Featured What have I Found?

I found this snorkeling off the coast of Isabella Puerto Rico. It is about 3.8cm across and weighs 24 grams. Any ideas?

 

What is it made of? Glass?

Debora

 

It is a blue stone of some sort. All wrapped around copper coils. May not even be jewelry, I have gotten nowhere so far.

 

A fishing weight?

 

it's art ,now !!!

 

Awfully intricate fishing weight! But hey, maybe!

 

I think maybe bonfire glass, a type of seaglass. because of the nature of it gets fused with metal pieces

And then weathered by nature to create strange but smooth forms

They are usually very cool looking pieces

Hold it up to the light, does it let light shine through ?

 

The color is similar to azurite, a copper carbonate mineral.


I wonder if it is a product of the cooper coil corroding in seawater.

Or a bezoar formed by some creature that swallowed the coil.

Whatever it is, it is a beautiful oddity.

 

The carved lines have been eroded on the sides.The copper part has been attached with copper pins.

 

Good point holly didn't see that,

I still think that's sea tumbled glass

Very cool piece whatever it is

 

Looks like the copper/brass coil/ring used to be round.
The blue could be blue glaze (on ceramic?) that has eroded a bit.

 

Whatever it turns out to be, it is very cool!

 

How long has it been since you removed it from the water, and has it changed during that time (eg. have bits fallen off)?

I am still pondering the possibility that it has been shaped by a natural corrosion process. I can't think of a man-made technique that would produce the fine layering seen on the eroded portions (at least not at this scale, and in this sort of material).


But there are corrosion processes that create accretions that build up with similar alternating layers as the microchemistry changes. The blue exterior would be the latest iteration of the process.

If this hypothesis is correct, there must have been something protecting the copper wire that remains unaffected - perhaps something blocking access during most of its time in the water. Or, there may be a different piece of metal attached to the copper which has corroded preferentially, acting as what is called a "sacrificial anode". (Apologies if I am too far into the weeds, here.)

It would be interesting to x-ray the thing to see what might be inside.

 

Looks like a lovely piece of jewelry that some mystery snorkeler lost.

 

weathered remains of an ignition coil

 

Weathered ignition coil jewelry? Sounds like a solid business plan in there somewhere lol!

Very neat piece though. Reminds me of something you'd see in a modern art museum.

 

My thought is that it was once completely circular, with the copper wire exposed as it still is, inside an insulating shell, ceramic or whatever the blue stuff is. It suffered a sharp blow that shattered the insulation & bent in the copper wire on that one side, partially removing a layer of insulation from adjacent areas.

 

We see the copper pins as well! Definitely a man made piece. Possibly then later influenced by nature? I’m still no closer to any answer as to what the hell this thing is. Keep the ideas coming though!