Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: Iwonda on 18/11/2022 04:47:36
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A few years ago, I took a piece of quartz and several other stones to a rock/mineral show to ask geologist questions about them. All of a sudden, several people were trying to trade or buy what I thought was just a simple piece of blue quartz that I had with me. I was going to trade it for a piece of quartz with gold in it, but a retired geologist talked me out of it. I was told that it appears that the blue in this quartz was not due to inclusions but was being produced by one of the elements that made up its composition which would make it, true blue quartz. So, how rare is true blue quartz?
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Donno bout Blue Quartz...
But You do seem to Own quite a Few Strange & Weird Stones..
Hence you RocK!
P.S. - I Wonder where you go Treasure digging.
🤔
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Well, thanks Zer0, there is a lot to this collection that cannot be easily explained or identified. I met a couple of retired scientists at a rock show that told me that it would appear that I've stumbled upon a scientific diamond/gold mine of specimens. You're so right about these stones being strange & weird, I've come across things like quartz with a hardness of 9.0, a hoard of small, elongated garnets and what appears to be a piece of jasper or jade that has somehow morphed into four different minerals. Then there's this blue quartz, even it's a mystery. What's really strange about this is that I did not have to dig for any of this stuff, it was just out in the open waiting to be found, the mummified insects, plants, the marine specimens and the stones, they appear to all be connected to one hell of a mystery.
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I've come across things like quartz with a hardness of 9.0
Then you measured it wrong or it is not quartz.
Then there's this blue quartz, even it's a mystery.
Blue quartz is not a mystery.
the mummified insects, plants, the marine specimens and the stones, they appear to all be connected to one hell of a mystery.
Mummified things and fossils are not 'one hell of a mystery'.
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It's been a while since I've wandered through the Forum, this thread caught my eye.
Many geologists and geochemists believe the blue color is due to Rayleigh wave scattering by high concentrations of submicrometer mineral inclusions- most likely the titanium minerals ilmenite or rutile.
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A few years ago, I took a piece of quartz and several other stones to a rock/mineral show to ask geologist questions about them. All of a sudden, several people were trying to trade or buy what I thought was just a simple piece of blue quartz that I had with me. I was going to trade it for a piece of quartz with gold in it, but a retired geologist talked me out of it. I was told that it appears that the blue in this quartz was not due to inclusions but was being produced by one of the elements that made up its composition which would make it, true blue quartz. So, how rare is true blue quartz?
I am not a geologists so I cannot answer that.
However, years ago I took an interest in growing gem quality crystals and did research to learn about the various techniques. Quartz is usually grown with hydrothermal techniques, using high temperature and pressure water above its critical point. Water at that those extreme conditions will dissolve quartz. As this solution of water and dissolve quartz cools, quartz crystals will form. This can be done in the lab is a short time. Naturally it takes longer.
I was more interesting in corundum, which is based on aluminum oxide, instead of silica like quartz. Corundum crystals are the basis for rubies and sapphires. The pure aluminum oxide crystals, like pure quartz, would appear clear, while the blue color added to make sapphire, was achieved by adding trace impurities. My guess is your blue crystal formed similarly.
The blue color of sapphire is caused by trace amounts of iron and titanium in the corundum crystal structure. Specifically, ferrous iron (Fe2+) and titanium (Ti4+) interact, leading to a blue hue through a process called charge transfer.
Today, they even make colored diamonds with impurities that become part of the structure and are not an inclusions; defect, which lower the value.
During my research, I found a unique method in an obscure Russian Journal, published during the development heyday of synthetic ruby crystals for lasers.This technique, instead of using supercritical water, like quartz, involved a molten flux; like mineral lava, in which the crystals would grow. You needed platinum crucibles and super pure ingredients to get the subtle and clean colors without any cross contamination with cookware or ingredients, at lava temperatures.
What made this obscure application of the molten flux technique, special, was the molten solvent or flux, as it was called, would cause the ruby crystals to grow with natural facets; hexagonal bi-pyramids. This technique was based on what was called, "growth habit", where this specific molten solvent or flux would direct how the crystals would form. Naturally, this would be extremely rare for any natural crystal, and would be worth big bucks.
I was hoping to bring this unique product to market, but I did find any interested investors. Back then, synthetic crystals, beyond those for lasers use, were looked down upon. Today, the price of manufactured crystals is way ups there, for perfect crystals, in the most rare colors. I was 30 years too early and now have less interest.
I would suggest going to a jewelry store, and have them take a look for you. The owner may know a distributor, who knows everything and can get anything. Those in the trades, have contacts in terms of buying and selling. You may get a wholesale price and then double that.
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Below are some photos of the blue quartz in question. I was having a hard time applying what I had read about blue quartz to this stone so I took it to a rock show to see if I could maybe get some answers. I was told that this is not typical blue quartz, was told that it's more of a "funky blue quartz". This piece of quartz is somewhat magnetic, it does have iron in its composition, and it also appears to have some sort of black metallic-like inclusions. I had it scanned to see if that would help determine what element might be causing the blue. When scanned in the blue area and then in an area without blue, the elements Ca and K were the only ones that stood out. [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ]