First discovered in copper mines in Bisbee, Arizona, Shattuckite is a fairly rare gem mineral. I've been told that it's a form of chrysocolla, which wouldn't surprise me, since it gets its vivid color from copper, just as chrysocolla does.
Until 2003-ish, the Shattuck Mine was the world's only supplier of Shattuckite. Recently it has been discovered in Southern Africa, but so far those are the only two known locations.
I just bought several pieces at a gem show, and can't wait to play with them:
They have a much wider color range than chrysocolla, which tends to mostly be a deep green. At first I thought these were turquoise, but they didn't look like any turquoise I'd ever seen (and you know I've seen a lot!) and then the dealer told my friend what they were and I had to get some. These are all fairly small - most of the larger pieces didn't have as much variation - they were almost all blue and black - so I chose the most widely varied ones I could.
The rest of my stash:
Gorgeous. I've got a ton of design ideas already! :)
For reference, a bit of chrysocolla:
Until 2003-ish, the Shattuck Mine was the world's only supplier of Shattuckite. Recently it has been discovered in Southern Africa, but so far those are the only two known locations.
I just bought several pieces at a gem show, and can't wait to play with them:
They have a much wider color range than chrysocolla, which tends to mostly be a deep green. At first I thought these were turquoise, but they didn't look like any turquoise I'd ever seen (and you know I've seen a lot!) and then the dealer told my friend what they were and I had to get some. These are all fairly small - most of the larger pieces didn't have as much variation - they were almost all blue and black - so I chose the most widely varied ones I could.
The rest of my stash:
Gorgeous. I've got a ton of design ideas already! :)
For reference, a bit of chrysocolla:
I cant't wait to see what you do with these beauties!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tamera! I'm really looking forward to setting them. As soon as time permits. I really need to clone myself to get everything done. :)
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