Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 470168, member: 5833&quot;]Chalcedony is so plentiful on this planet, about the only reason to use some type of simulant would be for lighter weight, not for expense.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Holly is quite right &amp; her comment just added that it has been dyed for centuries could be emended to &#039;for millennia&#039; &amp; still be true.&nbsp; However, the orangey shades of chalcedony we call carnelian/cornelian are sufficiently common that no dying may have been necessary.&nbsp; The black beads may also be chalcedony, in that case dyed to black, which does not occur naturally, &amp; is quite literally one of the oldest tricks in the book.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Any of the 3 lower stones would be called carnelian by most people; the speckled, swirly, opaque one on top, although fundamentally the same stuff at the molecular level, would be called jasper:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]160033[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]160034[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]160035[/ATTACH]</p><p>When chalcedony becomes darker &amp; browner, it is called sard.&nbsp; This intaglio of Zeus, which looks black without good light behind it, qualifies as sard:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]160036[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]160037[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The construction of the earrings is extremely simple (as in, give me the beads &amp; I could make them), more like a home crafts project.&nbsp; Could have been a crafts fair purchase from any time.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in