Gemstone ID

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Koda
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Gemstone ID

Post by Koda » February 20th, 2021, 12:57 pm

Found this gem deep off trail aside a small stream in the coast range. It really stood out of place especially just sitting there on the ground surface as if placed there, yet... this isnt a place anyone goes. Im not a rock hounder but this stood out to me as an odd one as Ive never seen such a gemstone even closely similar that I can recall. It has a very faint purple hue to its depths when the light is just right.

Any guesses on what this could be?
0218212250_WM.jpg
...
0218212252_wm.jpg
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adamschneider
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by adamschneider » February 20th, 2021, 1:19 pm

Looks like quartz. See if it'll scratch glass.

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Koda
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by Koda » February 20th, 2021, 3:21 pm

adamschneider wrote:
February 20th, 2021, 1:19 pm
Looks like quartz. See if it'll scratch glass.
It scratches glass pretty easily.

this sample has a very faint purple hue to it that makes me think its an amethyst, but I dont know if quartz or amethyst geographic range includes Oregon?

(wiki image of amethyst)...
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adamschneider
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by adamschneider » February 20th, 2021, 4:44 pm

Amethyst is quartz that happens to be purple. But I don't know whether the purplish cast has to come from a specific source to be officially considered "amethyst."

Quartz is one of the most common minerals on earth; it's made of silicon and oxygen, both of which are abundant in the crust. Agates (and geodes, by extension) are mostly quartz. So yes, quartz definitely occurs in Oregon. It's rare to find such nice big crystals though!

Here's a page that lists a few of the common minerals found in Oregon:
https://rockseeker.com/minerals-found-in-oregon/

And this page has a map:
https://oregondiscovery.com/oregon-rockhounding-map

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Koda
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by Koda » February 20th, 2021, 6:23 pm

adamschneider wrote:
February 20th, 2021, 4:44 pm
Amethyst is quartz that happens to be purple. But I don't know whether the purplish cast has to come from a specific source to be officially considered "amethyst."
according to your first link, amethyst crystals are in Oregon but "are not nearly as brilliant in color as the amethyst crystals found in South America. Oregon amethyst is much more pale in comparison".
This pretty much fits the description of my sample with its faint purplish hue. Wikipedia says the crystals are 6 sided pyramid which also fits the description for quartz, and my sample.

I'd like to hear more opinions, but I think I found amethyst....

Heres another picture, I played around with a flashlight to try to capture the faint purple hue a bit more. Cell phone pic.
0220211822a_wm.jpg
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leiavoia
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by leiavoia » February 20th, 2021, 7:24 pm

Looks amethyst-y to me.

It almost looks like the inside of a geode, but Oregon-flavored geodes or "thunder eggs" are usually solid or agate-like, not the sparkly glitterbombs you sometimes see pictures off.

It's a lovely specimen by itself, but would also make a monster of a cut gemstone if you wanted to go that route. I took a gem cutting class at the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (https://ricenorthwestmuseum.org/) and amethyst is a really nice beginner stone to work with.

I'm really curious where you found this fish out of water!

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Koda
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by Koda » February 20th, 2021, 9:48 pm

leiavoia wrote:
February 20th, 2021, 7:24 pm
Looks amethyst-y to me.

It almost looks like the inside of a geode, but Oregon-flavored geodes or "thunder eggs" are usually solid or agate-like, not the sparkly glitterbombs you sometimes see pictures off.

It's a lovely specimen by itself, but would also make a monster of a cut gemstone if you wanted to go that route. I took a gem cutting class at the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (https://ricenorthwestmuseum.org/) and amethyst is a really nice beginner stone to work with.

I'm really curious where you found this fish out of water!
I'm not really a rock hound think I will just clean it up a bit and admire it in its natural state. I put a light behind it and it glows beautifully my only thought was to mount it on a piece of wood and put an LED light under it for a nightlight. Dunno. I'm just glad for the ID on it to know what it is and that its a natural occurrence since I still find it interesting it just unearthed itself somehow right there it was as if it was placed there. Originally I left it as just a chunk of quartz (guessed right...) but that purple haze to it would not escape my mind as something more so when I returned several weeks later to explore further down as planned I made a point to retrieve it and see if I could find out what it was. Due to the nature of being off trail and the habitat of what lives there I'm not one to disclose off trail locations, I can say its not unlike any other place one would pick at random, the coast range is kind of boring like that.
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adamschneider
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by adamschneider » February 20th, 2021, 10:07 pm

Maybe email the Rice Museum and ask whether they've heard of anything like that cropping up in the Coast Range?

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Koda
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by Koda » February 20th, 2021, 10:27 pm

adamschneider wrote:
February 20th, 2021, 10:07 pm
Maybe email the Rice Museum and ask whether they've heard of anything like that cropping up in the Coast Range?
Thats a good idea, though their website says they are closed due to covid I sent them a message anyways thru their form. Couldn't attach a picture though.
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CyrusK.
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Re: Gemstone ID

Post by CyrusK. » March 15th, 2021, 1:52 pm

You can sometimes find amethyst in the vicinity of shellrock mountain in in the gorge, but that's the only Oregon locality I know of. (https://www.mindat.org/loc-131393.html)

Interestingly enough this piece looks like it was placed there since it hardly looks water-worn. It's possible to find quartz veins in some of the rocks around the coast, I've found tiny quartz crystals in rocks from the Wilson river. Calcite and zeolite is also commonly found around there but the fact that it can scratch glass rules those out. (here's more: https://www.mindat.org/loc-22129.html)

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