Rock Expo Day 2
Finally have a minute to catch my breath! Sorry for the delay, Easter weekend jam-packed itself while I wasn’t looking. Here are the photographs from day two of the rock expo!
First: that SLAB of Lapis I was goin on about
Did you know Lapis Lazuli glows under black light? The Lazuli part fluoresces. Speaking of fluorescence, Let’s talk about Fluorite! Yes, both words come from the same root, the Latin “fluere,” which means “to flow.”
This wavy fluorite bowl was longer than my forearm, as was the cookie-colored Onyx bowl behind it.
This one would taste like a purple otter pop if you licked it, I think:
If ever there was a rock pretty enough to eat though, it’d be Amber. The rich honey tone of this rock reminds me of the inside of our old behive, all aswarm with glossy golden bodies and irridescent wings.
Bring me some royal jelly, becauseI feel like a queen wearing this beautiful sample:
The convention also served as a venue for adjacent trades. There were many booths devoted to spirituality and crystal healing. There were booths looking less to sell, and more to educate, such as this well-labeled display of specimines:
And then there booths like this one, which sold lamps, with wares pretty enough to rival pearls.
Oh! The pearls!Â
These are Baroque Pearls. They represent a conundrum of the gemstone world: The more even and regular a stone is, the more likely it is to be fake, but when natural stones are even and regular, they’re worth more.Â
That slab of Lapis from the start is very, very high quality, which you can tell because of its deep, even blue. There’s few veins of other, contaminating minerals. However, you can tell it’s genuine from the uneaven stripe of whitish stone running down the center.
Because Baroque Pearls are defined as any pearl which is irregular in size, shape, or color, it’s easy to tell if they’re genuine. However, since they’re so uneven, they’re considered a less expensive form of pearl. Figures!
As a palate cleanser, here’s bucket of raw garnets
And finally, the last picture from the fair, some sparkly zirconium, cut for jewelry:
So there you have it folks! Some Very Neat Rocks! Happy Easter C:
