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Did you know that? Part II

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#75. Moonstone




Moonstone belongs to the feldspar variety ‘adularia’, a potassium aluminium silicate. The moonstone is characterized by an enchanting and mysterious play of colors known as ‘adularescence’. In olden times people believed moonstone depicted the waxing and waning phases of the moon. Moonstone an ideal gemstone with a feminine aura.

Moonstones from Sri Lanka, shimmer in pale blue on a transparent background. Moonstones from India have a background of beige-brown, green, orange or brown. The name ‘adularia’ is derived from the European Alps near the Adula Group where it is found. ‘Selenite’, another name is derived from the Greek ‘selene’ meaning moon.

In India moonstone is regarded as a holy, magical gemstone which bring the wearer beautiful visions at night. In Arabic countries women wear moonstones sewn into their garments moonstone since it is a symbol of fertility. The moonstone strengthens our intuition and our capacity to understand.

Classical moonstones come from Sri Lanka, The USA, Brazil, Australia, Myanmar and Madagascar. Bluish moonstones of good quality command a very high price. Green, brown, orange, black, red, smoky and champagne colored moonstones originate from India.

Some have a cat’s eye effect or a four pointed star as well as the typical undulating shimmer in three-dimensions and a seductive aura.

Classical moonstones are cut as cabochons, with due importance given to the height of the stone. The axes of the crystal are aligned precisely into the zenith of the stone to bring out its adularescence.

Light rays are refracted and scattered by the stone causing adularisation. The hardness of moonstone is 6 on the Moh’s scale. The more intense the color, the larger the size and the more transparent, the more highly valued is the moonstone.

Fine classical blue specimens display a ‘three-dimensional’ adularisation. Indian moonstones are more reasonably priced than classical blue moonstones. Anyone can select a moonstone to suit his or her taste and budget now.
 
th


Want to have a personal MOON???

Go buy your own MOONSTONE!!!
 
பஞ்ச பூத க்ஷேத்ர ஸ்மரணம்

  1. ப்ருத்வீ தத்வம் - திருகச்சி - ஸ்ரீ காமாக்ஷியம்பா ஸமேத ஏகாம்பரநாதம்
  2. ஜலதத்வம் - திருஆணைக்கா - ஸ்ரீ அகிலாண்டேச்வரியம்பா ஸமேத ஜம்புகேச்வரம்
  3. அக்னி தத்வம் - திருவண்ணாமலை - ஸ்ரீஅபீதகுசாம்பாள் ஸமேத அருணாசலேச்வரம்.
  4. வாயுதத்வம் - திருக்காளத்தி - ஸ்ரீஞானப்ரஸூநாம்பிகா ஸமேத காளஹஸ்தீச்வரம்
  5. ஆகாசதத்வம் - திருபுலியூர்/சிதம்பரம் - ஸ்ரீசிவகாமியம்பா சமேத ஆநந்த நடராஜம்.
ஷடாதார சக்ரஸ்தலம்

  1. மூலாதாரசக்ரம் - ஸ்ரீகாமாக்ஷியம்பா ஸமேத ஏகாம்பரநாதம்.
  2. ஸ்வாதிஷ்டாணம் - திருஆணைக்கா ஸ்ரீ அகிலாண்டேச்வரியம்பா ஸமேத ஜம்புகேச்வரம்
  3. மணிபூரகம் - திருவண்ணாமலை - ஸ்ரீஅபீதகுசாம்பாள் ஸமேத அருணாசலேச்வரம்.
  4. அநாஹதம் – சிதம்பரம் - ஸ்ரீ உமையம்பா ஸமேத த்ரிமூலநாதம்
  5. விசுத்தி - சிதம்பரம் - ஸ்ரீசிவகாமியம்பா ஸமேத ஆநந்த நடராஜம்
  6. ஆக்ஞை - காசி - ஸ்ரீவிசாலாக்ஷியம்பா ஸமேத விஸ்வநாதம்.
  7. ப்ரும்ஹரந்தம் - மதுரை - ஸ்ரீமீனாக்ஷியம்பா ஸமேத ஸோமஸுந்தரேச்வரம்
ஆதாரச்கரங்கள் ஆறு இதன் உச்சியானது ப்ரும்ஹரந்த்ரம்
நமது உடலில் குண்டலினி தத்வம் என்பது அடிமுதுகின் கீழ் பாகத்தில் பாம்புபோல் சுருண்டு கிடக்கும் .ப்ராணாயாம யோகத்தால் அதை எழுப்பி மேற்ச்சொன்ன ஆறு ஆதாரங்களையும் கடந்து ப்ரும்ஹரந்த்ரம் எனப்படும் உச்சந்தலையில் ஸஹஸ்ர இதழ் தாமரைக்குள்ளிருக்கும் சிவத்தோடு இணைக்க வேண்டும். இந்த ஆறு ஆதாரங்களை ஒன்றன்பின் ஒன்றாக கடக்கும் போது குண்டலியின் நடைமாறி நர்த்தனமாகிறது.ஆறு விதமான நர்த்தனங்களை 7 ஸப்தவிடங்க க்ஷேத்ரங்களில் ஈஸ்வரன் நடத்துகிறார். இனி அதைப் பார்ப்போம்.
ஸப்த விடங்கம்


  1. மூலாதாரம் திருவாரூர் - அஜபா தாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீகமலாம்பிகா ஸமேத த்யாகராஜம் – வீதி விடங்கம்
  2. ஸ்வாதிஷ்டாணம் - திருக்காராயில் குக்குடதாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீ கைலாஸ நாயகியம்பா ஸமேத ஸஹஸ்ராக்ஷநாதம் - ஆதிவிடங்கம்
  3. மணிபூரகம் திருநாகை - வீசீ தாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீநீலாயதாக்ஷியம்பா ஸமேத காயாரோகணேச்வரம் - ஸுந்தரவிடங்கம்
  4. அநாஹதம் திருநள்ளாறு - உன்மத்த தாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீப்ராணேச்வரியம்பா ஸமேத தர்ப்பாரண்யேச்வரம் - நக விடங்கம்.
  5. விசுத்தி திருக்குவளை - ப்ருங்க தாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீமதுகரவேண்யம்பா ஸமேத ப்ரும்ஹபுரீச்வரம - அவனிவிடங்கம்
  6. ஆக்ஞா திருவாய்மூர் - கமல தாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீக்ஷீரவாஸிண்யம்பா ஸமேத முகமொழிசம் - நீலவிடங்கம்
  7. ப்ரும்ஹரந்த்ரம் திருமறைக்காடு/வேதாரண்யம் - ஹம்ஸதாண்டவம் - ஸ்ரீ வீணாவாத்ய விதூஷ்ண்யம்பா ஸமேத வேதாரண்யேச்வரம் - புவன விடங்கம்


சிவனே முதல் சித்ன் என்பர். அண்டத்திலுள்ளது தான் பிண்டத்திலுள்ளது என்று பெரியோர்கள் சொல்வர்.
மேற்கூறப்பட்ட க்ஷேத்ரங்கள் நம் உடலில் மூலாதாராதி 6ஆதாரங்களில் குண்டலினி பயணம் செய்த்து எல்லாச் சக்கரங்களையும் பேதித்து ப்ரும்ஹரந்தரம் வரை செல்லும். அப்போது ஓர் ஆதாரத்திலிருந்து அடுத்த ஆதாரத்தை நோக்கிப் பயணிக்கும் போது 6 விதமான நர்த்தனங்களும் ப்ரும்ஹரந்த்ரம் வந்ததும் ஹம்ஸ பக்ஷி போல் நர்த்தனமும் நிகழ்கிறது. இதை உணர்த்தும் விதமாகத்தான் ஸப்தவிடங்க க்ஷேத்ரங்களில் பரமேஸ்வரன் அவ்வகை நர்த்தனங்களை ஆடுகிறான்
 
[h=1]#76. Morganite[/h]


Morganite is also known as “pink beryl”, “rose beryl”, “pink emerald”, “cesian beryl” and “caesian beryl”.


It is a rare light pink to rose-colored gemstone variety of beryl. Orange/yellow varieties of morganite are also found and color banding is common. Patches of yellow are removed by heat treatment. Irradiation improves its color. The pink color of morganite is attributed to Mn2+ ions.


Pink beryl of fine color and good sizes was first discovered on an island on the coast of Madagascar in 1910. The New York Academy of Sciences named the pink variety of beryl “morganite” after the financier J. P. Morgan


One of the largest gem morganite specimens called “The Rose of Maine,” was found at the Bennett Quarry in Buckfield, Maine USA. This orange crystal was 9 inches long, 12 inches across, and weighed over 50 lbs.
 
#279
How can anyone in his right senses
like a post in a place where it DOES NOT belong,
which stands out like a sore thumb in between
two colorful dazzling crystals/ precious stones!!! :noidea:
And it has also been repeated from unrelated other threads!
 
[h=1]#77. Mystic quartz[/h]





Mystic quartz is an colorless gemstone quality quartz enhanced to give out a rainbow of colors. It is very popular for making pendants, ring and bracelets.


Cut and polished colorless quartz is coated with an extremely thin film of titanium that bonds with the quartz at the molecular level. Very little heat is involved in this process. The coating is permanent unless the stone chips off.


Mystic quartz and topaz are confused with many other gems. Mystic quartz is often confused with Azotic quartz. Azotic is a patent treatment applied to many types of gemstones and not just for quartz. A quartz gemstone were treated by Azotic it is called as Azotic quartz.
 
[h=1]#78. Mystic topaz[/h]


Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. Its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.


Pure topaz is colorless and transparent but is usually tinted by impurities. Topaz can be wine colored, yellow, pale gray, reddish-orange, or blue brown. It can also be made white, pale green, blue, gold, pink , reddish-yellow or opaque to transparent / translucent.


Orange topaz or precious topaz, is the traditional birthstone of November. It is the symbol of friendship and the state gemstone of Utah of USA.

Mystic topaz is colorless topaz which has been artificially coated giving it the desired rainbow effect.
 
#79. Obsidian


obsidian.jpg


Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive ingenious rock. When the felsic lava emerging from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth, obsidian is produced.

Obsidian is hard and brittle and fractures with very sharp edges. In the past it was employed in cutting and piercing tools as well as surgical scalpel blades.

Obsidian can be found in locations which have experienced volcanic eruptions. It can be found in Argentina, Armenia, Canada, Chile, Greece, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Scotland and the USA.

Though not approved by the Food and Drug Administration of USA for use on humans, obsidian is used by some surgeons as scalpel blades. A well-crafted obsidian blade is only 3 nanometers thick and much more sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels.

Even the sharpest metal scalpel has a jagged and irregular edge when viewed under a powerful microscope. But even under an electron microscope, obsidian blade is smooth and even.

One study found that obsidian incisions produced narrower scars, fewer inflammatory cells, and less granulation tissue when tried on a group of rats. Obsidian scalpels may currently be purchased for surgical use on research animals.

Obsidian is used as a gemstone and for ornamental purposes. It presents different appearances according to the manner in which it is cut. Small rounded obsidian nuggets embedded within a grayish-white perlite matrix are called ‘Apache tears’.
 
#80. Olivine



Olivine-a common mineral found on the Earth’s subsurface-is a magnesium iron silicate. The ratio of magnesium and iron varies between the two end members, forsterite (magnesium end member) and falalite (iron end member).

Forsterite has an unusually high melting point at 1900 °C, while fayalite melts at 1200 °C. The melting points as well as the other properties vary smoothly between the two end members. Olivine group is a group of minerals which have a related structure.

Olivine is named for its typically olive-green color. But it may change to a reddish color due to the oxidation of iron. Peridot is the translucent variety of olivine used as a gemstone. It is also called chrysolite or chrysolithe.

Some of the finest gem-quality olivine has been obtained from a body of mantle rocks on Zabargad island in the Red sea.
 
#81. Opal





Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz. It is a mineraloid and not a mineral since water forms 3% to 21% by weight. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia, which produces 97% of the world’s supply. South Australia alone meets 80% of the world’s demands.

Opal diffracts light due to its internal structure. It can take on many colors depending on the conditions in which it was formed. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown to black.

Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. Its optical density varies from opaque to semi-transparent. While used as a gemstone, thin layers of opal are placed on basalt – a darker underlying stone, enhancing the natural colors of the opal.

The other kinds of common opals are:

The ‘milky opal’ existing as milky bluish to greenish variety.

‘Resin opal’ a honey-yellow colored opal with a resinous luster.

‘Wood opal’ is formed when the organic material in the wood is replaced by opal.

‘Menilite’ is a brown or grey colored opal.

‘Hyalite’ or ‘Muller’s Glass’ is a colorless clear opal.

‘Fire opals’ are the transparent to translucent opals with warm body colors of yellow, orange, orange-yellow or red. They do not usually show any play of colors but may exhibit bright green flashes. The most famous source of fire opals is Mexico. These are commonly called Mexican fire opals.

‘Jelly opals’ are Fire opals that do not show play of color.

‘Cantera Opal’ is Mexican opal cut in its ryholitic host material.

‘Mexican Water Opal’ is colorless and exhibits either a bluish or a golden internal sheen.

‘Girasol opal’ is used to refer to fire opals and to a type of milky quartz from Madagascar. This transparent to semi-transparent milky quartz displays an asterism or the star effect, when cut properly.

‘Opal-AN’, a Girasol Opal which is a type of ‘Halite Opal’, exhibits a bluish glow or sheen that follows the light source around. It is not a play of color as seen in precious opal but rather an effect from microscopic inclusions.

‘Water Opal’ is the name given to this opal when it comes from Mexico. The two most notable locations of this type of opal are Oregon and Mexico.

‘Peruvian opal’ (blue opal) is a semi-opaque to opaque blue-green stone found in Peru which does not display pleochroism. Blue Opal also comes from Oregon and Nevada.

‘Pineapple opal’ is a rare form created by the deposition of opal in various fossils. It is found only at White Cliffs, New South Wales.
 
#82. Opal doublet






The veins of opal displaying the play of color are often quite thin. This problem has given rise to unusual methods of preparing the stone as a gemstone.

An opal doublet is a thin layer of opal, backed by a mineral such as basalt, ironstone or obsidian. The dark background emphasizes and transforms the play of colors into a more attractive display.

Combined with modern techniques of polishing, doublet opal can produce similar effect as the black opal or boulder opal. But it costs a mere fraction of their price. Doublet opal has the genuine opal layer at the top – visible and touchable. But this is not the case with triple cut opal.

The triplet-cut opal has the colored material as a dark background and has a domed cap of clear quartz or plastic on top. This can take a high polish and act as a protective layer for the opal.

The top layer also acts as a lens, magnifying to emphasizing the play of color of the opal of lower quality placed beneath it.

Triplet opals therefore have a more artificial appearance, and are not classed as precious opal.
 
#83. Onyx





Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands may range from white to every color except purple or blue. Usually specimens of onyx contain bands of black and white.

Onyx comes through Latin from a Greek word meaning “claw” or “fingernail”. With its flesh tone color, onyx can be said to resemble a fingernail.

Onyx is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colors consisting of fine inter growths of quartz and moganite. It is cryptocrystalline. Its bands are parallel to one another when compared to the more chaotic banding seen in agates.

Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard or shades of red rather than of black. Black onyx is perhaps the most famous variety, but it is not as abundant as onyx with colored bands.

Artificial treatments have been used since ancient times to produce both the black color in “black onyx” and the reds and yellows in sardonyx. Most of the “black onyx” on the market is artificially colored.

Banded calcite found in Mexico, Pakistan and other places are carved, polished and sold as onyx. But this is softer than true onyx and is more abundant. Artificial onyx types have also been produced from common chalcedony and plain agates.

Treatments for producing black and other colors included soaking chalcedony or boiling it in sugar solutions. It was treated with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to carbonize sugars which had been absorbed into the top layers of the stone.

These techniques are still used in addition to the other dyeing treatments. So most so-called “black onyx” sold is artificially treated. In addition to dye treatments, heating and treating with nitric acid has been used to lighten or eliminate undesirable colors.
 
#84. Peridot






The chemical composition of peridot is (Mg, Fe)2SiO4, with Mg in greater quantities than Fe. The origin of the name “peridot” is uncertain.

Peridot is occurs only in one color – an olive green. The intensity and the shade of the green depends on the amount of iron contained in the crystal structure. The color of individual peridot gem can vary from yellow, to olive green, to brownish-green. The most valued color is a dark olive-green.

Peridot olivine is the birthstone for the month of August. It is sometimes mistaken for other green colored gems. Olivine to which peridot belongs is a common mineral in mafic rocks and ultramafic rocks.

It is often found in lavas. But gem quality peridot forms a small fraction of these. Peridot can be also found in meteorites. Olivine in general is a very abundant mineral, but gem quality peridot is precioius and rare.

Peridot olivine is mined in Egypt, Arizona, North Carolina, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Australia, Brazil, China, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

High quality peridot weighing 13, 000 carats was recovered from anthills in Wyoming. Peridot crystals have been collected from some Pallasite meteorites. The largest cut peridot olivine is a 310 carat (62 g) specimen in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
 
[h=1]#85. Pietersite[/h]





Pietersite was discovered by Sid Pieters in 1962 while he was prospecting some farmland in Namibia, Africa. The mineral was named after him as pietersite. Currently the two sources of pietersite are in Africa and China.


The fibrous structure in pietersite had got folded, stressed and fractured by the Earth’s geologic processes. It gets re-cemented together later by quartz. Crystals thus ‘brecciated’ create a finished product with multiple colors, hues and exhibit chatoyancy.


Pietersite exhibits the lovely chatoyancy of tiger’s eye, but it is not found in continuously structured bands. It rather forms swirls, swathes and fibrous segments. Thus the structure of the fibrous streaks in pietersite may appear chaotic, and exist in many directions.


African pietersite has a wide rage of colors including blues, golds and reds. They may appear together or alone. Blue is the rarest color, followed by red. The blues range from a baby blue to dark midnight hue.
Golds can vary from very light to very deep and rich with a tint of red.


All the fibrous color variations exhibit chatoyancy, with the changing shimmer of bright color moving along the surface of a gemstone, when viewed from various angles.


Chinese pietersite exhibiting primarily golden and bronze colors was discovered in 1993 and came to the market in 1997.
 
[h=1]#86. Prehnite[/h]



Prehnite is a phyllosilicate of calcium and aluminium. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. Very rarely it does form distinct and individualized crystals-showing a square cross-section.



It is brittle with an uneven fracture. Prehnite has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 on Moh’s scale of hardness. It has a pearly vitreous luster and varies from semitransparent to translucent.


It can be colorless, blue or white or may vary from light green to yellow. It is mostly translucent and rarely transparent. In April 2000, a rare orange Prehnite was discovered at the famous South African Kalahari Manganese Fields.



It is the first mineral to be named after a person. Perhnite was first described in 1789 for an occurrence in Germany and was named after Colonel Hendrik Von Prehn. Extensive deposits of gem quality Prehnite occur in the basalt tableland surrounding Wave Hill Station in Australia.
 
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