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!