QuestionHello...well as a tourist last year to The Great Smokey Mountain area Severeville Becky and I went to a pan it yourself joint and found some pretty colored rocks.
Now the operator at the time told us what we were finding, opals,ruby pasty red(crumudgeon) (spelling?) pasty green.....emerald.
Now I did happen across a deep green chunk of octagon sided rock......... is it? I kinda put it in my pocket without saying much and the more I look at it I wonder if I might have actually found something. A bit larger then the diameter of a pencil and about 3/4 inch long.
They also had a display showing the lapidary equipment and a chance to "go to school" and carve a rock..hehe
I think Fisher Scientific has a lapidary exploration kit available... think its something I might be able to do?
These pink crumedgeons could they be turned into something or are they just traces of ruby that occour along the edges of the good stuff?
I guess your guidance for me here in south florida is what I'm after and possibly some reccommended reading although I am more of a hands on craftsman and fabricator then a scholar.
In The nearby town of Jupiter Fl is a jewelery institute that I was toying of getting lessons on the welding/soldering of gold and silver... do you know of these skills also? where can I get supplies
I appreciate any knowlege that you might gift my way. Happy New Year!
Kurt
AnswerHi Kurt.
I've never been to the Smokey Mountains, but I've been to a number of "Panning" places that offer the same possibilities of minerals you MAY find.
I don't want to pop a bubble, BUT... they salt the rocks...in other words, the crystals are placed there from other sources to make for a profitable recreational pastime. Why am I convinced the gems are artificially placed there? Because this assortment of gems DOES NOT occur under the same geological conditions.
The minerals and crystals offered are usually:
quartz varietites (like amethyst and citrine)
tourmaline crystals
opal
garnet crystals
beryl crystals (like emerald and aquamarine)
corundum crystals (both ruby and sapphire)
For some specific info on these gems, check my website:
http://www.galleryvoltaire.com
Without seeing these minerals/crytals, it's impossible to identify them. Check your local phone book to see if there is a Gem an Mineral Society close by. If so, call them, tell them you need help with some identification and I'll bet one of their members will kindly help. Or, contact a college or university's geology department and see if anyone volunteers their services.
Once you know what your specimens are, you can decide what to do with them.
Hope this helps.
Feel free to write back if there is anything else I can do for you.
Barbra Voltaire, F.G.G.,G.G.
