruby

 

[Heatho]

Dude, these guys know what they are looking at, lol. Where did you find it anyway?