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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) "Tiffany Stone" (Read 19212 times)
JoeM
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"Tiffany Stone"
Jul 12th, 2013 at 8:06pm
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I guess this would qualify as a unique rock type.
But like everything else about this stone, it depends on who you're talking to. Wink

Tiffany Stone, or Bertrandite, is also sometimes called "Purple Opal" and "Ice Cream Opalite"
Bertrandite Opal Tiffany Stone would be a good all inclusive name for the material,
but let's just call it "Bert" for short. Cool

Seams of Bert have only been found in the Brush Wellman beryllium mines
located in the Sevier Desert of the Topaz-Spor Mountains of western Utah.
Occasionally some of this material escapes the crusher and makes it way to the surface.
The Bertrandite is the creamy white areas, and the purples and blues are fluorite.
The black lines are mostly Manganese.
Also in the mix are Chalcedony, Dolomite, and Rhodonite.
But the "whole mess" is said to be "opalized". Huh
There you have it.
I have been cutting some Bert rough lately to have some slabs for Grassy Creek!

  

DSC04490.JPG ( 303 KB | 221 Downloads )
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #1 - Jul 12th, 2013 at 8:09pm
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The slab top row, far left, shows the beginnings of the vug I hit in this piece of rough.
  

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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #2 - Jul 12th, 2013 at 10:22pm
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Now, since I know you all are sitting on the edge of your seats
waiting to see close-up pics of that vug in the Bert
here are a few.
(If nothing else they are colorful.)

This is some very unique material and well worth study.
There is a clear crystal coating over most of the interior of the vug.
The vug is pretty deep going atleast another inch back into the rough nodule.
Here is a series of pics gradually zooming in on the same area
ending with a pic of what looks like a "coated" baby blue fluorite.

  

Bertvug1.jpg ( 87 KB | 186 Downloads )
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Bertvug3.jpg ( 107 KB | 183 Downloads )
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Bertvug4.jpg ( 118 KB | 202 Downloads )
Bertvug4.jpg
Bertvug5.jpg ( 109 KB | 214 Downloads )
Bertvug5.jpg
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #3 - Jul 12th, 2013 at 10:31pm
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I'm looking for fluorite cubes but noticed these copper looking limonite(?) after pyrite(?) crystals in the bottom left of the first pic.
These seem to be floating here and there in the matrix.

And the second pic may be all that's left of a fluorite.
  

Bertvug9.jpg ( 145 KB | 175 Downloads )
Bertvug9.jpg
Bertvug19.jpg ( 143 KB | 217 Downloads )
Bertvug19.jpg
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #4 - Jul 12th, 2013 at 10:37pm
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With all the reflection it is hard to see the surfaces clearly.
Looking for the "stepping" of fluorite, dolomite, or calcite,
or any other form of calcite.
  

Bertvug10.jpg ( 71 KB | 195 Downloads )
Bertvug10.jpg
Bertvug11.jpg ( 67 KB | 201 Downloads )
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #5 - Jul 12th, 2013 at 10:43pm
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Here's a clump of what looks to be calcite or dolomite on the right of vug.
But what's that weird little "golden boy" behind it?
I have blown very hard on it to see if it moves, and it hasn't.
It may be a piece of root, I don't know.
Going to have to try and get a closer look at it. Wink
  

Bertvug12.jpg ( 110 KB | 194 Downloads )
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Bertvug15.jpg ( 108 KB | 174 Downloads )
Bertvug15.jpg
Bertvug16.jpg ( 18 KB | 196 Downloads )
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becky
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #6 - Jul 17th, 2013 at 2:14pm
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Wow, cool vug.  Interesting you mention the tiffany stone.  While in AK a couple of weeks ago, I stopped by a cool store in a really neato town of Hope, AK.  Saw the most beautiful cab pendant ever and it was a tiffany stone.  I had to have it.  Had everything I love going on in it.  Purple, green, tree looking lines in the picturesque way the cabber cut it.  The stone speaks and the cabber listened.  Maybe if I figure out how, I will post a pic but don't hold your breath, I'm the queen of good intentions.  Nice stone there, Joe!
  
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #7 - Jul 18th, 2013 at 12:12am
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That's right, you do love your purps don't you. Smiley
I love the purple cross-hatched with black branches on a
white opalized matrix mix in this material.
I look forward to seeing a pic of that cab you picked up,
and ofcourse, your fieldtrip report on Arkansas. Wink
  
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #8 - Sep 1st, 2013 at 4:39pm
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Here are a couple cabs I finished recently.
The one on the left is 2" long and 1.25" wide.
The one on the right is very freeform and has a hole drilt in it.
Now anyone familiar with the finicky crazed brittle nature of Bert
will tell you you're crazy to try and drill a hole in it.
So I guess that answers that question. Wink
  

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Scott LaBorde
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #9 - Sep 3rd, 2013 at 1:16pm
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That is some fine work.  It's very weird how just the other day I was wondering if there was a type of stone that had a "crazing" pattern or feature, and now I have my answer.  Thanks for sharing.
  

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John Frazier
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #10 - Sep 5th, 2013 at 12:38pm
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Joe they are really beautiful.  That is wonderful material.
Cheesy Cheesy
  
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #11 - Sep 5th, 2013 at 8:14pm
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Thanks guys.  Smiley
I'm looking forward to working up a batch of this stuff.
It can be very frustrating to work but the end results are worth it.
It is a beautiful and unique stone.
  
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #12 - Dec 14th, 2017 at 7:09pm
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Well, it is a beautiful and unique stone/rock, to say the least,
and it only took me 4 years to get around to working up another batch. Roll Eyes

So I slabbed up a 5 lb piece of what I consider to be real pretty high quality classic Tiffany Stone so I could have some slabs to sell and a few to work with. Unfortunately, probably due to the mining process getting it out of the ground, the piece was riddled with mini-fractures everywhere. I cannot sell a single slab from the lot because, if mailed, it would arrive in multiple pieces.
Here are a few pics of the slabs anyway, for the record. Wink
  

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DSCN0018_002.JPG ( 169 KB | 133 Downloads )
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DSCN0011_003.JPG ( 220 KB | 123 Downloads )
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DSCN0012_002.JPG ( 209 KB | 135 Downloads )
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #13 - Dec 14th, 2017 at 8:05pm
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And a few cabs from some of those slabs.
I think the first one is a perfect example of why one name for this rock has been Ice Cream Opalite.
  

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DSCN0137_001.JPG ( 167 KB | 132 Downloads )
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DSCN0230_003.JPG ( 173 KB | 140 Downloads )
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DSCN0329.JPG ( 145 KB | 137 Downloads )
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DSCN0297_001.JPG ( 137 KB | 145 Downloads )
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JoeM
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Re: "Tiffany Stone"
Reply #14 - Dec 14th, 2017 at 8:09pm
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Here's an end slab from another piece I didn't know what to do with so I polished up one side and stuck it in the Etsy store.
It does have a nice little vug. Vugs are good things. Wink
  

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DSCN0122.JPG ( 189 KB | 113 Downloads )
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DSCN0121_001.JPG ( 164 KB | 119 Downloads )
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