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Mineral Biases
Sarah:We have A LOT of heulandite specimens.Allison:Are any of them inferior? They could be candidates for deaccessioning. Or are all of them good?Sarah:Well, I'm not the biggest FAN of zeolites, so...Posted on December 20, 2011 with 6 notes ()
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Rocks and minerals are fine introductions to the study of natural history and to a greater appreciation of nature, because they are tangible and often beautiful objects that can be preserved in collections. They do not fade and lose their beauty, like flowers; making a collection of them harms no living thing. Unlike many other objects of nature that may be arranged in collections, their preservation actually conserves them for future generations.
Frederick H. Pough, A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals.Posted on October 5, 2011 with 4 notes ()
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Mineral Of The Day #163: Stibnite (Revisited)
Mohs Hardness Scale: 2
Category: Sulfide mineral
Formula:
Sb2S3Fun Facts:
- Historically, pastes of stibnite and fat materials have been used since 3000 BC as eye cosmetics called kohl in the Middle East.
- Stibnite is most commonly pulverized and heated to extract the antimony and make flame retardants and engine bearings.
- It is also used in making fireworks (Happy Fourth of July!).
Posted on July 1, 2011 with 2 notes ()
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Diamonds, they’re very interesting. They have many facets.
Posted on June 30, 2011 with 6 notes ()
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Mineral Of The Day #162: Triphylite
Mohs Hardness Scale: 4-5
Category: Phosphate mineral
Formula: Li(Fe, Mn)PO4Fun Facts:
- Triphylite is used as a source of lithium and phosphorus.
- It is a rather scarce phosphate mineral.
- Its name in Greek means “family of three” which probably refers to the three ions: iron, lithium, and manganese.
- Triphylite is the primary mineral for many beautiful and unusual secondary minerals.
Posted on June 28, 2011 with 2 notes ()
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People will stare. Make it worth their while.
Harry Winston, 1896-1978, jeweler and owner of many legendary gemstonesPosted on June 16, 2011 with 7 notes ()
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Mineral Of The Day #161: Aventurine
Mohs Hardness Scale: 6.5
Category: Silicate mineral
Formula: SiO2Fun Facts:
- Aventurine ranges in color from green, peach, brown, blue and a creamy green. Besides its uses in jewelry, aventurine is also used for ornamental purposes like vases, bowls, and figurines.
- It is a form of quartz, characterized by its translucency. Inclusions of platy minerals give it a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence.
- It is the Star Sign for Libra and the Planetary stone of Taurus.
- Main markets for aventurine are landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewellery.
Happy Gemstone Thursday!
Posted on June 16, 2011 with 8 notes ()
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Mineral Of The Day #160: Laumontite
Mohs Hardness Scale: 4
Category: Tectosilicate mineral, zeolite group
Formula: Ca(AlSi2O6)2·4H2OFun Facts:
- Laumontite is a common mineral, found worldwide. It can be locally abundant, forming seams and veins.
- It can be used as a chemical filter.
- It is popular with mineral collectors, but exposure to light causes a loss of water that can destabilize the crystals and cause them to become powdery.
Laumontite is a handsome mineral. Its columnar crystals can project above the clutter of crystals at its base and appear like a monument above a desert plain. Its crystals can also form smaller, almost acicular jutting prisms that look like a rugged landscape. Although specimens are usually opaque, it retains an alabaster-like luster reminiscent of carved sculpture.
Posted on June 13, 2011 with 9 notes ()
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Mineral Of The Day #159: Moonstone
Mohs Hardness Scale: 6
Category: Silicate mineral, feldspar group
Formula: (Na,K)AlSi3O8Fun Facts:
- Moonstone gets its name from a visual effect or sheen caused by light reflecting internally in the moonstone from layer inclusions of different feldspars.
- Adularescense is the term for moonstone’s shimmer that always looks different when the stone is moved.
- It has been used for jewelry for centuries, including by ancient civilizations!
- In modern times, moonstone was popular as part of the Art Nouveau movement, but its usage waned by the mid-1920s.
- In India it is regarded as a holy and magical gemstone.
- In Arabic countries, it is a symbol of fertility.
Posted on June 9, 2011 with 44 notes ()
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Men grow cold,
As girls grow old,
And we all lose our charms in the end.
But square-cut or pear-shaped,
These rocks don’t loose their shape.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.written by Jule Styne (made famous by Marilyn Monroe)
Happy Gemstone Thursday!
Posted on June 9, 2011 with 3 notes ()
A few facts about one mineral per day as the Collections Department catalogs the Brooklyn Children's Museum's mineralogy collection!
