Crystal identification help?

Hi all,

I received three crystals in my A. Nonny Mouse package. One was a leopardskin jasper, but I don't recognize the other two (although one looks like it may be jet).

They are very lightweight, and the one on the right (the light-colored one) has slight sparkles on the ridges...perhaps it's an uncut geode or something? The black one is very shiny and reminded me of a meteorite fragment.

I've attached a picture. Any help you can give toward identifying them would be much appreciated.

Thx!

T.

Hi Afrosaxon,

I don't know what the black one is but the other one looks like selenite or 'desert rose' to me.

I agree with Sulis on the identity of the desert rose one. Hold the black one up to a bright light. Does any light pass through it? Is it ultra light or very heavy? It could be many things: obsidian, jet, onyx, black tourmaline, etc.

Yes, the gypsum rose, also known as a desert rose~
The black stone looks like onyx to me.
eta~ took another look, could be tumbled obsidian~ both are good 'crone stones'.

Nice~

bodhran said:

I agree with Sulis on the identity of the desert rose one. Hold the black one up to a bright light. Does any light pass through it? Is it ultra light or very heavy? It could be many things: obsidian, jet, onyx, black tourmaline, etc.

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It's a bit lighter than the jasper or any of my other tumbled crystals, but not feather light. It's heavier than the selenite (Thx, Sulis et al!). And no light passes through it.

Hmm...just found a piece of snowflake obsidian that I had nearby. It is roughly the same weight as my unknown black stone.

T.

afrosaxon said:

Hmm...just found a piece of snowflake obsidian that I had nearby. It is roughly the same weight as my unknown black stone.

T.

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I have a snowflake obsidian and an onyx that are the same size~
The onyx is heaver~

That looks a lot like obsidian or tourmaline to me, but it is hard to tell.

Such a glassy shine... I'm inclined to say obsidian.

Sulis said:

I don't know what the black one is but the other one looks like selenite or 'desert rose' to me.

Click to expand...

Selenite and desert roses are not the same. They have the same chemical composition, but different crystallography. This sample is a desert rose. Selenite will be elongated.

I would be willing to bet the black one is obsidian. Can you see any crystals in it or does it look like smooth glass? Obsidian is volcanic glass and will have no crystals, except snowflake obsidian in which the "snowflakes" are crystal growths.

Also, I read a very interesting article in a geology magazine about a cave in Mexico with selenite crystals the size of houses! Here is a link to a site that has pics:
http://www.mineraltown.com/Reports/giant_crystals/giant_selenite_crystals.php

wow

wow, that cave is amazing! I wish I were in northern mexico instead of down south. Gorgeous crystals.
thanks for sharing the link.
aaquwaa