It's the letter "V" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “V”. 

Variscite is a relatively rare phosphate mineral that is sometimes confused with turquoise . It is a light green to emerald color but also sometimes a bluish-green or colorless.  It is usually greener, however, than turquoise.

Variscite is sometimes used as a semi-precious stone and can have distinctive color patterns that are very attractive.  It is used for carvings and ornamental use.  The color ranges have made it a popular gemstone in recent years.  It was named for the historical name of present day Vogtland, Germany which is Variscia.  Almost all gemstones originate from Utah where it might be known as Utahlite.  

It is also found in Nevada, Germany, Australia and Brazil.  The variscite found in Nevada is marked by black spiderwebbing matrix and is often confused with green turquoise.  Variscite is usually cut into cabochons with a round, convex polished surface to be used for brooches, earrings and beads.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what the letter "W" will be.

Carolyn

Deep Waters Challenge reveal postponed

Just a quick note that the reveal date for the Deep Waters Challenge has been pushed out to May 8.  Please be sure to come back then to see what I and those others involved in the challenge have created.

Here are some pictures of what the ingredients are for the creations.  I have one necklace completed and another in process along with plans for some earrings.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the Blogging A to Z Challenge posts that I have created.

You are also invited to come back on Saturday, May 3 for the reveal of the 8th annual Bead Soup Blog Party.

Carolyn

It's the letter "U" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “U”.

Unakite is the stone for the letter “U”.  It was first discovered in the Unakas Mountains of North Carolina from which it got its name.  It is actually an altered granite made up of pink feldspar, green epidote, and clear quartz. 

It is typically a mottled green and pink color.  It can easily be made into different bead shapes, cabochons, and carved objects, such as, eggs, spheres, and animal carvings.  The coloring gives carved objects a real texture to the design. 

Unakite can also be found as pebbles on the shores of Lake Superior caused by glacial drift.  It is also found in Virginia in valleys after being washed down from the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It has also been found in South Africa, Brazil, and China.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see if I can continue to find stones to match the rest of the letters of the alphabet.

Carolyn

It's the letter "T" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “T”.

“T” is the letter for today and the stone is Tanzanite, a pretty blue-purple color.  It was discovered in Tanzania in 1967 and was named after the location.  It is usually as reddish brown in its rough state and is heat treated to enhance the color. 

The deep blue color stones are harder to find now.  The paler colored stones are easier to find and are faceted and used for beads. 

 

In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose Tanzanite as the December birthstone, the first change to the birthstone list since 1912. 

The largest cut stone is 252.2 carats and is recognized by the Guinness World Records and the largest rough cut is 16,839 carats (7.46 lbs.) discovered in 2005. 

It was estimated that two million carats of tanzanite were mined between 1967 and 1971 when the mines were nationalized by the government.  In 1990, the government divided the mines into four sectors (A, B, C, and D) and leased two sectors (A and C) to large companies and the remaining sectors were reserved for the local miners.  In 2005, the lease for sector C for was renewed for 40 million dollars. 

In 2003, legislation was introduced to prohibit the export of rough cut stones to India (where many gemstones were processed) in order to spur development of local processing businesses.  This was phased in over two years when only stones over .5 grams were affected.  That was changed in 2010 to stones over 1 gram.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back tomorrow to discover what the "U" stone will be.

Carolyn

It's the letter "S" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “S”.

The stone for the letter “S” is sodalite, a royal blue mineral usually enjoyed as an ornamental gemstone.  Discovered in Greenland in 1811, it did not become an ornamental stone until 1891 when vast deposits were found in Ontario, Canada. 

It can also be found in the US states of Maine and Arkansas with smaller deposits found in South America, Portugal, Romania, Burma and Russia.  It was named after its sodium content. 

It is well known for its blue coloring but can also be grey, green, yellow or pink and is usually mottled with white veins or patches.  It is usually fashioned in cabochons and beads. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back tomorrow to find out what the letter "T" will be. 

Carolyn

It's the letter "R" for Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “R”.

Rhodonite is the letter “R” stone for today.  Its name comes from the Greek “rhodon” meaning rosy.  It is a pretty rosy pink to orangey red.  It can also have a strong black streak that looks very pretty in jewelry pieces. 

It can be made into many different bead shapes or carved into focal pieces.  

It can be found in Australia, Brazil, Peru, Russia and the US.  It is the official gem of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Sorry this one is so short but there wasn't much to discover about this stone.

Please stop back by again tomorrow for the reveal of the letter "S".

Carolyn

It's the letter "Q" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “Q”.

A stone of many colors, it is one of the most common minerals found on the surface of the planet that can be found in a large range of colors, colorless, purple, rose, red, black, yellow, brown, green, blue, and orange. 

It is a stone known by many names, agate, amethyst, carnelian, citrine, jasper, rock crystal, tiger eye, and the many types of quartz. 

It has been the most commonly used mineral since antiquity for jewelry and carvings. 

It was used in many countries for stone tools.  High purity quartz is used in the semiconductor industry and is mined in North Carolina, USA.  The largest single crystal was found in Brazil and weighed in at more than 44 tons.

Thank you for stopping and be sure to return on Monday, April 22, for the letter "R".  I will also be posting about a Pearl Challenge that I participated in on Sunday.

Carolyn