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No. 241969
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Agates are my favorite
No. 242231
File: 1664121907427.jpg (4.35 MB, 3742x3000, IMG_20220925_180435.jpg)
I'm just starting my collection, I have agate geodes, rose quartz, amethyst, labradorite, celestine, garnet, black obsidian, yellow jasper and pirite
No. 242576
any of you ever go to a rock show? are they worth it? I would like to get some affordable palm-size gems, I don't want a 4 foot tall geode or anything (I mean, I absolutely do but I'm not going to buy one).
I was checking these out it seems like there's a lot in october all over the US
https://www.rockandmineralshows.com/State/Index?categoryName=mineral-shows No. 242750
>>242576>>242611Geologyfag here, I’ve been to many over the years. Rock shows have a definite spectrum, where the two endpoints are “vendors are dusty 60-year-old dudes who go out into the desert to find cool rocks at their secret spot and then slice them with the tile saw behind their garage” versus “vendors are 30-year-old entrepreneurs who go to the Tucson show every year and buy mass-mined imports to sell you at a steep markup.” When I was a kid I was enamored with the imports… gimme a bit of amethyst stuck to a magnet and I was happy as a clam. As I’ve grown up though I’ve become significantly less interested in that stuff. Generally, the more commercialized you get, the more the vendors go for mass appeal. That means the stuff they’ll sell is things that A) are pretty to someone who has no interest in geology otherwise and B) are mined in huge quantities so they can move a lot of stock easily. This is a relatively small overlap, and it means that you’ll notice you’re just seeing the exact same rocks/minerals from the exact same sources every time, which gets boring. More grassroots rock shows will still have some of this stuff, and at much better prices, along with totally unique things that are often paired with really cool stories you can hear right from the person who found them. AH, and about this:
> Most vendors are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do so there's a pretty high bar for honesty (no one wants to risk being exposed as a fraud in a venue full of experts)Fraudulent stuff is super common at more commercialized rock shows. Often the seller doesn’t know much about what they’re selling and isn’t aware that their stuff isn’t legit. Common stuff includes dyed lapis (to make it look higher-grade than it is), lab-grown quartz clusters, fake meteorites, reconstituted malachite, stuff that isn’t natural at all being sold like it is (silicon carbide, opal glass)…. If the show has a lot of fossils you can also get fossils ranging from semi-fake (various real fossils arranged tastefully on a fake rock) to completely fake. Most of the stuff can be avoided if you know what you’re looking at. Don’t rely on the knowledge or honesty of vendors. Personally though I’d just prioritize the smaller local shows over the big commercial/traveling ones.
The important exception is the Tucson show. Well, calling it a show is a bit disingenuous, it’s dozens of shows that descend on the city every winter to make the biggest combined rock show on the planet. It’s where all the wholesalers get their stuff, so there’s all the aforementioned fake stuff, but it’s also where museums and billionaires and geology superfans go to get the stuff that you can find almost nowhere else. Definitely go there if you’re anywhere near Tucson.
No. 242992
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I want to try making bismuth crystals, they look crazy
No. 243865
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>>243102The colors are cool but I really like the shape. I looked it up and it’s called a hopper crystal? Apparently frito lay is using it for enhanced flavor delivery, fun fact.
No. 243870
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Don’t know a lot about gems but I always liked opal
No. 243875
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>>243872My cousin got an opal wedding ring. Not a good wedding ring stone… didn’t have the heart to say anything though, it was too late.
No. 243877
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I love shale rock. Look at those layers.
No. 243879
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>>243877I love pencil cleavage in shale.
No. 244188
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Saw this at the rock show. I know it’s not valuable or rare but the optical effect caught my eye. It was like seeing something pixelate and then un-pixelate when you looked directly down through it, felt like a 3D image should have popped out lol
No. 244191
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Also saw someone selling something called “fordite” with flashy black and white rings. I had never heard of fordite — it’s built up layers of baked-on/hardened automotive paint salvaged from the tracks and skids of auto factories and cut like stones. It does look interesting but it’s literally trash right? Am I crazy? It’s car paint trash.
No. 244338
File: 1664745350846.jpg (3.72 MB, 3024x4032, rocks 1.jpg)
No. 244339
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No. 244340
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No. 244342
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No. 244344
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No. 244345
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No. 244346
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No. 244348
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No. 244349
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>>244347yeah, I stared at it until I got dizzy. it's hypnotizing.
No. 244350
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/random image dump from the rock show
No. 244355
>>244350Damn that one is 2k?
>>244338I like this person theres even a cheap section.
>>244348These seem reasonable to me considering all these would cost $40-80 probably where I am in west usa
No. 244357
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>>244356No, it is cute. When I was looking into it I saw a couple watch faces made of fordite that were very striking. but on the whole it rubs me the wrong way, maybe it was cool once like you said.
No. 244398
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>>244355>that one is 2kI know, right? they had a bunch of stuff from a trip last year. some of the trip pictures were cooler than the stuff they were selling but I think they sold a lot of it in tuscon already and I was just seeing leftovers
https://thenaughtynautilus.com/#575d0c5d-a6ba-4fad-ade8-fb80c3eec9c8 No. 253959
File: 1667858510326.jpg (1.02 MB, 2075x1833, 20221107_225945.jpg)
>>253958Ok so this is the last one, there were some other crystals too but they looked rlly bad on camera so i didnt show them. Srry for the pic spam.
No. 253964
>>253947the stripey blue beauties and the opal/moonstone, I'm drooling
>>253953think this is my favorite because it looks so stormy but the chalice is really gorgeous too. thanks for sharing nona!
No. 253966
>>253962Yes.
>>253964its even more gorg in real life since my camera is low quality.
No. 254350
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OOoooh nonas i'm so happy this thread is a thing! I don't have great pictures right now but here is my collection. I built the shelf with my dad when I ran out of room on the table. If anyone wants any closeups of anything let me know <3(<3)