"Mixed gemstone" butterflies: can anyone help ID these stones?

I ordered "mixed gemstone" butterflies. I figured I'd know what they are when they arrived. That strategy worked fine for the mixed gemstone donuts.

Well, these little critters are more challenging to ID than I'd expected. One broke, and it was grainy (sandy, even) and microcrystalline on the inside (not conchoid like glass or clear quartz fractures).

Here are some images. Can anyone help figure out what they are?

In particular, has anyone seen what sandstone or jasper looks like when it fractures?

Are you sure none of them are resin/artificial? I've been caught out before with resin and that is grainy and sandy when broken. If they are crystal they should break cleanly.

Emily said:

Are you sure none of them are resin/artificial? I've been caught out before with resin and that is grainy and sandy when broken. If they are crystal they should break cleanly.

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I got them from the gemstone section of Fire Mountain beads. They're extremely good about labeling things that are dyed, heated, or manmade. I'm thinking sandstone is a likely material, as it will take dye and it's made of sand welded together by nature.

Not all stones fracture conchoidally like quartz (and its close relatives agate, jasper, aventurine, and some others that are varieties of silicon dioxide). I've been trying to track down fracture patterns of likely stones, to see if any break rough and sandy, not smooth like glass.

When I ordered mixed gemstones, I thought the butterflies would be like the mixed gemstone donuts: easy to ID. These are proving to be a bit more challenging.

I just thought I would mention it because I was caught out a couple of years ago, I bought a Bast figure that I thought was made from polished coal. I got it back and realised that it was black resin - it was very good and fooled me.

AHA! Got 'em!

I just worked with the remaining butterflies, adding a bail to them. Again, I had a package of ten butterflies, but one fractured while I was working with it, leaving me with nine intact pendants. So now I have a total of eighteen pendants, plus two broken items that allow me to observe the grainy, slightly sandy and glittery-looking fracture pattern of the stone.

Again, I noticed that as I work with them and handle them extensively, they leave a feeling on my fingers as though I've been handling powder or soap.

And then it hit me. SOAPSTONE, a form of talc that's also known as steatite. That's been a medium for carving for eons, and its talc content makes it have that soapy or powdery feel to the touch, when it's handled. It's a metamorphic rock, which explains the granulated look of its fractures. It also explains why I had to deal with fractured items at all, as I'm extremely careful with my materials; due to its talc content, it's a soft stone. (Which surely is a factor in its popularity as a carving medium.)

So instead of being "mixed" in terms of being ten different stones, the butterflies are actually "mixed" in terms of being multicolored versions of one stone.

Thanks for helping me brainstorm!

The mottled brownish/greenish ones look like serpentine to me.

The off-white one could be howlite, agate or even polished bone.

Emily said:

I just thought I would mention it because I was caught out a couple of years ago, I bought a Bast figure that I thought was made from polished coal. I got it back and realised that it was black resin - it was very good and fooled me.

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You're right to check. There are a lot of man-made items that do a phenomenal job of mimicking natural substances -- we've gotten very good at fabricating natural-looking materials.

One other clue that led me to research soapstone: I had to be extremely careful about not letting the metal pliers press or scrape the stone, lest I create a scratch. So the stone in question has got a low Mohs hardness (which definitely describes talc, the main component in soapstone).

I'd completely forgotten about soapstone. I have soapstone Runes and statuettes too.

Looking at your pics again, yes I think you are right - Soapstone.

They are made in China. Yes, made. You can get them at all kinds of stone traders under the heading "
Gemstones/glass mix include jungle "jasper," sea "opal" glass, grain stone, olive new "jade," red jasper and more.
The ".... " means, it is artificial lookalikes....
They are pulverized mixes of silika and ... whatever and then pressed into shape and drilled

Materials can include yellow "turquoise," rose quartz, chalk turquoise, green aventurine, blackstone and more. Beads are drilled top to bottom.
Here a copy from Fm beads:
"Bead mix, multi-gemstone (natural / dyed / stabilized), mixed colors, 14x12mm-22x18mm carved butterfly, C grade. Sold per pkg of 15.

As Low As $0.17 per bead