Michigan rare gems12/15/2023 ![]() ![]() Two sources have been particularly helpful: Sparky Stensaas' "Rock Picker's Guide to Lake Superior's North Shore" and Susan Robinson's "Is this an Agate." (See our recommended Rock Hound books near the bottom of the page) I've done some reading in an attempt to better identify what I am finding on the beach. Once I began the habit of collecting rocks, I graduated to trying to learn more about them. I rarely come home from a trip to or around the Lake without a box full of rocks. (At the annual Lake Superior Agate Festival I found lots of these sorts of folks!)īut aside from agates, I find all sorts of neat looking, interestingly shapped rocks along the beach. I needed to run into someone on the beach who knows their stones and can help me know what an agate in the rough looks like. They've been tumbled and polished to bring out their beauty. ![]() One problem with novice rock hounds is the rocks and stones we see on the beach don't look like the ones we find in the shops. Identifying all these interesting rocks found on Lake Superior beaches Most cut red beryl stones weigh under 1 carat. The average price per carat is $10,000 per carat for high-quality material.See our Guides to the Best Agate Picking Beaches around Lake Superior. Large red beryl specimens are so rare that they often remain uncut and sold to collectors as specimens. If you come across a high-quality red beryl stone with excellent clarity and a lot of carat weight, you're likely dealing with a synthetic. Beware that synthetic red beryl has been produced. Much like emeralds, red beryl often has inclusions present, but they don't necessarily impact the gemstone's overall value. Red beryl is not a variety of emerald but rather an entirely different gemstone with its own classifications. Coined by some as the red emerald, this rare gem is very difficult to find due to the unique conditions required for this stone to form. Despite being found in two locales, gem-quality red beryl has only been mined in Utah. It was first discovered by Maynard Bixby in 1904. Red beryl is an extremely rare variety of beryl that has only been found in Utah and New Mexico. Smaller stones that are less than 1 carat can reduce the price per carat significantly. The average price is $3,800 per carat for stones with medium blue tones. ![]() Don't expect to find stones greater than 3 carats. Stones that are too light will look washed out. Stones that are too dark will not reflect the light well. You'll want to find a stone that has a medium body tone with a cut that maximizes the stone's fire. You'll have to do some due diligence to find a trustworthy and legitimate source to purchase benitoite. The stone has been misidentified as spinel in the past, but was eventually re-examined and reclassified due to the high level of brilliance of the gemstone. It became the official gemstone of California in 1985. It was first discovered in the early 1900s by George D. This sapphire-blue gemstone has only been found in San Benito County, California. Most everyday jewelry lovers will never be able to see the true beauty of benitoite. Matteo Chinellato - ChinellatoPhoto / Getty Images The Average price per carat is $2,500 per carat. It may be worth considering since the stone ranks 8-8.5 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, making it more durable than amethyst. If you're willing to spend some time searching, you can get a very remarkable and rare taaffeite gemstone. Though amethyst isn't as brilliant, the color is very comparable. If you want the look of taaffeite but don't want to pay for a collector's item, consider purchasing well-cut versions of amethyst in a lilac color. The gemstone is so scarce, it is considered over 1 million times more rare than a diamond. Most material is not suitable for faceting, making it even more difficult to source. Taaffeite has only been found in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Taaffe's observation marks the first gemstone that was discovered as a faceted gemstone and not as gemstone rough. Spinel does not refract light in the same way this gemstone does. ![]() Prior to his discovery, taaffeite was considered spinel. The light violet gemstone was discovered in 1945 by Australian gemologist Richard Taaffe. Taaffeite is a rare gemstone that most people have never heard of due in large part to how rare it is. DonGuennie (G-Empire The World Of Gems) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link ![]()
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