What's your favorite stone?

[Jessica]

Which one do you love to wear the most, or like to see worn? I wear a lot of amber - I think it's beautiful ... and very primitive. :)

[flamingyouth]

1. Amber too, also peridot, garnet and rose quartz

:hi:

[otohara]

2. Chalcedony & Black Onix

I just bought a ring made from Chalcedony - it's pretty

[MissMillie]

3. My birthstone - Ruby

but I have a really nice onyx ring I like to wear often too.

[terrya]

4. Emerald. Green is my favorite color.

:-)

[Phentex]

16. Same here!

:bounce:

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. Me too! MrG got me a little tiny baby set for our anniversary this year.

I love them! :hi:

[Willy Lee]

5. Agates, wave washed agates from the Pacific beaches.

[InvisibleTouch]

6. Probably Sapphire.

Personal reasons, reminiscent of a late friend.

I also like Alexandrite, given its color shift in differing types of light ... and since I love violet-blue, Tanzanite beats out even Sapphire for intensity of color:



I appreciate Amber too, especially when there are preserved insects in the piece, frozen in time.

[Jessica]

7. That's beautiful ...

I love blues, too -- and they go with just about anything.

[Magrittes Pipe]

8. Charlie Watts

[progmom]

14. dammit - you beat me to it!

:grr:

[DelawareValleyDem]

9. Sharon or Oliver

[Richardo]

21. Sly

[VelmaD]

10. opals

and sapphires

Opal is the stone for my sign (Libra) and Sapphire is my birthstone (September). I like how opals are so sparkly with all those colors. I'm also fond of black onyx because I wear black a lot.

[Freebird12004]

11. "Watermelon Tourmaline"

[Jessica]

12. Pretty stuff ... I've never seen it before.

[Freebird12004]

15. It's lovely when it's cut and polished.

It works well as jewelry or as a display piece.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Mick Jagger

[dbt]

17. Rosetta

[MissMarple]

18. Diamonds, garnets, and turquoise.

I like amber, but don't have any. The girl child has some Mexican amber she enjoys wearing. I googled amber and found this. Amber is quite fascinating.


http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/amber.htm

"Million years ago large stands of forests in some parts of the world began to seep globs of sticky resin! This aromatic resin oozed down the sides of trees, as well as filling internal fissures, trapping debris, such as seeds, leaves, feathers and insects. As geologic time progressed the forests were buried and the resin hardened into a soft, warm, golden gem, known as amber. Amber is the fossilized resin of ancient trees which forms through a natural polymerization of the original organic compounds. Most of the world's amber is in the range of 30-90 million years old.

Amber is known to mineralogists as succinite, from the Latin succinum, which means amber. Heating amber will soften it and eventually it will burn, a fact that has given rise to the name of bernstein, by which the Germans know amber. Rubbing amber with a cloth will make it electric, attracting bits of paper. The Greek name for amber is elektron, or the origin of our word electricity. Amber is a poor conductor of heat and feels warm to the touch (minerals feel cool). The modern name for amber is thought to come from the Arabic word, amber, meaning ambergris. Ambergris is the waxy aromatic substance created in the intestines of sperm whales. The substance is related to cholesterol and is formed to protect the sperm whale from the sharp beaks and stings of its major food source, the giant squid. Ambergris was used to make perfumes. Ambergris and amber are only related by the fact that both wash up on beaches.

Amber studies are truly interdisciplinary. Geologists and paleontologists are interested in amber because it is a fossil, evidence of prehistoric life. Archeologists look at trade routes and the barter view of amber. Organic chemists investigate the physical and chemical properties. Botanists and entomologists examine the botanical sources of amber and embalmed insects and debris. Poets, writers, and artists look to amber for sunny inspirations. Gemologists and jewelers desire amber for its beauty and rarity. Curators and conservationists preserve and archive amber."

[immoderate]

20. Acapulco Gold!

--IMM