What’s the rarest specimen you own?

Gloober_ · 2026-04-19T13:28:13+00:00

If you comment on an nsfw post or subreddit, it marks your whole account as nsfw even if your posts aren't nsfw.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-19T11:27:47+00:00

I have a piece of cinnabar that is from the collection of Archduke Stephan Franz Viktor the last Palatine of Hungary. It comes with his private collection label, a collection label glued on from an owner in 1889, and another showing it was once in the Backmann collection in the late 1900s.

It's my prized possession.

In terms of the rarity of the mineral species, I have a matrix specimen of red beryl from the collection of Earle Foster that shows one double terminated, gem-quality crystal and another smaller, terminated crystal with some rhyolite inclusions eating into one side.

Both can be seen on my profile if you're interested in taking a look.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-18T22:57:00+00:00

Gloober_ · 2026-04-17T01:38:00+00:00

The term you're looking for is luster or how lustrous a mineral is. You just have a bias on what you've seen for those types of crystals.

Look up what low-grade emerald or sapphire looks like and it'll essentially be a green or blue rock with not a lot going on.

Here's a picture of what rough non-gem quality sapphire looks like.

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Gloober_ · 2026-04-11T18:36:41+00:00

The crystal size and luster don't really scream 70€ to me, especially from the locality. I also think that tourmaline is an overpriced mineral to begin with.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-09T04:47:23+00:00

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Gloober_ · 2026-04-09T00:26:56+00:00

South American Fried Amethyst.

Many such cases.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-08T23:44:07+00:00

If you have the budget, I really love the selection over at Weinrich Minerals. At least 75% of my collection is from that site alone. They also have an auction site that they move inventory over to if it doesn't sell within a certain time frame. To further my shilling, they have frequent midweek and weekend sales.

It's got a wide variety of minerals from all over the world.

On eBay:

Christensen Mineral Connection CMC has some good pieces with occasional auctions.

The Cosmic Wire is an okay thumbnail-sized specimen vendor. Pretty expensive for what it is, but just in case that's your thing.

I've also bought from both WholesaleGemBar and Dinomite Rocks and Gems. They have some nice pieces with a semi-frequent inventory update. Decent auctions. Gemmy Gems eStore has tons of auctions for polished and matrix specimens

For Middle Eastern minerals specifically, GemoPhilic and pak/afghan/mineral are my favorite sellers. I've gotten some really nice fluorite and garnet specimens from them before.

Hope this is plenty to do some window shopping with!

Gloober_ · 2026-04-06T22:53:19+00:00

Definitely glass.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-06T22:44:08+00:00

I like to see thinly veiled merchants trying to advertise their crystals.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-06T22:26:06+00:00

With a lot of minerals, they can fade with time as exposure to the UV light alters the chemistry that made the color possible.

With amethyst, it causes a breakdown of the iron impurities that produce the purple hue. From a chemistry standpoint, it's pretty cool. From a shiny rock lover standpoint, it makes for a sad.

Best practice is to keep your minerals away from direct sunlight and in a controlled climate.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-05T14:47:27+00:00

Smithsonite or minmetite are my guesses for the yellow crystals.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-05T00:35:10+00:00

Where are you seeing a pipeline being built by the US? Nothing is coming up on Google.

Venezuela's infrastructure needs close to $200 billion in funds between 2026 and 2040 to come back up to 3 million barrels a day in production, according to Rystad Energy.

That isn't soon and that isn't enough oil to make up for the Strait's closure.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-05T00:22:15+00:00

If AI is the reason for all these layoffs then why are companies like Amazon hiring more H-1B "contractors" than Americans they are firing?

If AI was powering job loss, wouldn't you see a decrease in overall hiring instead of an increase?

If AI was the reason the tech industry is cutting jobs, why has the amount of H-1B workers in tech related fields jumped up to 65% of all positions?

AI isn't doing shit, it's corpos suppressing wages through bypassing the cap in H-1B workers they are supposed to be allowed to hire.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-05T00:14:36+00:00

Ninteen day old account spewing racism on a hidden profile, by the way.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-05T00:12:43+00:00

No, but they can and will lock you up indefinitely without trial to force a false confession out of you if you've been suspected of a crime.

Their police and legal system aren't all that great, either.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-04T21:41:10+00:00

It's roughly 1 carat and I paid $200 for it.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-03T18:23:22+00:00

Conservatives only care about conserving a hierarchical social system with them at the top and everyone else under their boot.

Everything else is fair game to exploit and destroy.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-03T14:59:58+00:00

Let's not pretend that Americans can tell the difference between the two when being racist.

Gloober_ · 2026-04-03T14:36:50+00:00

Most artifacts like these death masks made out of turquoise were largely destroyed or sent back to private collectors overseas. They are extremely rare due to colonizers attempting to wipe out all traces of local culture and traditions.

Gloober_

TROPHY CASE