roque mallets.

what do you wanna smash, terry?

if you're talking about croquet--- http://www.croquet.com/

roque to croquet is like baseball to softball. I want some of my own roque balls to smash. It may be still popular in England, but it's passe in the states.

Wow! THe Dead Media's equivalent in games - you should make a project out of that!

A meteorite for my rock collection. Gastrolith for same Every so often we have some spectacular eruptions which bring pieces of the Earth's mantle to the surface. I have some of these, and for all you August babies, it is solid peridotite (tiny crystals of Peridot). Most beautiful. We even have green sand beaches here which are granules of Peridot. Green beaches! Also have black beaches and the white ones are crushed seashells and coral, not silica as on the continents.

Oh, and a coprolite would be interesting - just to say I have one...

...and a piece of amber with a whole creature in it.

i hear you about the amber. there's something about owning a piece of earth millions of years old even when it's been polished. i don't know if my piece has any insects in it, maybe if i take a jewelers glass and get a good look. it's shaped into a heart and dangles from a ring. i love it but am disappointed that i can't find more of it set in gold (which really compliments the warm earth tone). i can't imagine crawling around on a beach of peridot!! i'll go ahead and enter the rock topic. i don't collect rocks but enjoy looking at them!

Come to GErmany, Wolf! Lots of amber on offer, especially around the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. Major cities' fleamarkets with Russian and Polish vendors have a lot of amber to offer, too. Most amber there like rocks, in the jewellery shops most is set in silver (for nicer reflection than from yellowish metals, I guess).

I truly think Amber is set in silver now because it makes it available at a less exhorbitant price. Baltic amber is the finest in the world. I have some tiny pieces including one with something foreign in it, but there is too little of it to tell of what it was a part. Probably grass trimmings from a lawn mower. That is what it looks like!

What I really wish is that you had had this discussion on Precious Stones and Metals. I guess I had better get writing on that topic. I rather thought it would take off on its own...! Alex, come visit Geo, Please! http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/Geo/8

my brand new amber and silver bracelet and earrings have pieces of 'something foreign' in them (seeds maybe?) Brandon wanted one with a mosquito in amber but those pieces were HUGE I guess.

If the pieces were not huge, you can bet the prices were. Not only is Amber fashionable now, it is popular amongst the newly Jurassic Park'd peopel who want a piece of the ancient past. Be careful with amber. It is v e r y soft and it will easily be abraided by anything it gets near. Store it wrapped in soft cloth or tissue and when you wear it other than on your ears or around your neck, remove it if you are going to be doing things which would scratch it. Otherwise you soon will not be able to see the goodies inside.

BTW, congratulationd on your new jewelry. I am most envious!

and another thing, amber will dry out, so don't wear it on hot days where it would be exposed to the sun. the normal honey color because cloudy and dingy....

*ahem* becomes, not because!!

ooh! thank you for the heads-up... I tend to be evil toward my jewelry and wear it non-stop... Brandon fell in love with the stuff when we were on our little engagement-prehoneymoon vacation so when he was in Denmark he bought me some! doesit wash up on the beach?

Along the Baltic Coast it does, indeed, wash up. Other places such as in the US, it has be be dug up. One way you can wear your bracelet is to push it as far up your arm as it will go then nestle it by rotating it to make it stay up there. I do that with my Heirloom Hawaiian jewellry and it works just fine.

if it ever does get scratched... can it be polished?

Very easily, but take it to a jeweller who knows what he is doing. Amber is very soft!

yup, and don't dip it in those jewelry cleaners either.

or your pearls ivory or coral. In fact anything with organic origins should just be cleaned with mild soap (not detergent) and water.

'anything w/ organic origins' --- my diamond?

your diamond is fine...ivory, coral, pearl, and amber are created differently--they're porous.

I was wondering when that would be asked. When Carbon is pure and in crystalline form it does not down grade into something else. it has rhombic chrystals and is very stable. They fluroesce, so check them under your black light, too.

diamonds flouresce? hmmmm.....

Some are!..

The truly colorless and flawless ones might not but the colors in the rest of them (caused by various elements during their formation) can cause this effect.

oh Marcia! We had a lengthy conversation about just that topic a while back... my side stones flouresce a neon green and the big one is clear... Brandon's mother's ring has a bunch of little stones and they all flouresced different shades of green and blue!

Now you know why. It is the result of minute amount which do not alter the optical quality as far as matching them for a setting goes, but is it not interesting how they betray their diversity under fluorescence. That is fascinating, Stacey, thanks for sharing ( and come to Geo and talk about it too!) BTW, Brandon got you a good stone for the center!

Stacey, if you want a truly unique way of identifying your diamonds for insurance purposed, photograph them under fluorescent light. No other stones are likely to be combined the exact way yours are, or Brandon's mother's ring.

what a great idea!!

Found. Roque mallets.

currently mine is alexandrite with a metal meteorite for good measure. I need one with a section polished. Some olivines in it would be a nice touch.

Ames Doty has tons of rocks, email amesdoty@yahoo.com and ask him about alexandrite.

noooooooooo, then i'll have to take out a few mortgages on the house!

marcia, we should invite him to geo!

You should, email me and invite him. He'll come. mailto://amesdoty@yahoo.com

Thanks ! *But if he is a real geologist he will be horrified at what passes for science in there, I fear* But, I'll be happy to do so. Is there a website to see for him? I need to Google a bit. Thanks, Terry!

no, no, no.....he'll probably find some of our "uneducated" theories as valid and have an excuse to apply for a grant....at the very least, he'd have a lot of fun at our expense! i mean, look, he even has his very own spring email addy!!

This is true. He even practtices his craft in Spring's home town. I'll give him a call via email and see what happens. Who knows. Maybe he'll get a few new customers !!

Ames is more of a mystic than a geologist.

I noticed. Maybe wolfie could invite him to paraspring?!

ooooohhhhhh boyyyyyyyy.....

Ever hear from Ames, Marci?