(Please designate a second choice of stone box in case we run out of your
first choice– Thanks!)
STILL AVAILABLE WHILE THEY LAST: We mentioned last month that swallowtail
twins of g
ypsum are occasionally found in the clay at the Red River
Floodway. We did get a few exceptional pieces for Club members, where the
twinned crystal is really protruding from the rosette. The term
"swallowtail" perfectly describes the form of these twins! Each
specimen is about 2" to 2½" high, with the twin crystal being about
1". We have these very special twin available for Club members for $30.
We have left a few small pieces of gaspeite, small rich green crystals
in an earthy limonite matrix from Australia, about 1" by 1" for $3.
We have available some iridescent mammilary siderite from Arizona, about
2" by 2" in size, for $6
From Brazil, we have some nice rhombohedral magnesite crystals, about
2" by 2" for $12. And also from Australia, we have had for
several years the green massive magnesite in the form of our combination barrel
and rondell beads for $15. This material is being called "Lemon Chrysoprase,"
as it is found in the famous chrysoprase producing mines of Australia. While in
Quartzsite, we saw a huge boulder of this creamy green material, with a vein of
translucent chrysoprase running across the top– spectacular! (You may see a
scan of these and all our other unique beads by visiting our web site and
clicking on the "New Bead Shipment" link. Club member prices would be
10% off the prices listed there, plus free shipping.)
And we got some neat little pieces of "optical calcite" from
Mexico. These have been cleaved into rhombohedrons from a large mass of calcite,
so you can see the true crystal form common to calcite, rhodochrosite,
smithsonite, and other carbonate minerals, plus they are very clear, so you can
hold them against something written and observe calcite’s wonderful property
of birefringence! Small pieces about 1" by 1½" are $2 each or 3 for
$5, while larger pieces, up to about 3" by 4", with a pretty color
tint, are $14
We are slowly building up a collection of MINERALOGICAL RECORD BACK
ISSUES, the excellent magazine with detailed, in depth articles on mines,
collecting localities, and minerals. In doing so, we have amassed duplicates of
some issues. So we are offering one set of 21 Mineralogical Record issues,
various issues from 1979-1988 with wonderful articles on some of the mines and
minerals we have covered, for $95 plus $5 shipping in the U.S. Start your own
collection!
