[Jewelry making - Article 00128] - Re: [Orchid] Variquoise rough prices

[MillsGem]

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All,

    Variquoise is a bogus name which was coined for market hyping back
    in the seventies. Turquoise and variscite are distinct minerals ,
    but they do share some important attributes such as being easily
    polished, having wide pattern and color variation and occuring in
    phosphatic matrices. (both are phosphates ) On the other hand,
    varfiscite is rarely plagued by porosity and, therefore, often
    yields far more usable material per kilo. 

    One of the respondents to this string mentioned the 1991 article on
    Variquoise in Rock and Gem.When I saw that photo I was shocked that
    it seemed to be material from my own mine in Columbus , Nev. The
    article claimed that it was from a certain occurence in Utah.
    Regardless, it was certainly not Variquoise but a typical variscite
    which might have occured in many of the numerous variscite locales
    in Nevada. 

    In my experience there has never been a well established price
    structure for variscite. Demand for it has always been limited to
    people who recognized its' uniqueness and also appreciated its'
    various shades of green. Therein lies the rub.....variscite has no
    romance attached to it. I have oftened cogitated about the apparent
    put down that the suffix "ite" does to names in the gemstone
    marketplace. Apparently it is too academic for romancing the stone
    in the minds' eye of the public. Another factor is the probability
    that green is far less appealing than blue with the general public.
    I seriously doubt that Moissanite will ever play a very important
    role in the marketplace inspite of all the hype that has been
    associated with it. 

Ron MIlls  AT  Mills Gem Co. Los 
Osos, Ca.

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