Yellow calcite carved ingot

This carved yellow calcite ingot was one of the first in my collection.

Yellow symbolises wealth and money... and ingot is a form of money.,.. so isnt this double the money?

Quartz serving plate..

Here's a plate-like carving from a red rutiliated quartz... Note the fine structure of the quartz inclusions:

Would you bear to eat from it?

Fossil Fruit

This appears to be a normal hard rock at first glance..


But when part of it can be removed to reveal the interior, one realises that this could have been a fossilized fruit or nut...

Got this from a source from Indonesia...

What do you think it could be ?

Marbled Onyx Dolphins

These dolphins are carved out from marble oynx.... Carved beautifully and almost life like... the smaller dolphin accompanying the bigger one is cute too!

Like dolphins??

Check out:

Montblanc 46664 Wristband Initiative

I was walking outside the Montblanc boutique at Ngee Ann City today when I chanced upon this:


A stylised wrist band with the numbers '46664' on it...

As I did not have the time to go into the store to check it out.. Decided to do some research online:

Commemorating the momentous 90th birthday of international human rights icon Nelson Mandela, global luxury brand Montblanc proudly announced today that it will support sales in the U.S. of the 46664 bangle, a bracelet introduced during the 46664 star-studded concert series hosted in London in late June. Distributed in platinum, gold, and silver, the bangles bear Mandela's Robben Island five digit prison cell number, 46664, along with a 3D imprint of his hand and have already been met with an overwhelming reception.

"Already, bangle sales have exceeded our expectations," says Robert Coutts, CEO of Coutts Inc., and social justice entrepreneur behind the bangle initiative which aims to significantly contribute to the eradication of HIV/AIDS in South Africa by pumping up to 48 percent of the bangle sales proceeds into 46664, the Foundation's initiative for the campaign for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

46664 has already become a powerful international symbol and brand for social justice in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Projected to sell 250,000 bangles a year through 2010, each wearer who purchases this special bracelet will be able to track online how the funds will be used in alleviating HIV/AIDS through a unique serial number imprinted on the bangle.

"We have had to take necessary steps to boost production to meet the astounding demand from the international public," said Coutts. "Scale is critical to the success of this project as the goal is to raise sufficient funds to sustain HIV/AIDS prevention projects for the next 16 years for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

"Montblanc North America is very honored to be a part of this major international initiative," said Montblanc North America President and CEO, Jan-Patrick Schmitz. "Our brand is one that takes as much pride in promoting worthwhile causes around the globe as we do in creating our hand-crafted watch and jewelry collections. The 46664 initiative and the impact that a leader such as Nelson Mandela has had in society is important to helping create a stronger, healthier world."

Produced using "fair trade" precious metals from South Africa suppliers and with workmanship accomplished by local craftsmen, many of whom are living with HIV, the 46664 bangle will be available in the U.S. at select Montblanc boutiques in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, and Costa Mesa.

"This project is far more than creating the latest fashion statement," said Coutts. "Becoming the owner and wearer of a 46664 bangle is an affirmation of responsibility. As Madiba himself has instructed us: 'The future is now in our hands,' these bangles represent a commitment to bringing about a future for South Africa that is true to the vision of the man whose prison number they bear."

Achmat Dangor, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said that they "welcomed the innovative social business model of the 46664 Bangle Initiative that ensures that local artisans and workers benefit" and added that, "the initiative also has the potential to raise significant revenues for the 46664 campaign."

Sliced Ammonite

This pair of sliced ammonite has been polished to reveal the delicately patterned internal structure within the fossil.

Beautiful history, don't you think so?

Dioptase

Late in the 18th century, copper miners in Kazakhstan thought they found an emerald deposit of their dreams. They found fantastic cavities in quartz veins in a limestone, filled with thousands of lustrous emerald-green transparent crystals. The crystals were dispatched to Moscow, Russia for analysis. However the mineral's inferior hardness of 5 compared with emerald's greater hardness of 8 easily distinguished it.

Later Fr. René Just Haüy (the famed French mineralogist) in 1797 determined that the enigmatic Kazakhstani mineral was new to science and named it dioptase (Greek, dia, "through" and optima, "vision"), alluding to the mineral's two cleavage directions that are visible inside unbroken crystals.

This specimen of mine was obtained through a neighbourhood store at a price so low that its literally a steal!

Celestine

Celestial looking... light sky blue..

Celestine is is a mineral consisting of strontium sulfate. The mineral is named for its occasional delicate blue color.

Celestine occurs as crystals, and also in compact massive and fibrous forms. It is mostly found in sedimentary rocks, often associated with the minerals gypsum, anhydrite, and halite.

The mineral is found worldwide, usually in small quantities. Pale blue crystal specimens are found in Madagascar.

Lapis Lazuli carved box

Blue and decorated with specks of gold-like pyrite, this lapis lazuli box is lined in the interior with white calcite marble!

Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a mineral: whereas a mineral has only one constituent, lapis lazuli is formed from more than one mineral.


Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense blue color.

Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for 6,500 years, and trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Predynastic Egyptian sites, and lapis beads at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.

Cosmic rocks

It looks ugly and weird looking, but this rock is indeed a true alien!

It is a meteorite from outerspace.

A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. While in space it is called a meteoroid. When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. The term bolide refers to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface.

Enhydro Quartz Crystal

A big arrow is drawn on the face of this crystal?

Defacing the art of Mother Nature?

Not really... but rather the arrow marks the location of an important inclusion in this crystal! It is a Enhydro Quartz Crystal .

Technically speaking, an enhydro is "a hollow nodule or geode of chalcedony containing water, sometimes in large amounts" per the The American Geological Institute’s Glossary of Geological Terms. As such, these crystals are actually not enhydros but more accurately referred to as "quartz with bubble fluid inclusion".

These crystals formed millions of years ago (220-400 million years ago by some estimates) as the edges of the quartz formed faster than the center. As this happened, troughs were formed that trapped the water solution or other foreign matter. When these troughs were covered by more crystal growth, the captured water (sometimes salt water or other liquid) would "gas out" or cool and contract and a bubble would form in the liquid.
Enhydro water bubble quartz is a true spectacle of nature. Being able to see gas bubbles move in solid rock that was formed millions , or perhaps even billions, of years ago is hard to imagine but enjoyable to watch!

Insurance: Not for dummies!

Why do we need insurance?

Sometimes we buy because it is required by local legislature. Sometimes we buy because we believe our alternatives are unacceptable. Before taking a big step into purchasing insurance, one would have to balance the potential cost of surviving an uninsured risk against the known cost of insurance for that risk.

For example, if your house is paid for and there is no lender who requires fire insurance, if the house burns down, you're really hurting. The cost of fire insurance is probably a small fraction of the value of the house. This applies to catastrophic health insurance and even business insurance.

Thus, protect yourself and your loved ones, make the right decision!

Tourmalinated Quartz Pebble

A polished quartz pebble with black hair like inclusions of black tourmaline, also known as schorl!

A nicely polished piece... somewhat interesting because the inclusions do not fill the entire stone!

Save the Children, Buy a ring!

One ring to rule them all... one ring to save the children!

For their 125th anniversary, fashion house Bulgari has set a goal of raising €10 million EUR (approximately $13 million USD) for the Save the Children foundation, having already completed one tenth of the goal through an initial donation of €1 million EUR (approximately $1.3 million USD). The campaign’s premise will see a special silver ring featuring an engraved Bulgari logo on the outside with a “Save the Children” engraving seen within. Constructed of silver as an homage to Bulgari’s original roots as a silverworks company in the 19th century, 20% of the sale of each ring will be donated to Save the Children. The Save the Children foundation continually looks to protect the rights of children as well as make the necessary efforts to give them a better life through various programs. The ring will go on sale starting February 1st 2009 till December 31st, 2009 at Bulgari stores around the world. A retail price should hover around $375 USD. Retails in Singapore at about SGD $555.

Do your part today!

Huge facetted smoky quartz

Another large facetted smoky quartz on display!



Compared with a Singapore 10 cent coin, this gem is nearly twice the size. If you look carefully, you can see some striations on the gem table!

Petrified Wood Slab

My first slab of petrified wood.

Note the beautiful colours of the polished side:

The unpolished back:



Petrified wood (from the Greek root "petro" meaning "rock" or "stone", literally "wood turned into stone") is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place. It probably takes less than 100 years for wood to petrify.

Jade sword

This jade sword is very intricately carved as you can see from the designs on the sheath. But most interestingly, a jade sword can be pulled out from the sheath!

Amazing?

Big facetted citrine

Big is bold and beautiful??

Perhaps so... Was rumaging my collection when I came across this!!!

A huge... even humangous facetted citrine!!

Took some pics with comparison to a 10cent Singapore coin for better visualization purposes!

Overall, I think the stone is quite well cut and has a nice colour.. however, it is certainly too huge to be set into jewellery and best remains a collector's item!

Get Blink, Don't Drink!

Had a drink too much for the festive season? In need of a alcohol detox?

Pat Moore Foundation has been providing alcohol rehab, drug rehab, detox and treatment for 25 years. Their treatment programs are licensed and certified by The State of California. The foundation also provide non-medical and medically managed detoxification (using Suboxone, Subutex, and Buprenorphine when appropriate) and primary residential treatment.

Detoxification occurs in a safe and comfortable environment conducive to the individual’s well being. Many factors are considered in developing a detox protocol that suits the participant’s needs, factors that include: the amounts of alcohol consumption, age, gender, family history, tolerance, etc. Individuals in the non profit alcohol rehab programs enjoy a comfortable residential setting where they are usually able to participate in counseling and enjoy the company and strength of their peers.

Remember, get blink, don’t drink!

Stunned by Stone is 2358....

... on the million blog list!


#2358 on the


The Million Blog list is an experiment to see how long it will take to get 1,000,000 blogs to list themselves on this site.

So if you are a blogger, do list your blog on the million blog list!

Need a lawyer?

Sweeney, Sweeny & Sweeney: That isn't a tongue twister to tease you.

But rather the Sweeneys are a family of attorneys that promise to care and will assist you if you have been injured in a accident. If you need a Temecula Personal Injury Lawyer , you will be pleased to know that they have successfully settled 95% of cases and are relatively well known in the field .

Not only are they experienced personal injury attorneys that have serviced thousands of injury claims throughout their combined 45 years of service; the best thing of them is that they charge no fee, unless they win the case.