In 1891, Tiffany‘s chief gemologist George F Kunz visited the gem-rich area surrounding Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) in Russia. His mission was two-fold: to acquire Russia antiquities (then the vogue with American collectors) and to replenish Tiffany‘s stock of the most desirable gems which Russia afforded (including demantoid, emerald, alexandrite, and amethyst).Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, who named Ekaterinburg in her honor, first paid..

Kilpatrick Hillsare located in west central Scotland (UK) to the North of the River Clyde. They extend east from the Vale of Leven to Strathblane. Their highest points being Duncomb and Fynloch (each 1313 ft.).Location of Kilpatrick Hills, ScotlandQUICKLY ABOUT GEOLOGYKilpatrick Hills are a part the Clyde Plateau Lavas which are about 340 million years old. Predominate here basaltic type of rocks - lavas, tuffs and agglomerates, produced by the d..

Isle of Skyeis one of most popular places in Scotland. It‘s not only great views but also very interesting place coz of mineralogy. Of course the reason why I am writing about Isle of Skye iszeolites. There is plenty of them! Here I am publishing map and list with all localization that I have found on internet (most on mindat of course). I am publishing some pictures of samples - for now other collectors.Where we can find zeolites on Isle of Sky..

For now I borrowed pictures of other collectors, but in the future I will add photos of my specimens too...Here is the list : name of zeolite and all localizations it was found:ANALCIME+Akureyri+Ulfarsfell, Mosfellsbaer+Nordurardalur+Road No. 1 roadcut, Heiđarvatn, Breiđdalsheidi, Suđur-MúlasyslaANALCIME, CHABAZITE+TrolladyngjaANALCIME+Sog river, TrolladyngjaCHABAZITE+Ulfarsfell, MosfellsbaerCHABAZITE with calcite+Nordurardalur+Reydarfj..

Locality of the Moung Klung Gem Fields, ThailandSeveral regions in Thailand have historically produced gem-grade ruby and sapphire. The primary provinces are Chanthaburi and Trat, in the southeast of the country bordering Cambodia, and Kanchanaburi, on the west side of the country bordering Myanmar. Cumulatively the districts in these three provinces produce an estimated 90% of the nation’s gem corundum. Lesser quantities of gem corundum ar..

First stop was theRogerley Mine- the UK‘s only commercially run mineral specimen mine which is operated by Cal Graeber and Jesse Fisher ofhttp://www.ukminingventures.com.[Link Broken? Jun 2012] They have been mining it since 1999 yet it has taken me ten years to drive the 5 hour journey up to the north of England to actually visit the mine operation.Let me make it clear right away. Rogerley is a working specimen mine. As such they don‘t normall..

As part of a continuing program to document notable mineral occurrences in Southern California a group of Southern California Friends of Mineralogy volunteers including Walter Margerum, Garth Bricker, Paul Malone, Jennifer Rohl, Bob Reynolds, and myself spent some time during 2001 surveying the Mount General area, which is located about 6 miles northwest of Barstow CA, or about 5 miles north of the Lenwood exit off of I-15. The most up-to-date an..

Collecting at the Lincoln (Nelson Aggregates) Quarry, Beamsville OntarioBy: Michal Adamowicz, rockhoundHail all. Here is a short account of my collecting adventure at the Lincoln Quarry outside of Beamsville, Ontario. This was a unique trip for me as it was my first large scale operational quarry that I have ever visited. Most of the sites I visit are overgrown, & abandoned small mines. This was quite a change.First of all the quarry unfortunatel..

I visited the famous Yaogangxian mine area during this trip, and checked several minerals dealer or miners inventory. And took some photos for share with you, Hope you would like to have a look.Copyright © Chen XiaoJun & chinaruff.comLocal Mining companyCopyright © Chen XiaoJun & chinaruff.comOn the way to a minerals dealer or miner homeCopyright © Chen XiaoJun & chinaruff.coma miner homeCopyright © Chen XiaoJun & chinaruff.co..