Treasure Hunting

The photo to the left may look like an amethyst crystal, but it’s really soap - credits for the photo go to Arlena Thane at the TeachSoap site.  That link also gives very detailed instructions on how to make this amethyst gem soap using the melt-and-pour technique.

Several years ago, I was really into soap-making, and I was recalling today all the pictures I had seen in the past from people who had created soaps that resembled gems and minerals.  In particular, I remember a great photo that someone had taken of malachite soap along with instructions on how to make it.  I wasn’t able to find that, but I did find this other post at Urban Design with a fantastic photo and a link to Amethyst Soaps on Etsy.  I love stuff like this - the only problem is I think it’s too pretty to use.  I’m still hoping to find some time this winter to try making that malachite soap, though.  If I can’t find the instructions, I’ll just have to experiment with it until I get it right.  

For those who haven’t had the opportunity to ever go digging for quartz, I thought I would post a picture to give an idea of what a piece can look like when you first find it.  This isn’t a particularly great specimen, but it is similar to a lot that are easily found when digging around in an area that’s known to have quartz.  

No matter how hot it is, always make sure to wear gloves when digging.  Preferably the gloves will be a little sturdier than the cheap blue ones I was wearing that day.  These blue ones were lightweight gardening gloves and they ripped within an hour.  Crystals can be very sharp!  At least it was only the glove that got ripped apart and not my hand - though the latter has happened, too.  I even manage to get cuts when I’m sorting through them and cleaning them at home.  

I’ve been working on making some updates to the site, particularly on some of the static pages.  I’ve added a few links to the Mohs Hardness Scale chart, but there’s still a lot of work to be done there and things have been quite hectic lately.  I also started a new page to give a more in-depth look at crystal quartz polishing.  So far, I’ve just added information through about the cleaning process, but as I’m still in the process of tumbling the crystals, it will be an ongoing job for quite some time.

I’ve also been trying to figure out ways to make the layout of this site a bit better.  As there are some outside limitations to the the types of themes I can use, this is a lot easier said than done.  For now, this theme seems to work the best of the options I have, but I’m not crazy about it.  I keep exploring other alternatives, but nothing else fits right now.  Oh well!  I guess I’ll keep looking awhile longer.

I did remember to add a Widget listing the top Entrecard visitors to this site.  I was a little skeptical about Entrecard at first, but through that service, I have found a great many sites that I enjoy.  It’s also brought some very interesting people here.  For those two reasons, I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t signed up yet.

I found myself sucked into Paint Shop Pro again, this time modifying the photo of the ametrine scepter that I posted yesterday.  I thought that if I tried drawing out the purplish tint a bit that I might see the underlying phantom markings a little clearer.  While that didn’t exactly happen, I did get an interesting representation of the surface pattern on the crystal.  

Before I attempt this again, I’m going to have to go back and take several more photographs of the crystal scepter so that I can get a more three-dimensional representation of it.  Maybe if I overlap the photos, I can combine them for some type of panorama depicting what it would look like if the crystal was “unrolled”.  

Oh the lengths I’ll go to in order to avoid getting any real work done!

Sometimes it’s amazing what you find while cleaning some of the items brought home after a collecting trip.  The photograph here is of a crystal quartz scepter found back in June at the Krystal Tips Mining claim in the Petersen Mountains in Nevada.  The claim site is right on the California border near Hallelujah Junction.  Because of this, the quartz found in that area is often referred to as Hallelujah quartz.  If you’d like to see some of the other specimens gathered there, take a look at the Krystal Tips site.

When I brought this crystal home after the dig, I knew it had some purple to it.  Although it looks a bit more rose-like in this photo, the tip of the scepter is actually a pale amethyst.  That was enough to make me love this crystal, but when I actually started cleaning it, so much more came out about it!  There’s also a lot of citrine in the specimen that I hadn’t noticed before.  I had seen the yellowish tint, but I thought that was coming from the reflection of the dirt that covered most of the scepter.  However, this week (yes, I know I’m a a slacker and should have been cleaning this a long time ago) when I actually sat down to clean the crystal with some soapy water and a toothbrush, I realized that it wasn’t the dirt causing the tint - it was a pale citrine coloring that dominated the bottom part of the scepter.  So what we actually have here is a pale ametrine scepter!

Another neat aspect of this specimen came out in the cleaning as well.  Although it’s a little hard to see in this photo, there are actually phantom markings on this scepter, too.  The term phantom is used in describing quartz when you can actually see the shadow or “ghost” of different stages of the crystal’s development within the quartz.  This markings can be caused by a variety of reasons such as minerals accumulating on the crystal during its growth.  The phantom images on this scepter would probably be a lot easier to see if the faces were polished, but I think I’m going to leave this one just the way it is.  It has a few dings and dents that tell a little bit of the story behind the long life that it’s had, but sometimes it’s the flaws in crystals that make them all the more perfect - just like with people.

I have several books on crystals and other stones, but my two favorites, by far, are part of the Love is in the Earth series by Melody. The one pictured here, A Kaleidoscope of Crystals, could probably be considered the main book of the series. It’s a detailed reference book (over 700 pages long) that describes the metaphysical properties of minerals and covers way more than crystals despite its title. Its companion book, Mineralogical Pictorial: Treasures of the Earth, contains over 400 pages of color photographs of the different minerals of the world. Both books cover a wealth of material and are very comprehensive in their inclusions. One thing that I really love about the pictorial book is that it includes the Mohs hardness and chemical composition of each item featured in addition to having great photographs. I really recommend these books - not only are they comprehensive, but they’re extremely well laid-out and it’s very easy to find what you’re looking for in each one. Also, Melody’s writing style makes the main book and other ones in the series quite easy to read.

I also have a little personal story of my own about this book centering on a conversation I had yesterday. I picked up the main book of the series on my way out the door yesterday as I was heading out to the DMV. I never know how long I’ll end up spending at the DMV so I always try to take something that I’m really in the mood to read with me. This way, instead of complaining about the wait, I can consider the time a gift of sorts and spend it doing something I love.

So, anyway, I was nestled into my not-so-cozy chair at the DMV reading away when someone sat down beside me. After a few minutes, he spoke up and asked what I was reading. I answered, “A book on the metaphysical properties of crystals.” He gave me a funny look and said, “You don’t really believe that stuff, do you?” I just smiled a little and said, “Why not?”

Well! That seemed to really set him off. He went into this long vocal tirade about “hippies”, “flower children”, and scientologists. Then he proceeded to try to give some weird definition of science based on technology and computers, remarking that anyone who would read “crap” like that obviously knew nothing about REAL science. He then quickly added that he wasn’t trying to belittle me and that he only wanted to set me straight, saving me from people like Melody who had obviously poisoned my mind.

I sat there listening to him quietly. I was trying to decide if I should interrupt to let him know that I have several advanced degrees in “science” including a doctorate in mathematics. Moreover, some of the fundamental things that make someone a good “scientist” are being able to keep an open-mind, looking at things from fresh viewpoints, and not automatically dismissing possibilities because they don’t fit in with your existing theories and beliefs. There are times when I love debates like this, but at that time, I just wasn’t in the mood.

Luckily, I didn’t have to answer the rant. The computerized voice started announcing my number so I closed up my book, stood up and smiled again while saying, “That’s me. Have a good one.” But before I could walk away, he quickly stood up and said, “You know, if you have some time, we could go get some lunch after this.” That’s when the irony of the situation became a little too much, and I just couldn’t manage staying quiet any longer. So I simply said, “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m already running late for my palm-reading appointment, and if I’m not home by dark, I’ll be putting these new license plates on a pumpkin.” Thankfully, it only took a few minutes to get the new plates and I was soon on my way back home.

I was talking to a friend about my amethyst geode from Brazil today and she asked if I had a photo. I said I was pretty sure that there was one on the Treasure Hunting blog, but when I went to look, I couldn’t find one. So I had to fix that!

This is one of my favorite mineral specimens. I keep it sitting on my desk right above my computer screen so I can see it while I’m working. It was given to me by friends who traded some of their Hallelujah Junction quartz crystals for a whole bunch of pieces from Brazil.

It’s a good-sized geode, about the size of a standard dinner plate. The amethyst crystals in the center are a pale lavender color and they sparkle beautifully in the light. The agate bands around the amethyst are several varying shades of purple, and some have a bit of a citrine tint.  I’ll need to remember to take a photograph of this geode out in the sun so the sparkling of the internal amethyst can be seen better.