Featured Questions on 3 brooches

So now I'm hoping the stone is carnelian, but I have some beads that I was told are carnelian (photo below) and they sound like glass/hard stone when I tap them against my teeth, while the stone in the pin has a dull sound, doesn't feel cold like the beads, and there's kind of a squeaky sound when I rub my thumb back and forth on it, which the beads don't. I used a UV light on the beads and the color looks kind of purple or magenta, so maybe they're not carnelian. Hopefully you can straighten this all out for me.

 

Looks like carnelian.

 

I agree, it looks like carnelian.

 

Are you referring to the beads and the stone in the pin, or just the beads?

 

Thanks Hollyblue -- very interesting to see your photo of carnelian in the rough.

 

The beads. But the stone in the brooch looks like carnelian too, just of a different origin.
Similar stones from different sources have different minerals in the mix that makes up the stone, hence different coloured fluorescence.

But back to the brooch, how does the temperature feel? And when you rub it against a flannel cloth, does it become static?

 

Good point on the temperature. I've always found carnelian to be very glass like, hard against the teeth, cold to the touch (similar to glass).

 

The temperature of the brooch when I hold it against my face feels like room temp -- the carnelian beads feel quite cold. When I rub the brooch against a flannel cloth for about 10-15 seconds it attracts a small piece of kleenex tissue.

 

That brings us back to amber, as you first thought. Do you have a gem stone tester?
Carnelian has a hardness on the Mohs scale of 7, amber is 2.

 

I just remembered, the Chinese import most of their darker amber from Burma/Myanmar, and I must confess I have no idea how Burmese amber fluorescence compares to other ambers. I have Chinese beeswax amber and it fluoresces exactly the same as my Baltic egg yolk amber. (they are the same colour amber, just different names in different parts of the world).

 

Unfortunately, no gemstone tester. From what I've read about them, it seems they can be kind of fickle or difficult to interpret?? Can you recommend a brand that's not terribly expensive?

 

I use the Diamond Selector II. It is cheap, and mine is good. I believe @KSW has the same brand, and hers is a problem child nicknamed 'Mary contrary'.

 

Oh boy -- I think my brain is reaching its limit on keeping track of all the different ambers and how they fluoresce . I need to take a few minutes and write down the different ambers you've mentioned and how they fluoresce, then keep it with the brooch (I appreciate your information, AJ). I've googled amber fluorescence and haven't yet found a site that's easy to follow--they seem to have too much text and not enough photos .

 

Can you take it to a jeweler and ask them to test it for you?

If not, I see you are Wisconsin, I am in Massachusetts. I have a gem tester, if you want I would be happy to test it for you, I have done this before. You would send me the piece, I will test it the day it gets here and put it back in the mail the same day if possible, the next day at the latest.

If you feel comfortable with that let me know and I will start a private conversation to send you my address. If not, no worries, I understand

 

Ok, I found "Professional Diamond Selector II, Gem Tester Pen Portable Electronic Diamond Tester Tool for Jewelry Jade Ruby Stone" on Amazon for $16.99 -- does that sound like the one you have?

 

Thank you so much Marie for your generous offer , but I think it's time I buy a gem tester, which looks like it would only cost about $10 more than the cost of mailing the pin back and forth. I don't have a jeweler nearby that I would trust, or who would test it at no cost.

 

I have a cheap Chinese diamond tester too. It picks up diamonds and glass just fine; it's the others that get a little interesting.

 

Mary Contrary is a Presidium PGI Handheld tester. Massive software issues. Incredibly temperamental.Very expensive piece of rubbish and only truly reliable with diamonds and amethysts....when she deigns to works at all!. Don’t dare to put her down near another electrical device, try to use her near an open window or heaven help you near a fridge magnet or she shuts down like a steel trap
If I bought again I’d buy the Presidium one with the analogue dial as those seem better.
I’ve got a very cheap diamond tester that was about £10 which was pretty good at diamonds and glass. That was until I dropped it.....

 

It does, and so does the price.

Oh, I thought she was the same as mine.