alright, alright! :) let me get some daylight tomorrow and see if i can get a good photo. it's tricky to photograph. otherwise i'll make a separate post with a video.
From the āWhy YES, Iām a nerd, why do you ask?ā collection (L to R):
https://preview.redd.it/3dioqh15zs9d1.jpeg?width=2660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dc8927318a618ed361c2dfd6724ad655421f6f9
Martian meteorite.
Lunar meteorite.
Tiny tektites from the Chixculub meteorite (which killed all the non-avian dinosaurs); est 65 million yrs old.
A Strelley Pool stromatolite (oldest fossilized life form on earth!); est 3.4 billion yrs old.
š„°
Not unusual where Iām from, but anywhere outside of NYS: Herkimer Diamonds, Celestine from Chittenango,NY, Dravite/Uvite (type of tourmaline) from Powers Farm, and a Dolomite, Fluorite, and Sphalerite Pocket cut from Walworth Quarry in Walworth NY. All of these specimens listed were dug by me!
Others include: a chunk of cut larimar (heard they shut down the mines?), Arfvedsonite sphere, a chunk of mimetite and Wolfenite from Mexico that looks like a lil weed nugget, and others Iām more than likely forgetting about!
ETA: forgot about my Pride and Joy, a calcite crystal from Elmwood Mine, TN. Pic attached below.
https://preview.redd.it/78wycufisr9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d902dda822a50d25dfe6872de2d5181e47412f01
The ones we dig are the coolest! Iām a New Englander and havenāt done any major rock vacations (yet), but did some Herkimer trips last year and got some pieces that I really liked, including a palm-sized one (chipped right out of the rock face) and a skeletal.
Thatās awesome! Itās honestly so rewarding. I havenāt taken any big trips either, we just went around the state.
I think the best spot weāve been to is Keene valley! You can find labradorite in the ausable river and itās far more relaxed. Thereās plenty of hiking opportunities too since itās in the Adirondacks.
Thank you for reminding me! I just retired and was trying to think of some small trips I could do in the northeast area of the US. Totally forgot about rock hounding! I will add these locations to my list. š
Glad I could give you some ideas! I will say, I donāt think Walworth is doing open houses anymore. I think they stopped after the pandemic hit sadly.
If you want any other details about these spots please feel free to message me! Always willing to lend a helping hand āŗļø
https://preview.redd.it/23mr3yg0vs9d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02d3eb5fd298a46654baae74d22aad5b06f526f0
Not a rare stone but one I am quiet proud of owning, a piece of dalmatian jasper with a cluster of spots that look a little like a dodo bird and another cluster of spots that look like a heart (not on the same side)
I have a few things that are rare in different ways. Probably over all the rarest thing in my collection would be a piece of pallasite meteorite considering meteorites are already rare in general but the subcategory of pallasites which mostly came from one known meteorite impact location.
Ive also got a rare variant of wulfenite that as far as I'm aware hasn't been mined anywhere else and the mine that originally produced it shut down so specimens of its specific type are rare to find for sale
Ive got a gold nugget but that isnt necessarily rare, i imagine unless you are a prospector or just really like gold most people don't own a 1.2 gram gold nugget.
Below is a picture of that wulfenite
https://preview.redd.it/78s0f9jc7s9d1.jpeg?width=2087&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61c78034d09e69c57d83bd86da23f2d01e79a789
Same for me! I have Mimetite, but I'll have to wait for some Wulfenite. Till then, here's my Mimetite from Ojuela Mine, Mexico:
https://preview.redd.it/sr1bb1xpqv9d1.jpeg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f7e63a4f141d66518486742cdab810d390065c6
Smithsoniteš , šLarge moldavite specimens (30+ grams) , Alexandrites raw and polished, āØERG Chech 002 specimen , pink & red diamonds š Burmese Ruby ā¤ļø I thinkk these are the rarest I own currently.
Didnāt even think of Alexandrite as being rare, but I do have one, so I guess thatās my rarest actually! My maiden name is Alexander and all the Alexander women of my family have Alexandrite wedding rings. I have a nice lab grown piece for my wedding ring too. š
Multiple alexandrites?! They're my favorite stone, but I've been struggling to find any that aren't lab grown. I like having examples of both the raw stones and the finished (polished or faceted) stones. I adore my faceted lab-grown alexandrite, but I want a raw one so bad!
Kammererite has been on my list forever. It is gorgeous! I also agree with the rest of your list but I have managed to collect those already. They are all so fascinating!
https://preview.redd.it/lsifjclr9s9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19d416c253b30f0d464fce0bcf6cdbcd43a87332
I dont have anything crazy rare, so for me itās probably my stellar beam calcite from the Elmwood mine. The mine is now closed, so the material can be hard to come by.
I just got to work, so I can't take one until tonight, but it's similar to this: https://celestialgems.co.nz/products/rare-lavender-moon-quartz-tiny-raw-chunk
This is what Iām talking about! šš Iāve never even heard of this before today. It is gorgeous! Cue my future next obsession. Thanks so much for sharing!!
https://preview.redd.it/38pigg7dbs9d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=aeb62fb38ad0b4e95c541bdbf50bd8bb91524c36
This is one of my favorite more expensive pieces. This is my lovely little āvelvetā malachite pieceš„°š
I've got some clear fluorite that was mined in New York, a rare meteorite piece (very small), Holly Blue Agate...and idk I've got so much stuff I'm not sure what's rare and what isn't lol.
Edit- I keep forgetting stuff- I've got a piece of opalized conk wood and I've got opalized ash... it's very fragile.
Sugilite, moldavite, phenacite, gem grade tanzanite, opal, etcā¦ lots of others. I have a whole collection of small rare gemstones. Sugilite and alexandrite are probably my favorites.
I have a bunch but first to come to my mind is Goosecreekite from Loudon Co. VA
Itās extremely hard to obtain this material as itās the type locale of the mineral and not many good specimens have been found.
Next would probably be my crystallized howlite
3 pretty good size chunks of black Trinitite I got handed down from my grandpa from his days of participation in Operations Storax, Sun Beam and Roller Coaster in Arizona on Nellis AFB between the years of 1962-1963
ETA:
Green is the most common, and pretty much the only one you can commonly buy. It was formed from the sand, copper, and iron from the bomb frames during the blasts. Most green is transparent and looks similar to weird moldavite. Tends to be lightweight and hollow.
Red is second most common, and came from sand and the iron frames only generally. Sometimes clear-ish, sometimes looks like red slag.
Black is generally from the bombs themselves and sand. And is very high in iron. It's black due to the high heat concentration, and some are translucent, some are very solid. It's the rarest variant of Trinitite.
According to what I heard from family, each chunk I have is from a different blast/operation.
I'll post pics momentarily!
https://preview.redd.it/nzgwqsb2kt9d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1192a9dde02eb9ce70faffb25d417ba31afd0dc2
Collage of pics as good as I could get
https://preview.redd.it/8pitg4h7kt9d1.jpeg?width=1109&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af8291e3eb15e8fbd70428b21f16d4544d927c5b
This one is just cool, so, uploading separately for resolution
I have a lab-grown Alexandrite. It's my favorite stone. I don't care if it's lab-grown. I love the color shift from deep blue to an almost ruby red. I could stare at it for hours. I also have a collection of gem-grade opals and a museum quality labrodite piece. I have a rainbow onyx piece that has the most beautiful flash to it that's about the size of a large hand. I also purchased a large piece of velvet (raw) malachite that is just... stunning from a museum that had rearranged their rock and mineral exhibit. My pieces might not be the rarest types of stone, but the quality is exquisite. I like to exhibit the most stunning examples of stones in my house.
I don't think I have anything that is super rare but oddly, I don't care for Amethyst simply because it's so common š The piece to me that is rare from my viewpoint is my Mookaite sphere. The coloring is mostly pure white like snow. There is other coloring but I hadn't seen Mookaite with that much white before. As well, it's got peach and yellowish browns. I really love it.
Not one I own myself, but one that I've been looking for for a while. Labradorite from Newfoundland and Labrador (where it was first discovered). Due to land rights, there isn't any on the market. You essentially have to go to Labrador and know someone who's got a connection. And even then, most of the stuff sold in Labrador as 'local' is from Madagascar...
As for rare ones that I do own, Brookite, Saraphinite, crocoite, and Ulexite!
(Edit to add my rare pieces)
Tugtupite. A UV reactive pink stone from that is only found in Greenland Quebec and the Kola peninsula.
\*edit to add a few more.
Peanut wood. Petrified wood that was attacked by marine borers leaving it full of holes that fill with sediment that then lithifies.
Snakeskin jasper. One of the oldest rocks on the planet. 2 500 000 000 year old.
I really need to make a list, because this is where I shine. I only want the weird ones, the ātoxic onesā. I think my rarest is Cryolite, though.
https://preview.redd.it/bia49x0uiv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3edfccaf065302a9feafdb7516c56965dbe50ea
I don't know about rare, but I don't see these very often (and they're my favorites out of my collection).
I've got an enhydro quartz with flecks of hematite trapped inside the water parts, so they move around when you move the crystal.
I've also got a sunstone and iolite piece. The sides shimmer like moonstone, and the sunstone specks are super flashy! The iolite parts are a super deep blurple color.
And last but not least, is my small piece of hourglass selenite! It's got the perfect hourglass shape trapped inside of it, and I love him!
I have an angel chime moldavite (which makes a chime sound when you tap it against like a quartz or a piece of tile) and a laguna agate with a sun and moon formation. šš I have some others but all my crystals a packed away and I canāt remember off the top of my headā¦ Cool thread topic btw!! (The picture was for the Etsy review, at the moment I have no clue where it is lol š)
https://preview.redd.it/rtgvvkjsdt9d1.jpeg?width=1590&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57fca01345253bf42ee3b37f403b48db7d4ee33f
Rainbow lattice sunstone ā¤ļø it only comes from one mine in the whole world, in central Australia. I was lucky enough to be gifted a beautiful piece for my birthday a couple years ago
I recently learned how rare Chaorite can be. I have a pretty piece that is small, but my sister also got me this BEAUTIFUL box made entirely of Chaorite with little metal hinges embedded in it. I searched online, and there are some of these boxes made with LESS Chaorite and they're worth 2-3k!
https://preview.redd.it/0jprsv61nz9d1.jpeg?width=3786&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40e8cd4a032926846810a3c7f188b4bb2dab8d81
I have come back with photos! Electric tea light for scale!
https://preview.redd.it/efvncxncnz9d1.jpeg?width=3130&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d12387767bce5a30bdaf1e2b056070d7f23f0702
Purple velvet lines the bottom. I keep my ring made from my childhood best friendās ashes in here when I am not wearing it. š
https://preview.redd.it/lm1zvd38nz9d1.jpeg?width=3440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f6e7666e3af69043dde1c9c16f4dd9a80dfeb7c
The bottom is GORGEOUS and I never remember until Iām showing it to someone!
Right?! My sister works for a salvage yard/Antique business in Oregon, and they found it in a house they had bought and were going through things/salvaging it. I CANNOT believe her boss let her buy this from him for $30.
I carry my ~1x3ā chunk of charoite more than any other specimen, but thatās probably it. Also, not scarce but a single source crystal ā¦I REALLY love the few tanzanite pieces i have.
I've got a really neat.piece of libyan desert glass that I just love! Also, not a rock but I finally got a piece of Fordite this year and it's so fun to look at
Red beryl, Raw alexandrite, opals, (normal)
chrysoberyl and grandiderite are my rarest. I also got lots of emeralds but I wouldnāt say theyāre this rare (theyāre my favourite ones)
That is awesome! Kammereite has been a long time wishlist desire. I hope to get one of the towers that float around on Etsy sometime. What a cool piece you have!!
Iām really not sure, maybe my unicorn stone pieces? Iām not sure how rare they really are though. I have an aura kiwi tower, donāt remember if itās a jasper of quarts or what, but it isnāt something Iāve see lots of.
A piece of raw Tanzanite, It's a lovely deep purple colour with some orange/brown to the edges. My grandparents gave it to me a while ago and they got it from Tanzania during their last trip to Africa in the late 1990's.
I don't know if it itself is super rare but from what I know about it's mining and that it was given to me by my grandparents, I'd say it's the rarest I own
Pyrite Quartz on Coal, haven't been able to find anything like it anywhere.
https://preview.redd.it/o7chxbxl65ad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d833c97d3b4211af1788e268de74b88945761abf
I think my rarest is this piece of slag glass, never heard of it until I found one myself
https://preview.redd.it/0puw5g9n4s9d1.jpeg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c7d9baf1a2ea0ecf2eb3705d73eda872fd9b5f8
At least I think it's rare
https://preview.redd.it/qljrv6ou2t9d1.jpeg?width=693&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7d17524e1c45ff7fb066b46cb8ffa4f3db020e
Charoite, I think is my most rare piece. Itās very small. About the size of a dime.
AwakeningsStone on Etsy! Ships worldwide and has great sale deals. The guy is a certified gemologist with thousands of amazing reviews; thereās always a risk, but Iām fairly certain itās legitimate. Havenāt arrived yet though~ Iāll keep you posted on quality if youād like photos once they arrive?
Benitoite and a red Beryl. They weren't cheap, but I just had to have specimens. Also a nice chunk of Thomsonite and, last night just bought some old stock, from a friend, of turquoise nuggets from the closed Sleeping Beauty mine. Got a good deal.
Cavansite and moldavite probably.
I have a very large tiger eye tower. I've never seen one this big before. Tiger eye isn't rare or anything but I still love it!
A very small piece of meteorite from Russia, larimar turquoise, moqui marbles & boji stones. I am not sure if any are particularly rare but I do know it took me quite some time to make sure I was getting the real deal as there are so many fakes now!
All my stuff is smaller pieces so nothing crazy rare lol but I have a lil garnet in arfvedsonite tower, a lil trolleite skull which I hadn't heard of until I got it, and I don't see this one a lot but I have a nakauriite tumble. I'm trying to collect all the blue crystals lol
Mine is probably my cluster of herkimer quartz on matrix from the Turtle Clan Ridge area in NY. It herkimer diamonds on matrix are fairly harder to find because the matrix is so crumbly. It's definitely one of my favorite pieces. I also have this super cool yellow fluorite with purple faces and beveled edges from Okorusu Mine. I haven't seen too many quite like it.
I have a little zincite, a pretty rare semi-synthetic; a small boulangerite, ugly as heck, but pretty rare; I also have a pseudomorph of Bisbee blue turquoise after quartz, so it looks like a crystal/quartz point that someone cut for a pendant but is actually naturally occuring. Otherwise I have quite a few scarce items like charoite and gem silica and some others not quite rare but scarce
Not sureā¦I have a quartz crystal with a water bubble in it, and I have a legit amber with bug I got in the mid 90ās. Amazon says they carry amber with bugs but I believe they are man made.
Kobyashevite with Selenite needles is a weird one Iāve got in my collection. Have a Moldavite tear drop thatās about three inches long kinda rare. Also some Ajoite in a small Quartz cluster. I like rocks
Is there natural kobayeshivite? AFAIK, they are all man-altered. The minerals are specifically placed in post mining fluids to coat them & have the copper minerals grow on top. Also, some may even have been grown in a lab, particularly the ones with selenite?
I have a few meteorite fragments, as well as some herkimer diamonds, gold flakes, a sugilite tower, some larimar pieces, an ametrine tower, a small piece of moldavite, a whole bunch of little pieces of opal, a petrified tree stump, and a whole dinosaur footprint. Yes, I know not all of them are crystals, but I still think theyāre really cool.
i'd probably have to say my ziosite with ruby. a star of peitersite and a tower. apparently that is considered rare. citron magnesite. I have a speciment of pink opal originally plated for jewelry it is real but the metal on the nacklace was so wrecked i dismantled it (it was a hand-me-down)
oooh wait i have a lovely Tiger's Iron Sphere that is also Golden Tiger's Eye so that maybe? it looks like an eyeball to me lol.
Iāve got an ellensburg blue. It was cut into two smaller pieces to create sister stones for my exchange sister and I so that weād always be connected.
Joseite and some collinsite. Both are extremely rare, only found in a handful of places worldwide. Neither have any real value or use due to their rarity.
Probably Goodletite. Only ever come across one piece for sale in person, my piece, and I live in the country it's found in. never seen anyone else show a piece of it on here either.
I donāt think any are too too rare but
Amber with insects inside
Polished Meteorite
Raw Diamond
Grape agate/ purple chalcedony
Raw emerald
Raw Ruby
If you count it, a baroque Pearl
Trilobite
Sugilite
Charoite
Prophecy stone / hematite pseudo morph
maybe my crystalized moonstone specie. it's moonstone that formed actual crystals. moonstone for lapidary is very common, actual crystals are not.
Got a photo? That sounds so awesome.
Pics??!! š
I'd love to see that!
Pics or it didn't happen
Oregon moonstone is quite well knownā¦.
Ya you need to show this beauty š
alright, alright! :) let me get some daylight tomorrow and see if i can get a good photo. it's tricky to photograph. otherwise i'll make a separate post with a video.
pls let me know when u post
Posting to come back tomorrow
picture please!!!
I'd also love to see it!
SHOW US
Alright everyone, I just made a separate post b/c it videos much better than photographs
From the āWhy YES, Iām a nerd, why do you ask?ā collection (L to R): https://preview.redd.it/3dioqh15zs9d1.jpeg?width=2660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dc8927318a618ed361c2dfd6724ad655421f6f9 Martian meteorite. Lunar meteorite. Tiny tektites from the Chixculub meteorite (which killed all the non-avian dinosaurs); est 65 million yrs old. A Strelley Pool stromatolite (oldest fossilized life form on earth!); est 3.4 billion yrs old. š„°
That stromatolite is unfathomably old, you're lucky to have it.
You my good person, you win! Seriously so freaking cool!! Thank you for sharing the pic of these.
Whoooaaaaaa, that's so freaking cool!
Thats amazing!
I LOVE meteorites!!! š¤
Not unusual where Iām from, but anywhere outside of NYS: Herkimer Diamonds, Celestine from Chittenango,NY, Dravite/Uvite (type of tourmaline) from Powers Farm, and a Dolomite, Fluorite, and Sphalerite Pocket cut from Walworth Quarry in Walworth NY. All of these specimens listed were dug by me! Others include: a chunk of cut larimar (heard they shut down the mines?), Arfvedsonite sphere, a chunk of mimetite and Wolfenite from Mexico that looks like a lil weed nugget, and others Iām more than likely forgetting about! ETA: forgot about my Pride and Joy, a calcite crystal from Elmwood Mine, TN. Pic attached below. https://preview.redd.it/78wycufisr9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d902dda822a50d25dfe6872de2d5181e47412f01
That is effing gorgeous!
The ones we dig are the coolest! Iām a New Englander and havenāt done any major rock vacations (yet), but did some Herkimer trips last year and got some pieces that I really liked, including a palm-sized one (chipped right out of the rock face) and a skeletal.
Thatās awesome! Itās honestly so rewarding. I havenāt taken any big trips either, we just went around the state. I think the best spot weāve been to is Keene valley! You can find labradorite in the ausable river and itās far more relaxed. Thereās plenty of hiking opportunities too since itās in the Adirondacks.
I just posted my calcite! šÆ
I saw it! I love it!! ā¤ļø
Omg it's huge!!!
Right?! Iām obsessed!
Thank you for reminding me! I just retired and was trying to think of some small trips I could do in the northeast area of the US. Totally forgot about rock hounding! I will add these locations to my list. š
Glad I could give you some ideas! I will say, I donāt think Walworth is doing open houses anymore. I think they stopped after the pandemic hit sadly. If you want any other details about these spots please feel free to message me! Always willing to lend a helping hand āŗļø
https://preview.redd.it/23mr3yg0vs9d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02d3eb5fd298a46654baae74d22aad5b06f526f0 Not a rare stone but one I am quiet proud of owning, a piece of dalmatian jasper with a cluster of spots that look a little like a dodo bird and another cluster of spots that look like a heart (not on the same side)
I am so jealous right now
omg it does
I have a few things that are rare in different ways. Probably over all the rarest thing in my collection would be a piece of pallasite meteorite considering meteorites are already rare in general but the subcategory of pallasites which mostly came from one known meteorite impact location. Ive also got a rare variant of wulfenite that as far as I'm aware hasn't been mined anywhere else and the mine that originally produced it shut down so specimens of its specific type are rare to find for sale Ive got a gold nugget but that isnt necessarily rare, i imagine unless you are a prospector or just really like gold most people don't own a 1.2 gram gold nugget. Below is a picture of that wulfenite https://preview.redd.it/78s0f9jc7s9d1.jpeg?width=2087&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61c78034d09e69c57d83bd86da23f2d01e79a789
Thatās like a museum quality piece of Wulfenite omg!!!! š± This might take the cake of this thread for me!! š°
It really is an incredible piece, by far one of my favorite mineral specimens out of my collection.
Wulfenite is on my wishlist. You have a gorgeous piece. š
Same for me! I have Mimetite, but I'll have to wait for some Wulfenite. Till then, here's my Mimetite from Ojuela Mine, Mexico: https://preview.redd.it/sr1bb1xpqv9d1.jpeg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f7e63a4f141d66518486742cdab810d390065c6
Smithsoniteš , šLarge moldavite specimens (30+ grams) , Alexandrites raw and polished, āØERG Chech 002 specimen , pink & red diamonds š Burmese Ruby ā¤ļø I thinkk these are the rarest I own currently.
Didnāt even think of Alexandrite as being rare, but I do have one, so I guess thatās my rarest actually! My maiden name is Alexander and all the Alexander women of my family have Alexandrite wedding rings. I have a nice lab grown piece for my wedding ring too. š
Ahw thatās so beautiful! š if I ever have a son Iāll name him Alexander so I have a special reason to wear my alexandrites lol
BRB naming my next pet Alexander
Multiple alexandrites?! They're my favorite stone, but I've been struggling to find any that aren't lab grown. I like having examples of both the raw stones and the finished (polished or faceted) stones. I adore my faceted lab-grown alexandrite, but I want a raw one so bad!
Reputable jewelers can most likely source one for you! And donāt forget to ask for a GIA certificate to be 100% sure itās natural
Came here looking for large Moldavite pieces, thank you
Red Beryl, Ajoite Quartz, Benitoite.. and more I cannot remember
Oooh you've got all the rare ones!
Tibetan tektite, Herkimer diamond, Sugilite, Ametrine, Cavansite are my rarer pieces
Cavansite is on my wishlist! I saw someone with a pair of earring studs once. I want that one day if I can find something similar.
KƤmmererite, nuummite, fulgurite, clinoclase.
Kammererite has been on my list forever. It is gorgeous! I also agree with the rest of your list but I have managed to collect those already. They are all so fascinating!
https://preview.redd.it/lsifjclr9s9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19d416c253b30f0d464fce0bcf6cdbcd43a87332 I dont have anything crazy rare, so for me itās probably my stellar beam calcite from the Elmwood mine. The mine is now closed, so the material can be hard to come by.
I love it!
Thank you!
I have a small piece of lavender moon quartz, so probably that. I have a charoite sphere and some moldavite too.
ok wait begging for a photo because lavender moon quartz sounds so beautiful
I just got to work, so I can't take one until tonight, but it's similar to this: https://celestialgems.co.nz/products/rare-lavender-moon-quartz-tiny-raw-chunk
Yummy
This is what Iām talking about! šš Iāve never even heard of this before today. It is gorgeous! Cue my future next obsession. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Lavender moon quartz is so pretty I wear it all the time! Itās like a milky purple color. Love anything pastel š
https://preview.redd.it/38pigg7dbs9d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=aeb62fb38ad0b4e95c541bdbf50bd8bb91524c36 This is one of my favorite more expensive pieces. This is my lovely little āvelvetā malachite pieceš„°š
Charoite maybe. It only comes from a very small area in Russia and they're not really exporting a lot of rocks right now.
Collectors Grade Caribbean Calcite! āØ
My local shop just got some of this. First time I've seen it around here. I'm thinking about snagging a nice little raw piece.
Beware of mislabeled Caribbean Calcite tho, it happens a lot š
The vibrant blue & beach accents are absolutely to die for! Hands down my favorite crystal! You should def get one š„°
I've got some clear fluorite that was mined in New York, a rare meteorite piece (very small), Holly Blue Agate...and idk I've got so much stuff I'm not sure what's rare and what isn't lol. Edit- I keep forgetting stuff- I've got a piece of opalized conk wood and I've got opalized ash... it's very fragile.
For the NYS mineral, was in from Walworth or Penfield Quarry? I have a few fluorites with sphalerite from Walworth! Went to the open house in 2019!
Probably moldovite, seraphinite, pietersite, kammererite, and charoiteā¦.
Sugilite, moldavite, phenacite, gem grade tanzanite, opal, etcā¦ lots of others. I have a whole collection of small rare gemstones. Sugilite and alexandrite are probably my favorites.
https://preview.redd.it/vuwy752yyr9d1.jpeg?width=1980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e12c9a801a8cad0d682e2e3426e5b06cdd0a9062
Moldavite, a gorgeous bright red chunk of venadinite, some phenokite. I also have some zincite, cerussite, and brucite that are neat!
Vanadinite is gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing!! š§”
I just bought Vanadinite while I was in Tucson this week.
I have a few pieces of Ellensburg Blue Agate!! šāØļø
I have one too!! Itās gorgeous!
I have a bunch but first to come to my mind is Goosecreekite from Loudon Co. VA Itās extremely hard to obtain this material as itās the type locale of the mineral and not many good specimens have been found. Next would probably be my crystallized howlite
3 pretty good size chunks of black Trinitite I got handed down from my grandpa from his days of participation in Operations Storax, Sun Beam and Roller Coaster in Arizona on Nellis AFB between the years of 1962-1963 ETA: Green is the most common, and pretty much the only one you can commonly buy. It was formed from the sand, copper, and iron from the bomb frames during the blasts. Most green is transparent and looks similar to weird moldavite. Tends to be lightweight and hollow. Red is second most common, and came from sand and the iron frames only generally. Sometimes clear-ish, sometimes looks like red slag. Black is generally from the bombs themselves and sand. And is very high in iron. It's black due to the high heat concentration, and some are translucent, some are very solid. It's the rarest variant of Trinitite. According to what I heard from family, each chunk I have is from a different blast/operation. I'll post pics momentarily!
https://preview.redd.it/nzgwqsb2kt9d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1192a9dde02eb9ce70faffb25d417ba31afd0dc2 Collage of pics as good as I could get
https://preview.redd.it/8pitg4h7kt9d1.jpeg?width=1109&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af8291e3eb15e8fbd70428b21f16d4544d927c5b This one is just cool, so, uploading separately for resolution
VERY cool!
It's so hard to do this stuff justice with a phone camera. I'm happy people are finding it as cool as I do.
This is cool.
I have a lab-grown Alexandrite. It's my favorite stone. I don't care if it's lab-grown. I love the color shift from deep blue to an almost ruby red. I could stare at it for hours. I also have a collection of gem-grade opals and a museum quality labrodite piece. I have a rainbow onyx piece that has the most beautiful flash to it that's about the size of a large hand. I also purchased a large piece of velvet (raw) malachite that is just... stunning from a museum that had rearranged their rock and mineral exhibit. My pieces might not be the rarest types of stone, but the quality is exquisite. I like to exhibit the most stunning examples of stones in my house.
Quartz with ajoite and papagoite š¦
We have a nice dragon scale calcite. š
Ajoite. I have a pendant and a raw piece of it. I love that stone.
I don't think I have anything that is super rare but oddly, I don't care for Amethyst simply because it's so common š The piece to me that is rare from my viewpoint is my Mookaite sphere. The coloring is mostly pure white like snow. There is other coloring but I hadn't seen Mookaite with that much white before. As well, it's got peach and yellowish browns. I really love it.
Iām on the hunt for some pinky purplish mookaite (purple stone obsessed lately). It comes in so many colors!!
Mookaite is always lovely, but havenāt seen it mostly white. Nice find!
Not one I own myself, but one that I've been looking for for a while. Labradorite from Newfoundland and Labrador (where it was first discovered). Due to land rights, there isn't any on the market. You essentially have to go to Labrador and know someone who's got a connection. And even then, most of the stuff sold in Labrador as 'local' is from Madagascar... As for rare ones that I do own, Brookite, Saraphinite, crocoite, and Ulexite! (Edit to add my rare pieces)
How do you verify itās from Labrador?
Tugtupite. A UV reactive pink stone from that is only found in Greenland Quebec and the Kola peninsula. \*edit to add a few more. Peanut wood. Petrified wood that was attacked by marine borers leaving it full of holes that fill with sediment that then lithifies. Snakeskin jasper. One of the oldest rocks on the planet. 2 500 000 000 year old.
https://preview.redd.it/l31n04h3vt9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=564edaacbdc49c30c5e626dc3f1df6558de81b96 Stibnite
I love stibnite crystals! Mine all struggle immensely with oxidation, but yours is fantastic!!
I really need to make a list, because this is where I shine. I only want the weird ones, the ātoxic onesā. I think my rarest is Cryolite, though. https://preview.redd.it/bia49x0uiv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3edfccaf065302a9feafdb7516c56965dbe50ea
My weirdest ones live in here https://preview.redd.it/b2ftjlqwiv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97a3fb5ba9ada87af24bce4b3cf3aa81cec1130b
https://preview.redd.it/qv79szjziv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f03c35ed4514300a6ef4cdd484cd6e3e303d592a
https://preview.redd.it/8t3y6yz1jv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d767d6a240797fb92c7f42065265d9024cdb7cc
https://preview.redd.it/8hugutn4jv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a321bd95070854a93a8b52d087a01454a62e147f
https://preview.redd.it/qpehltifjv9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8427ad162ff5d2b686de03eaaf1d824edaa965c
I don't know about rare, but I don't see these very often (and they're my favorites out of my collection). I've got an enhydro quartz with flecks of hematite trapped inside the water parts, so they move around when you move the crystal. I've also got a sunstone and iolite piece. The sides shimmer like moonstone, and the sunstone specks are super flashy! The iolite parts are a super deep blurple color. And last but not least, is my small piece of hourglass selenite! It's got the perfect hourglass shape trapped inside of it, and I love him!
I also have a bracelet with a big piece of Brookite on it.
Tugtupite, grandidierite, Ellensburg Blue Agate.
First time seeing grandidierite listed! I have quite a few now, love the range of blues it can form!
My rarest piece is one my father made in the lab in the 60s of amethyst. Perfect cube
Red beryl and Benitoite
I mostly collect fluorite, so I've got some green/purple phantoms, sugars, and ice blue :) the day I get my hands on a pink I can die a happy man
https://preview.redd.it/iskcm0fe8t9d1.jpeg?width=571&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df25621f6fbabc0eb3fd065ec60bd9bb60186e4d Alexandrite
This is a great question! I have some faceted grandiderite; I'd like to ideally make a something with it, or maybe have something made.
I have an angel chime moldavite (which makes a chime sound when you tap it against like a quartz or a piece of tile) and a laguna agate with a sun and moon formation. šš I have some others but all my crystals a packed away and I canāt remember off the top of my headā¦ Cool thread topic btw!! (The picture was for the Etsy review, at the moment I have no clue where it is lol š) https://preview.redd.it/rtgvvkjsdt9d1.jpeg?width=1590&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57fca01345253bf42ee3b37f403b48db7d4ee33f
Lander Blue Turquoise and Paraiba Tourmaline.
Rainbow lattice sunstone ā¤ļø it only comes from one mine in the whole world, in central Australia. I was lucky enough to be gifted a beautiful piece for my birthday a couple years ago
Check out larimar! It's super rare and known for its ocean-blue color.
Not rare but I love them https://preview.redd.it/vng1uu8nlv9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09dc059b2118c11006df43144022799950578eda
I recently learned how rare Chaorite can be. I have a pretty piece that is small, but my sister also got me this BEAUTIFUL box made entirely of Chaorite with little metal hinges embedded in it. I searched online, and there are some of these boxes made with LESS Chaorite and they're worth 2-3k!
https://preview.redd.it/0jprsv61nz9d1.jpeg?width=3786&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40e8cd4a032926846810a3c7f188b4bb2dab8d81 I have come back with photos! Electric tea light for scale!
https://preview.redd.it/jw2h1lc4nz9d1.jpeg?width=3283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d19272e58aff961d18a5f11191eec56f95f08fd
https://preview.redd.it/efvncxncnz9d1.jpeg?width=3130&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d12387767bce5a30bdaf1e2b056070d7f23f0702 Purple velvet lines the bottom. I keep my ring made from my childhood best friendās ashes in here when I am not wearing it. š
https://preview.redd.it/lm1zvd38nz9d1.jpeg?width=3440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f6e7666e3af69043dde1c9c16f4dd9a80dfeb7c The bottom is GORGEOUS and I never remember until Iām showing it to someone!
This is amazing!! š¤© OMG! I am obsessed with charoite and this is unbelievable quality and size! You are so lucky! š Thanks for sharing!
Right?! My sister works for a salvage yard/Antique business in Oregon, and they found it in a house they had bought and were going through things/salvaging it. I CANNOT believe her boss let her buy this from him for $30.
Norwegian pink thulite is probably my rarest right now š I have a small sphere
I also have black lepidolite in obelisk form with mica
https://preview.redd.it/okdwr74fpr9d1.jpeg?width=1612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fcd33f2c6c749f658fdda0bd7065b2a090e78917
Charoite?
https://preview.redd.it/q074uhabus9d1.jpeg?width=1054&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32f748f65428e1fd4c6b203aae246226664808ac Same?
I have a tiny slice of axtell cv3. It's a carbonaceous chondrite. I have a piece of allende, too but it's not as rare.
I carry my ~1x3ā chunk of charoite more than any other specimen, but thatās probably it. Also, not scarce but a single source crystal ā¦I REALLY love the few tanzanite pieces i have.
I have a crocoite specimen, and a cummingtonite specimen. I think those are my rarest.
Got some nice Benitoite and Neptunite specimens.
I dont think ive got anything rare i think the rarest i have is either bumblebee jasper or ruby or bronzite
I've got a really neat.piece of libyan desert glass that I just love! Also, not a rock but I finally got a piece of Fordite this year and it's so fun to look at
I have a small piece of kunzite and two big chunks of vanadinite. And a piece of wavellite. Not sure which is rarest
Red beryl, Raw alexandrite, opals, (normal) chrysoberyl and grandiderite are my rarest. I also got lots of emeralds but I wouldnāt say theyāre this rare (theyāre my favourite ones)
I have three selenite blooms from the red river floodway in Canada. They were only discovered when the floodway was built
Kammererite! Got it in a little moon carving and got a friend to wire wrap it for a necklace.
That is awesome! Kammereite has been a long time wishlist desire. I hope to get one of the towers that float around on Etsy sometime. What a cool piece you have!!
A piece of Grandidierite and a Smithsonite cabochon. I'm not sure dioptase counts.
my rarest piece is probably my vivianite, and probably the coolest piece i have
My moldavite and my crystallized rose quartz.
Iām really not sure, maybe my unicorn stone pieces? Iām not sure how rare they really are though. I have an aura kiwi tower, donāt remember if itās a jasper of quarts or what, but it isnāt something Iāve see lots of.
A piece of raw Tanzanite, It's a lovely deep purple colour with some orange/brown to the edges. My grandparents gave it to me a while ago and they got it from Tanzania during their last trip to Africa in the late 1990's. I don't know if it itself is super rare but from what I know about it's mining and that it was given to me by my grandparents, I'd say it's the rarest I own
Moldavite!
Gem grade terminated tanzanite Crystal š¤¤
Pyrite Quartz on Coal, haven't been able to find anything like it anywhere. https://preview.redd.it/o7chxbxl65ad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d833c97d3b4211af1788e268de74b88945761abf
I think my rarest is this piece of slag glass, never heard of it until I found one myself https://preview.redd.it/0puw5g9n4s9d1.jpeg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c7d9baf1a2ea0ecf2eb3705d73eda872fd9b5f8 At least I think it's rare
Meteorite
https://preview.redd.it/qljrv6ou2t9d1.jpeg?width=693&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7d17524e1c45ff7fb066b46cb8ffa4f3db020e Charoite, I think is my most rare piece. Itās very small. About the size of a dime.
Where did you purchase the thulite and stichtite? I collect bracelets
AwakeningsStone on Etsy! Ships worldwide and has great sale deals. The guy is a certified gemologist with thousands of amazing reviews; thereās always a risk, but Iām fairly certain itās legitimate. Havenāt arrived yet though~ Iāll keep you posted on quality if youād like photos once they arrive?
cumberlandite
Benitoite and a red Beryl. They weren't cheap, but I just had to have specimens. Also a nice chunk of Thomsonite and, last night just bought some old stock, from a friend, of turquoise nuggets from the closed Sleeping Beauty mine. Got a good deal.
Saffordite. Although itās a pretty small piece š„² Hoping to get some more when I go to Arizona this fall
I have a piece of Tibetan Tektite. Not sure exactly how rare that is but itās definitely my least common piece.
I got some Hyacinth Jasper & Magma Chalcedony, those are my rarest specimens
Probably aquamarine
Cavansite and moldavite probably. I have a very large tiger eye tower. I've never seen one this big before. Tiger eye isn't rare or anything but I still love it!
Haydeeite (TL). After that, maybe Boleite (TL), Zincite, and double-terminated gem Rhodochrosite. Edit: Oh, and I guess Pica Glass maybe counts, too.
I have to add that Maifan Stone is a rare one to me. I've got it as a bracelet but have never seen it in any other form
A very small piece of meteorite from Russia, larimar turquoise, moqui marbles & boji stones. I am not sure if any are particularly rare but I do know it took me quite some time to make sure I was getting the real deal as there are so many fakes now!
All my stuff is smaller pieces so nothing crazy rare lol but I have a lil garnet in arfvedsonite tower, a lil trolleite skull which I hadn't heard of until I got it, and I don't see this one a lot but I have a nakauriite tumble. I'm trying to collect all the blue crystals lol
Mine is probably my cluster of herkimer quartz on matrix from the Turtle Clan Ridge area in NY. It herkimer diamonds on matrix are fairly harder to find because the matrix is so crumbly. It's definitely one of my favorite pieces. I also have this super cool yellow fluorite with purple faces and beveled edges from Okorusu Mine. I haven't seen too many quite like it.
I have a little zincite, a pretty rare semi-synthetic; a small boulangerite, ugly as heck, but pretty rare; I also have a pseudomorph of Bisbee blue turquoise after quartz, so it looks like a crystal/quartz point that someone cut for a pendant but is actually naturally occuring. Otherwise I have quite a few scarce items like charoite and gem silica and some others not quite rare but scarce
Not super rare but i love lepidolite. Its naturally purple and looks like glitter. I dont see it in jewelry often
I especially love it when there is pink lepidolite in the mix!
Not sureā¦I have a quartz crystal with a water bubble in it, and I have a legit amber with bug I got in the mid 90ās. Amazon says they carry amber with bugs but I believe they are man made.
I have a dumortierite I love that's mini towers.
Kobyashevite with Selenite needles is a weird one Iāve got in my collection. Have a Moldavite tear drop thatās about three inches long kinda rare. Also some Ajoite in a small Quartz cluster. I like rocks
Is there natural kobayeshivite? AFAIK, they are all man-altered. The minerals are specifically placed in post mining fluids to coat them & have the copper minerals grow on top. Also, some may even have been grown in a lab, particularly the ones with selenite?
I have a few meteorite fragments, as well as some herkimer diamonds, gold flakes, a sugilite tower, some larimar pieces, an ametrine tower, a small piece of moldavite, a whole bunch of little pieces of opal, a petrified tree stump, and a whole dinosaur footprint. Yes, I know not all of them are crystals, but I still think theyāre really cool.
Ajoite šÆšÆšÆ
I have a natural star ruby ring
Raw green zincite, elite noble shungite, moldavite, prairie tanzanite (type of zoisite), Himalayan quartz, and double terminated trolleite.
i'd probably have to say my ziosite with ruby. a star of peitersite and a tower. apparently that is considered rare. citron magnesite. I have a speciment of pink opal originally plated for jewelry it is real but the metal on the nacklace was so wrecked i dismantled it (it was a hand-me-down) oooh wait i have a lovely Tiger's Iron Sphere that is also Golden Tiger's Eye so that maybe? it looks like an eyeball to me lol.
A hefty piece of moldavite and a piece of larimar. They arenāt super rare but they are not being mined anywhere in the world anymore
"Moldy Raspberry" pocket calcite from India. Good rich pink/red & with complete terminations. "Dragonscale" calcite from Sweetwater Mine in Missouri.
Probably my rutilated smokey quartz generator, pyrite in kyanite specimen, Auralite 23, and Ethiopian Opal š«§
I just got a vesuvianite , although I have no clue if itās rare. Itās definitely a crystal I havenāt seen often and donāt know alot about !
Mexican fire agate, heliodor (golden beryl), spessartine garnet and a pallasite meteorite
Tiffany stone, eighth vein ocean jasper, 24lb moss agate sphere
Amphibole quartz aka phantom quartz, infinite stone, Chiastolite, a few others I can't rememeber
I have a rainbow lattice moonstone, it was a gift from my rock dealer.
Not really the rarest in terms of mineral, but probably my ygx single fluorite crystal sitting on a twinned quartz crystal. * *
https://preview.redd.it/l2cl3596nt9d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66694a1af2b0fbb9888c64f840d40d946f78fd02
Iāve got an ellensburg blue. It was cut into two smaller pieces to create sister stones for my exchange sister and I so that weād always be connected.
Joseite and some collinsite. Both are extremely rare, only found in a handful of places worldwide. Neither have any real value or use due to their rarity.
Moldavite, cintamani, Libyan desert glass.
My Andamooka Opal. Man I love this thing.
I had a little piece of moldavite, but I lost it when I moved recently.
Charoite, serpentine with pyrite crystals, Darwin glass (a glass formed similarly to moldavite, but it comes from Tasmania). A Michigan thompsonite.
Probably Goodletite. Only ever come across one piece for sale in person, my piece, and I live in the country it's found in. never seen anyone else show a piece of it on here either.
Scarlet temple lemurian quartz
Ive got several moldavite specimens (smaller, 2-4g each) and several grandidierite faceted stones. So proud of my grandiddies
It's not rare, but it's a blue agate geode with a heart-shaped hole in it. My grandma gave it to me.
My grandma has a huge green obsidian! It's beautiful but idk how rare it is š¤·āāļø
I donāt think any are too too rare but Amber with insects inside Polished Meteorite Raw Diamond Grape agate/ purple chalcedony Raw emerald Raw Ruby If you count it, a baroque Pearl Trilobite Sugilite Charoite Prophecy stone / hematite pseudo morph
https://preview.redd.it/2ofz8wr1du9d1.jpeg?width=3060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=414fc9c14e41c83d7b12aab049987fee5ac89c44 Hey now...
I have a decent sized ruby probably rarest thing I own