#mineralogy
Someday I really want to get this thing smoothed and polished, but for now, here is my mystery mini-boulder!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7418/CF79Wu.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/5550/BUDLeM.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/1910/MMeVnr.jpg
Very cool!!! I love the dark pattern on the top of the rock. Looks to me like a type of agate or something similarly quartz-y. I’m sure it’ll look awesome polished up! Thanks for submitting :)
-Z
Just wondering where would I be able to purchase the dragon head
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It appears the dragon head is made by Mo Orgone Art. The only link I can find to obtain the dragon heads is through this facebook group which she appears to run: https://www.facebook.com/groups/530635537142895/
While looking, I also found this etsy page that makes similar dragon heads decorated with crystals: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BellsWingandBell?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=905208317§ion_id=30618591
Hope that helps~!
389:
Silky malachite plate with stalactites and botryoidal formations from Congo
Reminds me of this Max Ernest painting
Heres your semiregular reminder that opal is one of the worst possible gemstones for engagement rings and tumblr posts about how pretty opals are and how diamonds are bullshit and we should all wear opal rings are not actually well informed or your friends
@sirfoggybrain Of course!
So opals, as we all know, are gorgeous stones
I will at no point deny that, theyre stunning and look different from every angle and in every lighting, the plays of color are insane, and they can be used to make beautiful jewelry, including, unfortunately, engagement rings. Which then have the tedency to do what opals do best, which is break and chip
The problem with opals is their position on the mohs hardness scale: they are a 5.5 to a 6.5. This in on par with glass. You can break one of these with glass or a knife or any piece of metal. The woman on the left broke hers by accidentally knocking it against her desk. Engagement rings are meant to be worn every day, and they are worn on your hands, which are high contact body parts. Opals cannot properly hold up to everyday use, and will become damaged unless you are lucky. It is, in my opinion, best not to risk it- this is a special ring, your forever ring, an object that meant to be worn daily and symbolizes your love and is, if worst comes to worst, something to hawk if you are desperate for cash to continue to live. You do not want it to break. Moonstone- which is another one i see recommended a lot- is the same way. Engagement rings are special. I would not ever in good conscience be able to recommend something that fragile to be someones forever ring.
Diamonds are not recommended just because of the diamond industry (which is bad, i agree! Please make sure your diamond is ethical if you chose to get one, and my personal opinion is that lab made is better) but because they are the most durable stone out there. You cant break your diamond.
Theres nothing wrong with wanting a colorful, flashy engagement ring, but an opal is not the stone for you. You want a gemstone that is an 8+ on the hardness scale- so stones like emeralds (if youre careful with it!), rubies, sapphires (which come in all sorts of colors), moissanite (typically white, but with twice the fire and brilliance of a diamond), morganite, colored diamonds, and alexandrite are all good choices. Alexandrite even changes colors depending on lighting!
TL;DR: opals are too soft and fragile for an engagement ring. Get opal necklace instead, and pick a tougher stone for your engagement ring.
Topaz is also 8 on the Mohs scale, and Aquamarine is the same stone as Emerald but in a different colour. Both are also worth considering!
I took Intro to Geology in high school, and our mineral identification lab consisted of, I wanna say, about twenty minerals.
I was top of my class and little sixteen year old me thought “Yep. That’s it. That’s all the minerals there are.”
And then, three years later, I took mineralogy.
Boy howdy.
“Quartz; it’s the crystal-ass looking crystal” -me, explaining rudimentary mineralogy concepts to my coworkers