Some Recent Finds - Gemstones from New Jersey, USA
Here are some pics of gemstones that I collected this past summer in New Jersey, USA. They are all various varieties of the mineral Quartz and are all from the same locality, but they vary greatly in their appearance and form! Most of these are suitable for cutting, faceting and polishing gemstones for jewelery as well! I will share some cut and polished cabachons that I have made in another future post, so more to follow on that later!
"Touchonite" (Quartz var. Chalcedony Pseudomorph after Reibeckite)
This piece shows a stunning catseye effect with wonderful golden chatoyancy! "Touchonite" is a local name given to this very rare and unique material which is found in New Jersey, and which is very similar to Pietersite from Namibia. This was originally found along a creek bank in a wooded area behind Touchon's Gas Station in Warren, NJ, hence the name "Touchonite"!
The pieces is also very translucent as well, which is rare for this material. The brilliant golden flash and gem clarity make this best of the best as far as Touchonite goes!
Here are 2 more stones that I also found on this particular trip. Here we have a beautiful Botryoidal Carnelian with a bubbly form and deep red color on the left, and another Touchonite on the right. This Touchonite has a mixture of blue and gold flash, and you can also find green as well. I have even found one or two Touchonite with pink and red flash, although that is extremely rare!
Lastly, I leave you with a picture of a monstrous 3.6 pound blue and gold Touchonite that I found a few months ago on another trip. This is the largest piece that I have ever found to date, and one of the largest that I have ever seen. It is of very good quality as well, so it would polish up nicely, and I think that I will probably eventually cut it up into large flat slabs to polish! I am torn though, because it ia very beautiful as it is now and I would hate to break it up!
If you enjoy my posts, please take a moment to follow me and upvote this post! Thank you for looking at my posta and have a wonderful day!
Glad I saw this before I sleep so I could resteem this :) You have a unique post and those gems look gorgeous!
I am not sure if you're into Science looking at your post but you may want to follow @steemstem They promote Science posts.
Thanks for the help!
This post isn't too science-heavy, but a couple of the others I've done so far go more into the geology/mineralogy more. I figured I'd try going more pretty and less sciencey on this post to change things up a bit! I'll definitely follow @steemstem for sure!
You're welcome. And it would be nice if you find a support group with similar interests with you and I just thought of @steemstem . Anyway, you can always check out the newbie community that @davemccoy has formed (informally) as well as other minnow support groups. :)
Amazing finds! I've never seen or heard of touchanite, even as a rock fanatic.
what i have are orgonites and black agate.
gemstknes are cool😎
Awesome finds. I do a lot of rockhounding in California myself. I'll give you a follow, good to find some like minded individuals on here.
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