The gorgeous pale green crystals I made were among the most expensive purchases at the Tucson Gem Show 2011. Combining them in an arranged bed with large clusters of pearls, I got a spontaneous “WOW” from my finished piece. The last two pale green-worked crystals dangled from the beautiful drop earrings.
Unknown
The creative process ends at the completion of the ensemble. Then the balance is kept, starting with the documents describing the particle with the names of the materials from which it is made. Problem Number One: What are the pale green crystals?
What gems I have, it is not for me to know exactly. The pale green crystals had no identifying label, so I must have known what they were like when I got them. I said to myself then: Well, it’s later and looking tells me nothing about what they are. I wish uh My memory will be back on track.
The “P” clue
I recalled the third conversation I had with the Indian guy at the show from which I bought the most beautiful crystals. I remember asking what they were, when it was unclear what the answer was, but starting with p. Well, now it’s time to query my mental stone database for pale green with the letter P
Ah, I must hold it. I know it’s worth it. I didn’t write down the string of crystals that I knew would have to contain those that I was already familiar with. Well, they are arrested.
But wait! The color was right, but the opacity was wrong. It’s dark. My crystals were clear.
The “clatura” clue
Back to the drawing of the stone identity table. I have a pale gem cut, and the water is so clear. Go up in Internet search for green gems with clear water clarity. Ah ha! It is color matched. Clarity is equal. I have zultanite. Zultanite! Boy, I got a deal from that Indian guy!
As you know, Zultanite can only be found in one place on earth: Turkey. I wondered what the Indian guy did: #1) have a Turkish stone; and #2) sell me zultanite for much less than I know it is precious gem. Then I learned that zultanite changes color with changes in lighting.
The “color-changing” sense
Then I ran around the house looking for the three falling conditions under which zultanite changes color.
The broad light set the state’s pale zultanite flag, which is what I had in spades on a clear, sunny afternoon. Finding bright incandescent lighting turned out to be problematic, as the enviable ban on such bulbs makes them difficult to find, especially in an environmentally retrofitted home.
I looked everywhere for a lamp that would change my gems from pale green to champagne beige. Those pale green crystals remained crystal greenwherever I went! Nor do they turn a pale pink color like zultanite in low light. Everyone in my house wondered what the candle lit.
“Come on, be zultanite, dag nabbit. Change color, fun gem, you!” Demanding that the jewels be something, I was left with no choice but to confess that Zultanite was not the precious stone in my splendid party.
The “pale green” clue
Back to square one stone in search. I went straight to the Internet and looked for a pale color. Again. There was one thing about that stone that persisted most stubbornly.
Jewelry design shows a pale green amethyst stone, also known as prasiolite. Aah ha! Several bells are going off in my brain, which now works a little more than part time.
The salesman at the Gem Show muttered in his sub-continental Indian accent, “prasiolite, prasiolite,” a name I was unfamiliar with. He then said plainly in English, “The same green amethyst” as familiar! Amethyst, knowing why I put it off, it is certain that I would certainly have remembered the amethyst stone, which turned green in envy, because it was not purple enough!
Lessons learned
So, GSI Lorraine (Gem Stones Researcher Me) solved the gem mystery. Never again will we leave another gem undiscovered, identify its memory, or assign a silly analogy instead of a name! Those beautiful prasiolite crystals taught me a lot.
No one but me will have that splendid green amethyst forever, but I will forever have the knowledge to know what it is by looking. I think.
Readers: Watch for a tune in the Green Amethyst Prasiolite Slideshow, coming soon, which will explain the color change conditions that never occur in beautiful green prasiolite gems!
Sources: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2294453/prehnite_price gemstone_or_marketing.html prehnite_slideshow.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9025311/prasiolite_green amethyst.html
