peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Mar 29, 2011 8:59:58 GMT -5
I put a light polish on some Watermelon Rubies I've had hanging around the house since the early 1990s. The center piece is my first (maybe only) experiment with groove wrap, and I actually did that piece back in the day, but didn't sell it because the bail is not right. Now that I have the instructions on this site, I can try to do a better job. The other crystals were all polished this month. I polished a few on both sides, on others, I polished only one side. On all of these stones, I deliberately left some green Saussurite on the crystals to show how the hexagonal Ruby crystals grew through this much softer material. I may use or sell a few for jewelry; others will be for specimens. Anyone know where this stuff came from? I got it from a lady in Florida. I think she got it from India or Pakistan...?
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Mar 29, 2011 21:37:36 GMT -5
Those are sweet. I've got some rough like that and haven't known what to do with them. Now that I see yours, I think I will try a couple of high-dome cabs. I think your pendant looks good. Thanks for posting. Garry
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Post by Toad on Mar 29, 2011 23:11:28 GMT -5
They look cool.
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Post by tanyafrench on Mar 30, 2011 7:07:14 GMT -5
I think I have one of those, I'll try to get a picture of it and see if it is the same thing. It was given to me by a friend who knows I love rocks. It is so beautiful.
Tanya
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Mar 30, 2011 8:31:57 GMT -5
Those are nice!
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Mar 30, 2011 9:32:53 GMT -5
Garry, yes, you can make high dome cabs, completely removing all of the green outer crust if you like. I have done that with a few of them, I just forgot to put them in the photograph with the others.
Tanya, yes, you can post a picture if you like, and I'm happy to take a look. In person, with the uncut nuggets, the hexagonal shape of the Ruby is very distinct, even if you can't see any hint of Ruby through the green crust. If you see that it's a hex shape, now you can try putting the nugget in water and looking hard under good light to see if you can see any hint of red or it might look pinkish shining through. I got to where a lot of times I could tell whether or not there was Ruby inside before I even worked the stone.
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Post by akansan on Mar 30, 2011 13:32:12 GMT -5
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
|
Post by peachfront on Mar 30, 2011 15:08:41 GMT -5
While nothing would surprise me, because the person who introduced me to the material knew far less about identifying stones than he claimed, I thought the strong hexagonal shape of the nuggets was a good clue. I should flip some over to show the uncut sides, because it might give people a better idea. The photo above is some Watermelon Tourmaline slices from Brazil. (I didn't cut or polish these.) They grew in long needles, from which the slabs were then cut and polished to show the pattern. The shape of the slab, which reflects the shape of the sides of the crystal needles, is not a hex to me, although I'm not sure what you would call it. What do you folks think? It wouldn't be the first "mis-identified" in my collection, that's for sure. Still leaning toward Ruby because of the strong "hexagonal" but maybe that isn't as diagnostic as I imagined.
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Post by NatureNut on Mar 30, 2011 15:18:00 GMT -5
Hmmm... a hardess test (scratch?) should be able to easily tell Ruby from Tourmey. Ruby is harder. Tourmaline 7 - 7.5, Ruby 8
Could it possibly be a Ruby with a Zoisite crust? Double hmmm....
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Post by akansan on Mar 31, 2011 11:12:56 GMT -5
Triple Hmmm. The green wouldn't be softer than the central part if it was watermelon tourmaline. I'm used to ruby zoisite being in the more massive form. I suppose if you had wearing, or river tumbled, the individuals rubies could separate out from the zoisite, leaving behind a crust.
Sorry for jumping to conclusions - the presentation of the pieces (and a quick skimming) made it appear they were sliced rather than raw nuggets. I know traditionally watermelon tourmaline is triagonal, but I have seen hexagonal shaping in the central piece (http://www.collectorfinejewelry.com/buyers_guide_tourmaline.htm - about 1/2 way down the page, even has the mine designated).
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auplater
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 28
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Post by auplater on Mar 31, 2011 12:12:02 GMT -5
Shouldn't be too hard to tell... hardness Ruby = 9 mohs... zoisite = 6 -7 mohs... so if the red portion scratches the green portion but not vice-versa, it's ruby in zoisite ... if they both scratch each other, it's tourmaline...
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Post by NatureNut on Mar 31, 2011 12:27:48 GMT -5
I suppose that if someone had some thick Ruby in Zoisite/ Fuschite (sp) slabs, they could slice around the rubies and get the above results... quadripple hmmm...
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Jason
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2009
Posts: 216
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Post by Jason on Apr 3, 2011 21:13:33 GMT -5
never heard the term "watermelon ruby" before..interesting. The ones around the outside sure do look like corundum, don't they
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CallMeShane
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2010
Posts: 112
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Post by CallMeShane on Apr 6, 2011 5:24:01 GMT -5
I was looking for "watermelon ruby" on google,seems there's a species of watermelon called "ruby watermelon"...I had never heard of ruby watermelon,but watermelon tourmaline is sumin I've been wanting to get. Found this interesting page, www.corunduminium.com/oldsitebackup/page/photoessay.htmAwesome work btw.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Apr 9, 2011 23:39:44 GMT -5
check it under black light if the ruby glows it is ruby in zoisite, which is what I think it is.
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