GeologyRocksBeautiful....but what is it?
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I'm going to agree with
Fri, 07/13/2012 - 06:38I'm going to agree with John. The red colouration doesn't look natural to me, so I also think it's a bit of glass but I don't know whether it's been deliberately coloured or it's an accidental by-product from a furnace. The only mineral it resembles, based purely on the texture, is opal.
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If it is opal, Gus it would
Fri, 07/13/2012 - 09:21If it is opal, Gus it would be worth a few bob! But I agree that the appearance resembles opal - and a concoidal fracture, but the distinct bands don't seem at all natural, and there isn't a 'natural' feel to it.
John
“Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” - Will Durant
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Yes, it looks man-made and
Fri, 07/13/2012 - 13:05Yes, it looks man-made and could be slag from a furnace, so the colouration could be accidental. You've got to remember that we haven't got the luxury of being able to handle the specimen so it's difficult with ones such as yours to be able to tell precisely what it is. However, as John suggests, if it's opal (and I don't think it is), it would be worth a fair amount. You could try taking it to a local museum and seeing what they think, then feed back to us what they say.
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The color is nothing at all
Fri, 07/13/2012 - 15:17The color is nothing at all like any opal I've seen and worked. There is absolutely no "fire" or color play to it. If it is opal, it is very dull and I would not buy it at typical opal prices as a cabbing rough. If it were chert of flint, however...
I hope that someday I'll be able to see what you guys see. Had I been shopping for rough to work on, I might have potentially made a costly error in mistaking this material for something that it is not.
The red does appear to have been "churned or stirred" into the white and the white looks extremely clean. Is that what gives it away as glass?
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The red colouration is a bit
Mon, 07/16/2012 - 11:58The red colouration is a bit of a giveaway as it doesn't appear to be natural. There are opals which look similar, such as the ones recorded from the St Austell china clay pits (of which I have several examples), which don't look "traditional" ie exhibit opalescence.
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Beautiful....but what is it?
Submitted by jjahner1 on Thu, 07/12/2012 - 00:36.Hello all! I have searched my (small) rock books and I can not seem to figure out what this rock is. Our cousin's mom picked up this rock when she was doing hurricane recovery (from hurricane Hugo) on the islands of St Croix or Puerto Rico (she spent several weeks at both locations & can't remember where she got it). It is a very clear white, almost purplish tone when it isn't in the sunlight. The colored bands look almost more pink than red. It is much larger than the size of my hands. Thank you all for stopping to take a look & hopefully help me out!