Day 6 Tucson 2014

Polychrome 640x451

Day 6

This morning we returned to the Madagascar minerals showroom to pick up our order. As we were chatting with the staff, the owner arrived with a fresh shipment of Ocean Jasper and Polychrome hearts, freeforms and spheres. We were fortunate to hand select these beauties. Though we spent more than expect, it was a great time!

We are now focused on our quest for quartz creations. All of yesterday’s walking has paid off; we found the cracked quartz obelisks. We also added quartz pyramids, angels and spheres from Brazil to our roster of minerals.

The various shows are very quiet today; buyers are just not here. There is much speculation that folks are staying home preparing for Super Bowl parties. Previously, we noted natural Ametrine crystals in the display area featuring the Bolivian Amethyst. Ametrine is a variety of quartz that has both amethyst and citrine in the same crystal. Both amethyst and citrine are colored by small amounts of iron. The distinct color zones within each crystal are due to the differing oxidation states and distribution of iron within the crystal. Ametrines have a rough exterior and do not grow into points like quartz or amethyst probably due interference with the growth of flat planes and sharp edges. These gemstones are also from the Anahi Mine and have distinct terminations and recognizable faces. These beautiful crystals are faceted, made into beads, spheres, and pyramids or sliced to show the zonal patterns within. We were just going to look, but somehow ended up with these in our basket!  As our pictures did not show the beauty of these, we are using Internet images to show their beauty.

At the end of the day, we returned to visit and collect our order from India. Walking back to the car, we stopped to speak with vendors with a unique product.  Fossil mammoth tusk and walrus tusk ivory is collected in Canada and Alaska by indigenous people, sold and transported to Indonesia where it is carved into works of art. Bats carved in fossil mammoth tusk ivory, as well as, birds carved in fossil walrus tusk ivory are coming home with us.

ametrine 408x640

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

two × three =