[Jewelry making - Article 00012] - [Orchid] Chrome DiopSIDE or DiopTASE?

[Dave Sebaste]

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Hi Folks,

    I'm giving a presentation Friday afternoon, and realize I might not
    get a response in time to help, but you can feel free to email me
    directly. This might be a question better directed to a mineralogy
    list, but thought someone here might be able to help. 

    I have a mineral specimen and I'm not sure whether it is Chrome
    Diopside or Chrome Dioptase. They are bright "emerald green" druzy
    crystals on matrix. There is also coating of another mineral on the
    matrix, like melted sugar. The crystal formations seem to be
    hexagonal, but I can't be sure, even with a 10x loupe. The druzy
    isn't dense enough to make a good jewelry piece. The matrix is medium
    gray/tan with a touch of red, it that's any help. I was pretty sure
    it was Dioptase until research yesterday seemed to indicate there is
    an occurrence of Diopside druzy from California that meets this
    description. 

    I took a quickie digital photo of it and popped it up on a Web page,
    if you want to see it. They say a picture is worth a thousand
    words... I should have shut up a long time ago!  :) 

    http://www.carolinaartisans.com/chrome_question.htm 

    Thanks in advance for any insight! 

Dave

Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans' Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave AT sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com 

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