Cool Rocks We Found

[Jarhyn]

So, in another thread someone discussed showing each other cool rocks we find.

I like this idea, and would like to discuss cool rocks we find, buy and/or like to look at.

It is late at night and I do not have a camera. I will post a picture of my favorite rock tomorrow, but maybe someone will beat me to it.

 

[Jarhyn]

 

[ZiprHead]

I remember working with a Filipino guy in the eighties whose family was quite rich. He brought raw diamonds into work ro show them off. I would have kicked them away as junk stones.

 

[Tharmas]

I have this on my desk. It's not really a rock, but a conglomeration of fossilized shells from the Pennsylvanian era of the Carboniferous period, I think. These things are a dime-a-dozen in what's known as the Chautauqua Gorge in far western New York state, which is where I picked this up. I like it because it contains a cute little geode (detail). It's a little more than a centimeter in diameter. It's the only geode I've ever found.

 

[Jarhyn]

@atrib Not exactly found outside. From left to right top to bottom, quartz, garnet ruby, topaz, tourmaline, emerald, peridot, (garnets). Only the emerald is worth anything on account of the ruby being sinter-formed.

The history behind these is that a friend lost their favorite uncle and grandma? Graunt? and the only relatives left on the estate were his other uncles, who took whatever they could find at the rich lady's house easily and fucked off to Alaska, and are going to dump the contents and flip the house. As a result, they let their nephew take second crack at it.

The nephew wanted someone to look around for where a depression era rich lady would put stuff that the nephews would neither appreciate nor cherish, and in identifying things with value that they didn't have time for.

They ended up walking away with a couple 2-300 year old books - a Missale Romanum, some really cool stuff, some vintage clocks and lamps, some gold, some silver, some cool rings, some old watches, and then I got these gems, a very nice mechanical stopwatch, and a very pretty old pocket watch.

I honestly wouldn't sell any of them. I'm probably going to grind the ruby and carve it to a signet stone and set it in silver that I've collected over the years.