UV Lights and Fluorescent Minerals - a fun side hobby to metal detecting !

[KingTotsalot]

Stephanie Blandin and KingTotsalot made a run over to the Memphis Agri-Complex to see the 2024 Memphis Club’s Rock, Gem & Mineral Show. It is about a 3.5 hour drive from Little Rock, AR, and we decided to forego lunch until we had spent our time looking around. Since KT am not interested in jewelry or beads and such, He managed to scope out all the pertinent dealers in a little over 1.5 hours. He saw lots of fluorescent minerals, but few specimens in His Royal price range (under $20) that I did not have. Some mineral dealers even had a table of nothing but fluorescent specimens! Getting pretty popular KT thinks.

Stephanie moves a bit slower than KT and as a lady is interested in jewelry and loose cut stones, so she took an addition 40 minutes to peruse the tables, which was fine with KT as He sat in the Royal Coach in the shade and took a nap until she called and said I am headed to the entrance.

At one booth His Majesty found a tray with 6 large flat ruby crystals, marked $12 each. Checking with the Royal LW lamp, 2 crystals had superior red fluorescence, so they were purchased. No location given, but from the size and crystallization, KT knew they were from the Mysore Corundum Deposits in Karnatakah State, India. There are a couple of pictures on Mindat.org that have this flat hexagonal form, with triangular stepped growths on the C pinacoid face and a touch of black biotite associated, like these crystals. First picture shows the natural light color as a purplish red, and the second picture shows the strong red response to LW 365nm. No response to MW or SW.

After looking at several booths with over priced fluorescents that KT already has in the Royal collection, He came across a dealer’s table with 5 pieces of “Zebra” Stromatolite. Knowing that stromatolites often fluoresce, KT put the Royal LW lamp on it and it had a nice yellow-orange striped response. It was the only piece not priced, typical, and the dealer gave KT a price of $10, so it was purchased. It came with a decent label. There are 3 pictures of this specimen, the first being in natural light, the second in LW 365nm, and the third in MW 310nm. No response to SW.

After leaving the show, both Stephanie and KT were hungry for seafood, which we found in abundance at the King Krab bistro, a small hole in the wall cafe specializing in an amazing assortment of seafood, cajun and otherwise! After eating our fill, we drove over to Forrest City, Arkansas, filled up with fuel, and headed back to the Castle by way of the old Memphis Highway 70.

A good time was had by all!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

KT decided that He would like his Royal and Loyal Subjects to see His Majesty's birthstone ring! It is a synthetic star ruby, the stone being made by the Linde Star Company, back in the late 1950s. The process was discovered by two company researchers who were investigating the large scale manufacturing of small rubies for precision instrument bearings in the early stages of WWII. The process was filed away since the original company was not interested in larger gem grade rubies, but in small stones for the federal government contract they had to fulfill. In the early 1950s, the same two researchers had not forgotten what they had learned and they formed the Linde Star Company, and began to make synthetic rubies and sapphires of various colors for the mid-range priced jewelry market. In the late 1950s, the Chinese figured out how to make the stones, and soon flooded the world market with cheap star sapphires. This action ruined the profit margin of the US company, and drove them out of business. The last of their stock of finished stones was bought up by one individual, and he has slowly marketed them, set in sterling silver, for both men and ladies as custom jewelry pieces. KT ordered this ring in its custom setting from that same gentleman in the early 1980s, at a total cost of $99.....eBay had not begun to collect taxes on dealer's sales at that time! HA HA

FYI, KT's ring finger size is a 12, so the ring is rather massive looking.

His Majesty, whenever He wears this ring, gets an immediate response from most ladies in the room, and if they notice that it presents a nice star, they cannot quit looking at it! KT has noticed a very strong affinity for Oriental women to ask about it also!

Enjoy the photos! Being a ruby, it is fluorescent red in LW 365nm as you will see in the 3rd picture. The first picture shows the stone and its color in diffuse light, second picture is in either the sun or a point light, when the star appears.

 

[KingTotsalot]

Today KT has for your viewing interest a larger specimen from near Pocahontas, Randolph County, Arkansas. This was picked up on a pile of loose rock, apparently scooped from one of the local abandoned zinc mines by the County Maintenance crew. There are several abandoned mines and prospects in Randolph County, the last activity being in the early 1950s, before the Federal Government dropped their price support for zinc ores in 1955. It was collected by Sara Patton, a geologist for the Office of State Geologist, while doing field mapping in the area in early 2024. Randolph County is on the far eastern end of this type of mineralization in the Arkansas Ozarks Region.

The specimen consists of a sliver of fine-grained carbonate rock, coated with pink dolomite crystals which are then covered by coarse-grained sphalerite cleavages.

The first picture shows the specimen in natural light, and the second in LW 365nm UV. There is weak MW 310nm response and no SW 254nm response, no pictures. KT does not remember ever checking any of the numerous specimens He had at one time in His Royal collection of Arkansas sphalerite crystals or cleavage examples, so His Majesty cannot state if this fluorescence is common for sphalerite specimens from North Arkansas or not. Sphalerite is known from many worldwide locations to be fluorescent, generally in an orange color in LW UV.

 

[KingTotsalot]

KT ordered this specimen because of the coarse, almost pegmatitic, grain size of the Willemite. The sample consists of Calcite, Willemite, and Franklinite (NF) from the Sterling Hill Mine, Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey. The calcite and willemite are fluorescent in LW365nm, MW 310nm, and SW 254nm. Most people consider this rock as a SW specimen, but it is obvious from these pictures, this particular specimen is spectacular in all 3 wavelengths!

The first picture is in natural light, the second in LW 365nm... Notice the calcite is more pinkish red than in the other pictures. The 3rd picture is in MW 310nm, and the 4th is in SW 254nm. In MW and SW the calcite has close to the same response, orange with slight red overtones.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

KT ordered this specimen recently off of eBay. It was listed as Used..?? Other than having been in someone's collection before it came to the dealer, what is the difference between a “used” and a “new” specimen?? HA HA

Anyway, this specimen consists of veins of Sphalerite, var. Cleiophane, crosscutting Calcite from the Franklin Mine, Franklin, Sussex Co., New Jersey. KT likes the texture that displays well in various UV bands. The first picture is in natural light, the second in LW 365nm, the third in MW 310nm, and the fourth picture is in SW 254nm. Quite a bit of difference in the different wavelengths, especially when compared to normal white light!

Textures really pop! And His Majesty was surprised when He looked at the SW image, because the veins looked dark to the naked eye, but the camera picked up the blue coloration of the Sphalerite nicely!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

This weekend was the time for the independent Mount Ida Crystal Show. Stephanie Blandin accompanied KT to the show, and we drove over this morning in the Royal Coach. This is an outdoor show and relatively difficult to find decent fluorescent minerals in the bright sunshine, but we both gave it our best shot!

One of the dealers was there who had been at the Hot Springs Show last weekend, but this time he brought along his digital scales. I picked out 3 interesting crystals and had him weigh them ( total of 4 grams). He asked $15 for the three, and His Majesty countered with $14 and we shook hands on the deal. Then when he gave KT change for 3 $5 bills, he gave us an extra dollar back and said he changed his mind. HA HA The dubious location is Africa….like saying a quartz crystal is from China...an entire darned continent! What the heck! But His Majesty wanted these crystals for what they display.

The three Corundum crystals have interiors of grayish non-fluorescent sapphire and rims or exteriors of purplish ruby. I thought for certain I could find examples that look the same in the Mindat.org picture library, but I did not! There are two sets of pictures in natural light, the second one I turned the longer of the 3 crystals onto its side to display its length. The first picture shows looking down the C-axis on all 3 examples in natural light, the second picture shows the same view, but in LW 365nm. The third picture shows the same view, but in MW 310nm. No response at all in SW 254nm.

The 2nd set of three pictures having one crystal displaying its length; the first in natural light, the second in LW 365nm, and the third in MW 310nm.

KT failed to find any pictures of corundum, ruby, or sapphire on Mindat.org that look anything like these crystals. The dealer had perhaps 100 of them, but only about 7 or 8 showed what could be called zoning….or perhaps, epitaxial growth of ruby on sapphire?? Since I could not find any photo examples on the internet, His Majesty is stuck with the poor location of ….Africa.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

While visiting various rock and mineral shows over the past 3 weeks, KT discovered that Fluorite specimens have gone sky high, at least among the local dealers. Needless to say, tho His Majesty saw many that fluoresced nicely, He did not buy a single specimen. This is because KT is familiar with the prices on eBay and knew He could get something just as nice for less than half the price of these locals.

So, the specimen KT received yesterday in the mail, is Fluorite on Quartz, from Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China and cost His Majesty less than a 1/3rd of the prices He saw on equivalent specimens.

The first picture is in natural light, the second is in LW 365nm, and the third is in MW 310nm.

The second specimen consists of a gift from that same eBay dealer of several small Fluorite octahedral cleavages. With no label given, KT assumes they are from China. Years ago these were quite plentiful, a bit larger, and more strongly colored, coming out of either the Rosiclare, Illinois area, or out of Mexico...used to see flats ofthem from Mexico reasonably priced at Tucson, during the pre-showactivity. But in the past year or so, a lot are being marketed simply labeled China. They all seem to be this pale green to almost colorless material.

Anyway,the first picture of these octahedrons is in natural light, the second in LW 365nm, and the third in MW 310nm.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Inline with those high prices KT recently mentioned concerning fluorite among His local dealers, here is a specimen that arrived today that His Majesty purchased off eBay and it was reasonably priced!

This pale blue and greenish fluorite is from the Watson Mountain Prospect, Gila Fluorspar District, Grant County, New Mexico, USA. It is very similar in the color of a picture of fluorite from this same site on Mindat.org. KT does appreciate the dealer furnishing a decent label!

The first picture is in natural light, the second in LW 365nm, the third in MW 310nm, and the fourth in SW 254nm. The dealer did note this specimen was fluorescent in both LW and SW.

Enjoy the photos!

 

[KingTotsalot]

KT wishes to thank the readers and viewers of this thread, and even tho almost no one comments, His Majesty knows people are looking at the posts and viewing the pictures, because of the number of views. As KT gets more fluorescent specimens, He will continue with the postings, particularly of the pictures! So enjoy!

 

[KingTotsalot]

One of several specimens from Franklin, New Jersey arriving today in the Royal Mailbox!

This fist-sized specimen consists of Sphalerite, Willemite, and Calcite from the Sterling Hill Mine, Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA.

The first picture shows the piece in natural light, the second in LW365nm, the third in MW 310nm, and the fourth picture in SW 254nm. The sphalerite in LW is its typical nice orange color, the willemite a green, and the portions of the calcite in a pinkish red. In MW, the sphalerite is still a strong orange color, the willemite a bright green, and the calcite an orange-red. In SW, the sphalerite is a weak orange, the willemite a bright green, and the calcite a strong orange. A nice contrast of the 3 minerals in different wavelengths.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Another specimen from Franklin, New Jersey that arrived in KT's Royal Mailbox today!

This small cabinet sized specimen consists of Antigorite (NF) with Willemite, Calcite, Hardystonite, and Fluorapatite from Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA.

The first picture shows the piece in natural light, the second in LW365nm, the third in MW 310nm, and the fourth picture in SW 254nm. Note the different appearances and colors of these minerals under different wavelengths. The fluorapatite displays a tan coloration in both MW and SW. The Hardystonite is blue in LW and MW. The Calcite is more pink in LW and red orange in MW and SW.

KT likes the variable texture of this rock, the antigorite making up the bulk of the sample.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

The final specimen from Franklin, New Jersey that arrived in KT's Royal Mailbox today!

This fist-sized specimen consists predominantly of Hardystonite (TL) and Willemite from Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA.

The first picture shows the piece in natural light, the second in LW365nm, the third in MW 310nm, and the fourth picture in SW 254nm. Not much going on in LW, but in MW we begin to see some of the Hardystonite (blue), but the piece really pops in SW, with the Hardystonite as blue and the Willemite as green.

KT could have only shown the specimen in natural light and SW, but wanted you all to see the other wavelengths too.

Enjoy the pictures!