TODAY! Bonham's Natural History Auction

All I can say is WOW!

Right now there is a room in Los Angeles filled with people bidding on some of Earth's Treasures...ancient creatures caught in time along with works of art formed of natural crystal's from the crust (by talented gem carvers from the US & Idar -Oberstein).

Take a moment to flip through the catalog and envision yourself in room looking at these beautiful items....BTW - they have added about 5 pages of stunning gems and jewelry to the end of this catalog.

As the winning bids come in keep an eye on the pieces you love...some may not sell today...call the auction house for more info.

Lot No: 1240

Multi-color Tourmaline Rough and Cut

Nigeria
A large, cutting-grade rough of slightly tapering form graduating from bottle green at the base to rubellite at the top,weighing approximately 1700 carats; together with an emerald-cut bi-color tourmaline from the same locality, weighing approximately 12.47 carats and measuring 17.0 x 7.0 x 7.0mm. (2)

Estimate: $3,000 - 4,000

For more info, go to: http://www.bonhams.com/usa/auction/18406/

Items include:

Sale 18406 - Natural History
Los Angeles, 12 Dec 2010 at 10:00

Natural History - Pearls

Lots 1000 to 1092 Natural History - Fossils

Lots 1093 to 1122 Natural History - Meteorites

Lots 1123 to 1182 Natural History - Curiosities

Lots 1184 to 1204 Natural History - Amber

Lots 1202 to 1555 Natural History - Jewelry

Lots 1205 to 1228 Natural History - Native Metals

Lots 1229 to 1308 Natural History - Minerals

Lots 1309 to 1344 Natural History - Decor

Lots 1345 to 1369 Natural History - Lapidary Works of Art Lot No: 1121 Fukang Meteorite Rectangular Section Stony-Iron - Pallasite Fukang, Xinjiang Uygar, China Coveted by collectors worldwide, Fukang is famous for its marvelous, especially large olivine crystals. Only a single mass of Fukang was discovered. Meteorites typically explode after entering the Earth's atmosphere, often blasting the original body into tiny pieces. Impact with Earth sometimes vaporizes the main mass of a meteorite completely. Yet, this amazing survivor endured tremendous atmospheric and impact forces to transport its bounty of rare olivine crystals to Earth. Weighing approximately 930.3 grams and measuring 2 ¾ x 2 ¾ x1 ¾ in Estimate: $8,000 - 10,000 Lot No: 1355 Watermelon Tourmaline, Rock Crystal Quartz and Silver-gilt Box By Manfred Wild Idar-Oberstein, Germany Of hexagonal outline, carved from a single huge rough of rock crystal quartz, centering on two huge cross-section slices of rare watermelon tourmaline from Madagascar, set into the rock crystal frame of the lid and base and silver border to lid. With hinged silver-gilt mount. Measures 7 ½ x 6 ½ x 3 ¾ in. Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500 Lot No: 1346 Carved Blue Chalcedony Scent Bottle Designed and Carved by Sherris Cottier Shank Part of the vanguard of American lapidary artists, the exceptional quality of Sherris' work is demonstrated through this fine, unique scent bottle. The shapely, gem-quality natural blue chalcedony bottle was carved from a single boulder of Turkish rough. Intricately sculpted all around it display both polished and matte areas, weighing approximately 816.26 carats. The Bolivian ametrine finial, weighing 102.65 carats, completes the elegant form and and is set atop a Brazilian frosted rock crystal quartz stopper, weighing 24.75 carats. The entire stopper fits into the bottle with the aid of a rubber o-ring that creates a secure seal. Height overall: 5in. Estimate: $5,500 - 7,500 Request Condition Report Footnote: This sculpture won an honorable mention in the 3rd Annual Engraving Competition held in Idar Oberstein, Germany.

The "Well-Healed" Tourmaline...and more

Today over at Michael Lebowitz's Posterous...

Michael asked: "While talking about visualizing time and evolution, it occurred to me that tree rings are naturally occurring data visualization... any other examples out there?"

Crystals are the perfect example!

This tourmaline out grew the Vug it called home - broke off and with time and pressure it healed grew a little - broke - healed - grew a little - broke...and so on...until this "well-healed" (pun intended) tourmaline was found bent and broken yet solid and a beautiful testament to time.

...and then of course you also have the various minerals that hit the region represented in the color banding! YEP! crystals are the perfect example of naturally occurring data visualization!

Tourmaline from Paprock, Afghanistan
http://atomicperfection.com/

From Fine Mineral Show - San Francisco

or...this gorgeous Aquamarine...what catastrophic event do you think caused the dramatic loss of color at that particular point in the growth of the crystal?

Aquamarine from Alpine Mineral Company
http://www.alpineminerals.com/minerals.html

From Fine Mineral Show - San Francisco

All That Glitters...in San Diego...

All That Glitters: San Diego Museum Launches Two-Year Exhibition

Pala International to provide 100 gems and minerals

The San Diego Natural History Museum is opening an exciting new exhibit for all those gem lovers out there. “All that Glitters: The Splendor & Science of Gems and Minerals” will include mineral specimens, faceted gemstones, and designer jewelry. It tells the story from the formation of gems within the Earth to Man’s creations employing all the wonderful gem materials. The exhibit will appropriately focus on the fascinating array of gems and minerals found in San Diego County, along with a wide variety from major gem producing regions around the Earth.

Over 100 gems and mineral specimens will be provided by Pala International. Prominent names in the industry like Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier will provide a wide range of original jewelry pieces. Harvard University, the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston all will be adding to the extravaganza with more jewels and mineral specimens.

The exhibit opens May 15, 2010 and is scheduled to run through April 2012. “In addition to demonstrating the ‘splendor and science of gems and minerals,’ All That Glitters will have a playful side,” says Exhibition Curator and Graduate Gemologist Elise B. Misiorowski. “Jewels and carvings incorporating natural-history themes will give children as well as adults delightful surprises to hunt for. How many jeweled butterflies, birds, and flowers can you find? Which case contains the Faberge carved pig with diamond eyes?”

Excerpt from the January Gem News from Pala International

LAST DAY!!! Minerals Harder Than Quartz

40 specimens of minerals have been placed in our current theme auction. The focus this week is on minerals with a
hardness greater than that of quartz. Please feel free to take a look at:

http://auction2.mineral-auctions.com

FYI, the measure of minerals hardness is generally given using Mohs Scale. This was devised in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs using 10 commonly available minerals. Because of this, it is usually easy to find the 10 reference minerals (with the possible exception of diamonds). There is a good summary to be found at:

http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/mohs_hardness_scale.html

It includes a graphical comparison to absolute hardness. The numbers refer to the ability of one mineral to scratch the surface of another. This can get confusing when some harder minerals tend to crumble (we might call them
friable), have strong cleaveages (it is easy to cleave topaz even though it is quite hard), or have different hardness in different directions (kyanite). So, have fun looking and think a bit about how you might use hardness to identify
an unknown mineral.

One interesting usage of the harder than quartz question is whether or not a mineral is suitable for use in a ring. Since quartz is a common component of dust, you might not want to choose something softer than quartz as it will get scratched over time.

-------------------------------------------------

Thanks once again Keith I love these themed auctions and the information that comes along with it!

Trinity Mineral Company Auctions

Allochromatic and Idiochromatic minerals

If you know me you know that I am attracted to "new" words...

Today's Daily Jewel is inspired by the latest auction offering from Keith at Trinity Minerals mineral-auctions.com

This time around the theme is minerals colored by nickel, lead or chromium. Check them out at:

http://auction2.mineral-auctions.com

This theme was suggested by Miranda (of Dakota Matrix) and include allochromatic and idiochromatic minerals.

Idiochromatic refers to minerals whose color is set by their composition. A good example of an idiochromatic mineral is linarite which is always an intense blue color.

Allochromatic refers to minerals whose color varies based on the presence of impurities. Green grossulars are a good example as the presence of chromium in ppm levels causes the normally colorless grossular garnet to be tinted green... another maybe more familiar example is ruby which is the chromium rich variety of corundum.

Check out the auction for more on these terms...but get there soon. The Crocoite specimen pictured from the area of Dundas, Tasmania in Australia has already sold out!

Photo Info: Crocoite offered by Bill Logan - It is "an aesthetic grouping of stout parallel prismatic crystals with excellent luster and a bright orange-red color. Crocoite is one of the very few Chromate minerals considered collectable due to its vivid color. This is due to Chromium, a versatile chromaphor, which also imparts color to Ruby and Emerald. The lead content adds density and luster. This is an older specimen featuring stout blunt crystals, less fragile than more recent specimens. The featured aerial terminarion is undamaged but imperfect with accumulation of the yellow granular mineral so often seen in association with Dundas material. The accessory crystals do show some conchoidal fractures, but overall it displays beautifully."

STOLEN!!!! Rare Gems & Minerals!

URGENT NEWS!!!!

Rare Earth Mining Company

Bill Heher of Rare Earth Mining recently posted the following:

    A portion of Rare Earth Mining Co.'s unusual and highly recognizable inventory was stolen in a smash and grab theft in Pennsylvania. The thieves gained access to the vehicle by smashing the right rear glass panel window. Suspects have been arrested in the case trying to cash checks made out to the company. The stones have     yet to be recovered. "This inventory is highly identifiable", said Bill Heher, owner of the company."       Jewelers, designers, and collectors will recognize the items if offered for sale." A significant reward for recovery of all or part of the merchandise is available to persons supplying the correct information. Contact Officer Durilla with the Pennsylvania State Police at 610-395-1438. A portion of the inventory follows. 
Azurite Malachite matched pairs 
Single large Azurite /Malachite (Large green eyes in blue field freeform)
Insects in Amber Collection 
Star Rose Quartz Cabochons (deep pink fine stars) 
Pyrite in Quartz oval (water clear quartz w/ pyrite cube) 
12ct Cuprian Tourmaline Trillion 
29ct Imperial Topaz pear shape 
Drusy Chrysocolla cabs 
Gem Chrysocolla Cabs 
Assorted orange fire opal faceted stones 
10.12ct Intense yellow Sapphire cushion 
Magnetite jade slabs plated with gold 
Super gem Rhodocrosite cabs 
Matched amethyst stalactites 
A large Green petrified wood branch specimen (forearm size)    
 More info:

    Bill at Rare Earth 203-545-1351

    Rare Earth Mining Company