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The Lava Lamp in The Ghost

The Lava Lamp in The Ghost

By /March 8, 2022 /0 comments /Cut Rocks

This stone simply contains lots of cool stuff, particularly when enlarged or magnified. The unenlarged photograph shows a pale whitish ghost-like structure up through which a lava lamp-shaped log arises. Rock #4186 : Click to enlarge If you don’t think that is cool enough, take a look at the enlarged photos of the bottom center and bottom right of the stone. The bottom right of the stone as shown enlarged is a botryoidal structure, which is defined as having the appearance of a bunch of grapes. Bottom Right of Rock #4186 : Click to enlarge The other enlarged photo shows the botryoidal structure being cut open and appearing to have a somewhat hollow center. Bottom Center of Rock #4186 : Click to enlarge Later, I will be doing a more detailed examination of botryoidal agates, with more photos and discussion as to how I believe they are formed. Rock #4569 […]

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Carver Agate Field Cabachons: New Video

Carver Agate Field Cabachons: New Video

By /March 6, 2022 /2 comments /Cabochons

I have been cutting more agates from The Carver. A few are cool enough to make me “make them shiny”! I have made a short video of some of the new cabs and hope you like it. Examples Be sure to click on each one to see the larger version! Rock #4629 Rock #4618 Rock #4616 Rock #4626

Banded Agate Mimics Banded Jasper

Banded Agate Mimics Banded Jasper

By /February 20, 2022 /0 comments /Geology

Until magnification, each of these banded agates appear to be comprised of the red and yellow jaspers which are so common on The Carver agate field. Magnification (see third photo), however, reveals that these bands are micro crystalline (too small to be seen by the eye alone), e.g., like agate banding. Unlike most of The Carver agates, these agates were not formed in a nodule or geode. My best guess is that they were formed as a vein agate in a crack in lava. Rock #4596 Rock #3900 Rock #4596 Magnified I hope you are enjoying these postings. Before you go, please remember you can subscribe to this blog and receive an email alert whenever a new posting is published. It’s easy, automatic, and you don’t have to worry about missing out on the next cool new find!

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Lava Lamp Agate

Lava Lamp Agate

By /January 25, 2022 /0 comments /Geology

Lava lamp agate. I found it. I named it. Here is what you are really looking at. Rock #4526 This is agate on the right side and lava matrix in which it is formed on the left side, cut and polished and set as a pendant in gold-fill wire wrap. This is a free form designer cut of an agate nodule still attached to the lava in which the nodule formed. If you rotate the specimen 45 degrees counter clockwise, you will see the classical amygdaloidal shape. Rock #4526 rotated 45 degrees For those who may not have the word amygdaloidal on the tip of their tongues or in their lexicon, “amygdaloidal” generally means almond-shaped, typically with a flattened bottom and rounded top. This shape comes from the gas bubble pocket formed in lava which filled in with silica material which formed the agate. This specimen is natural and not […]

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Flower Garden Agates

Flower Garden Agates

By /January 17, 2022 /1 comment /Geology

This is why I love cutting material from The Carver! Rock 4582 Rock 4538 The oval flower garden agate cab has a white fortification agate in the center. A fortification agate is named for the pattern that would be seen on the ground if one were looking down from above upon an old-fashioned fortress—think Fort Ticonderoga. (See Gemstones of the World, by Walter Schumann, page 134, 1977 edition, for discussion and photos of the fortification agate.) The point of this blog, beyond the beauty of these flower garden agates, is that it is very complicated and difficult to exactly identify a particular type of agate, particularly when many agates contain within them several identifiable specific types of agate. Ergo, this is a flower garden agate with a fortification agate in it. Rock #4538 Detail

Brecciated Lava Agate

Brecciated Lava Agate

By /January 15, 2022 /0 comments /Geology

This stone was cut as a geological oddity, rather than as a gemstone. I doubt it will ever be set as part of a piece of jewelry. First, you notice three jagged shards or pieces on the left side of the rainbow shaped stone. These shards are from hardened lava that was broken and fell into a crack in the lava surrounding the shards. The lava, which was initially molten and then hardened, was at some later point in time broken by tectonic forces or by volcanic explosion or lifted by rising magma. The crack and the shards were later (How much later, you ask? How the hell would I know?!!) filled in by a silica solution or silica gel that subsequently crystallized and formed the brown material surrounding the three shards. The surrounding material is chalcedony (a micro-crystalline quartz structure). Chalcedony is a common material in many agates and […]

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Blue Filigree Agate

Blue Filigree Agate

By /January 10, 2022 /4 comments /Cut Rocks

I found it. I cut it. I named it. This is another ‘one off’ from The Carver agate field. The stone is so spectacular, different, and beautiful, that I wish I had another stone or more of the same stone. I do not. Rock #4576: Blue FiligreeClick on the image to enlarge This is a slab from a single geode I cut around Christmas 2021. I strongly urge the viewer to enlarge the photo, if possible. The stone has various shades of blue and there are tiny light blue bubbles that give the agate opalescence, which is to say, it shimmers like an opal. Although the stone is not opal, I believe the same cause of opalescence in opals has caused this specimen to opalesce, e.g., the tiny grayish blue bubbles seen in this stone under magnification create the strong opalescent effect. Rock #4576: Blue Filigree Detail The gold filigree […]

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Fragmented Filament Agate from The Carver Agate Field + Video

Fragmented Filament Agate from The Carver Agate Field + Video

By /September 6, 2021 /0 comments /Cut Rocks

Between gardening, yard work, and carpentry projects, I have been cutting a few stones this summer. The video below gives you a quick look at what I have been up to. Most of the stones are pretty, but one in particular (the fragmented filament agate) looks like a bottle full of eyebrows or eyelashes. You may ask “What the hell is a fragmented filament agate?” Well, I am going to tell you. Nodules, geodes and agates often form in the inside of gas bubbles that form in lava. The bubbles form while the lava is still hot and pliable. Later, after the lava has cooled, water containing silica and minerals permeate the lava and cracks in the lava entering the ‘bubble’ (technically called a vesicle or vug). Some of these minerals and silica will form a thin layer on the inside of the bubble. This thin layer sometimes scales off […]

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Four Stones I Just Cut and Really, Really Like!!

Four Stones I Just Cut and Really, Really Like!!

By /July 25, 2021 /3 comments /Cut Rocks

Photos 1 and 2: The huge 2 1/4″ cabs were each cut from the same Carver agate/jaspagate. Each has spectacular coloration and pattern and a tiny bluish fortification agate to set off the red/yellow/orange/green coloration. Photo 3: This Carver agate came from a geode slab I cut. Enlarge this picture by clicking on it and take a closer look!! One of the most beautiful agates I have cut! The tiny ‘vug’ goes nearly through the stone and is set off by blue banding. Photo 4: Carnelian agate with spectacular gold sagenitic inclusions.

Easter Gallery from ‘The Carver’ Agate Field Collection

Easter Gallery from ‘The Carver’ Agate Field Collection

By /April 11, 2021 /1 comment /Cut Rocks

Another two weeks of exploring, cutting and polishing stones from ‘The Carver’ agate field. Please visit the new Maine Gallery entitled ‘Easter Gallery’ to see them. These stones are from several different areas of The Carver agate field, hence, many look quite different. These specimens display some of the best colors and patterns. Try viewing them on a large screen if you can. Also try to see the amazing stones’ structure via enlargement. Not included in this gallery is another ‘first time seen’ from ‘The Carver’ agate field. The next posting will feature this ‘first’!