Going madly through my collection trying to identify anything somewhat like a topaz. Heres what I've grabbed out soon far. Very hard to tell difference, even after comparing with a sample from Wal. Any advice?
AtomRat said:hehehe :8 ill give it a test heatho, I just didnt think the sg test was as easy as that and needed a tool..
While were on sg testing, how can you tell the amount of gold in a specimen? Just subtract the quartz sg?
AtomRat said:I really need someone to grab me by the scruff of the neck and rub my eyes against what I'm exactly meant to be looking at, for or where.
Conchoidal fracture is easy to spot, calcite and halite obvious, but waterworn topaz against clear quartz is a hard one. How do I spot these planes or signs of cleavage
This seems extremely harsh, I actually had to read it a few times to see if I could see any hint at sarcasm or humor, but I see none..... While it may have been a bit rash to go and smash up a nice specimen so quickly, there is no reason to sit on your high horse and look down your nose that way.rough2cut said:Hope they were all white sapphire that would bring the lesson home about distructive testing. Handlense examination is how to tell the difference between topaz and quartz. Maybe stick to finding gold.
Heard the same thing from our geology lecturer, think it had something to do with diamond, ruby and sapphires being "hard" minerals so some of the old timers mistook that for in unbreakableLefty said:Dunno if it's fact or crap but I read somewhere that in the old days a lot of gold prospectors used exactly that approach. If they found a transparent stone while digging, they would put it on an anvil and bash it with a hammer yikes - a gemstone was so hard it would not break so if it broke it was not a gemstone.
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