Dioptase on Calcite

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Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Scarodactyl »

My main job is making and selling jewelry. Last year I bought some nice samples of druzy dioptase from the Congo at a gem show. One of them had a small plate of white calcite with a few little isolated clusters.
ImageDioptase Crystal Cluster by Stephen Challener, on Flickr
Shot with my Mitutoyo 5x on a nikon UM-2 measurescope.

Macro_Cosmos
Posts: 1511
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

Those green botryoidal crystals are interesting, what are they? Or are they botryoidal?

Sumguy01
Posts: 1715
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:05 pm
Location: Ketchikan Alaska USA

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Sumguy01 »

=D> Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.

micro_pix
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by micro_pix »

Excellent! It’s a great colour. Do you do all of the cutting and polishing yourself?

Dave

Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Scarodactyl »

Thanks!

I am not sire what the other minerals are. Wulfenite and mimetite are also found with these, and of those mimetite seems like a good guess. I also saw a few red crystals I didn't recognize.

I do some cutting and polishing, but most of my stones are set as uncut crystals.

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Olympusman »

Beauty!

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

ChrisR
Site Admin
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Location: Near London, UK

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by ChrisR »

Very nice - what "tube" lens are you using on the UM-2?
Chris R

Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Re: Dioptase on Calcite

Post by Scarodactyl »

Thanks! I'm using an infinity optiphot head (same one I used here http://www.microbehunter.com/microscopy ... php?t=8139 ) which has a nice tube lens in it. Not sure if it's up to the itl200 but it's at least good enough, especially since I use the scope for inspection as well as photography. The head also gives an erect image, and with third party 10x/22 eyepieces I can get a pretty nice FoV even with 23mm eyepieces (especially with the 0.62x setting on my mag changer, which doesn't cover aps-c but does cover my eyepieces with most of my mitutoyos).

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