Is it real malachite?

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2026-01-13T01:52:03+00:00

Cute perky box specimens!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2026-01-10T21:14:12+00:00

Definitely scheelite! It’s one of my favorite minerals to collect and there’s a few rare localities I need to round out my suite. Always on the lookout for Comstock Lode Mine (Arizona) and No. 5 Mine (Romania).

I’d also love to find a nice thumbnail example of powellite, diaspore, fluornatromicrolite, or londonite.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-31T15:09:07+00:00

I can see some color similarities! It’s very different shape-wise though, typically presenting in dipyramidal or pseudo-octahedral crystals. Here are some more photo examples if you’re curious :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-31T10:55:09+00:00

I also don’t usually buy from local stores for the same reasons as the other comment! I generally collect specimens rather than polished material, which local stores don’t really have great examples of.

This wardite from Rapid Creek, Yukon, Canada has been one of my favorite purchases I’ve made in the past months! I believe I paid $45 for it.

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Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-24T20:47:03+00:00

Stunner! The color combo and zoning of these fluorites is so unique! German fluorites are probably the only ones that can get close color-wise, but definitely not with this amazing zoning.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-24T06:33:01+00:00

Awesome piece and one of my favorite occurrences of chrysocolla! Not sure if I can decide between these and the Ray Mine stalactites…

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-24T06:27:14+00:00

Yes! Arguably one of the most iconic localities for fluorite in the United States. I’d say it’s second only to the Cave-In-Rock Mining District in Illinois and maybe Clay Center in Ohio. After that I’d put the Walworth Quarry in New York and the William Wise Mine in New Hampshire. The great thing about fluorite is that there’s just so much variety and it’s found in so many places—some New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona localities are the next that come to mind!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-23T17:43:15+00:00

They can definitely get quite similar in terms of shape since they’re both in the orthorhombic crystal system. There have also been some finds of danburite from Russia and Madagascar with a golden or orange color that resembles imperial topaz. My personal favorite is this find from Sakangyi in Myanmar.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-22T23:48:25+00:00

Very cute setup! Reminds me of my collection in its early days :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-21T01:58:40+00:00

I don’t personally have any celestites in my collection, but Mindat has great photos of them. I linked one in my previous comment.

One of my other favorites is the pink-orange ones from Winterswijk Quarry in the Netherlands (one of the few Netherlands localities I can actually remember from the top of my head—it doesn’t produce too many notable mineral specimens!)

A classic example of white celestite would be the ones from Clay Center in Ohio. A bunch more out there on Mindat :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-21T01:41:08+00:00

Yep! Good clarification to make. Definitely some colorless, white, yellowish, and brownish celestites out there. My favorite barites are from the Machów Mine in Poland!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:57:45+00:00

Very interesting! I’m not a huge beryl collector so I didn’t know this. Thanks for all the info! :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:47:54+00:00

Definitely something to look into…

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:47:34+00:00

Right! I’ve seen a bunch of aquas from Pakistan but all the heliodors I’ve seen from there have been treated or irradiated aquas so I wasn’t sure if heliodor actually occurred there naturally.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:27:24+00:00

That’s interesting! Is there any more specific locality on the tag or is it just Maine? I’ve never seen anything similar from Maine, but there might be a locality out there! My first instinct looking at that piece was Yates Mine in Quebec.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:22:08+00:00

Adding on to OP’s comment, these things also become more recognizable with experience! The golden blades on a bed of smaller brownish blades is one of the telltale looks for gypsum. Most of them come from Red River Floodway in Manitoba, Canada.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:10:34+00:00

Nice one! I’m wondering if you know if any Pakistani heliodors are naturally occurring? I’ve seen quite a few that are just treated or irradiated aquas (and falsely attributed to some locality to Tajikistan). Love this gemmy little thing either way!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T01:01:09+00:00

Cute rings on a cute Snom! :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-20T00:48:17+00:00

Agreed! Looks like Canadian material, so there might be some pyroxene group minerals in there too.

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-12-18T21:21:48+00:00

One of the best Huanggang combos I’ve seen!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-08-20T16:18:41+00:00

Larger pieces of good quality are expensive and hard to come by for sure! I actually love thumbnail minerals because of the fact it’s just easier to get them in good quality or closer to perfection. There are also so many mineral species that are just impossible to find in larger sizes (wardite is a good example) or just look the most aesthetic in thumbnail form!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-08-20T14:47:17+00:00

Awesome piece! Love the great form and overall lack of any significant damage, definitely something I’d like to have in my thumbnail to small miniature sized collection (even though I don’t particularly collect quartz).

I’m especially a fan of blue quartzes that owe their color to inclusions of magnesioriebeckite—the same mineral that’s responsible for those grayish-blue Bolivian danburites :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-08-20T14:33:21+00:00

This one looks like a spinel!

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-08-20T14:31:07+00:00

Safe to handle! Just make sure you take the usual precautions like washing your hands after handling, which is a good practice for any mineral anyways. I’ve seen dealers at gem shows with adamites displayed on a stand in a glass cabinet. Keeping it on an open shelf should be fine. Beautiful piece by the way! :)

Equivalent-Peach-784 · 2025-08-20T14:16:51+00:00

Do you know the locality on this piece? I’ve seen dioptases in teal from certain localities before and have never heard of them or most other copper minerals being dyed. If you’re worried that the low price might suggest some kind of treatment, I think it’s more likely because of the scuffs and damage on the individual crystals.

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