Blogs

A month ago we replaced our photography system from a very old but very fast and reliable bridge camera to DSLR.

We also started using LED lighting - we have a unit with 7 dimmable and programmable panels all around. This is great for flooding the image with white light (or black background).

This can also be enhanced by a "sparkler" spotlight pick out reflections - especially in spin photography.

We have now introduced and additional system for spotlighting all around - more like our original "bridge" system.

Now veteran e-Rocks seller Ikram Muhammad of Pakistan Minerals celebrates his birthday today.

Marking the occasion is the finale of his birthday auction, featuring this cracking specimen of beryl var vorobyevite from Afghanistan.

Vorobyevite is a recently discovered caesium rich beryl characterised by deep blue, sometimes zoned or frilled flat hexagonal crystals.

Previously quite often passed off as apatite - get checking those collection drawers!

Here is an interesting ovoid form embedded in obisidian from Coso Range, Inyo County, California.

But what is inside?

Answer - cristobalite tridymite & fayalite (brown crystals)

Happy Easter

As an online seller it is always good to hear something we have sent out has been received and lived up to expectations.

Here is one from Leor Goldberg recently published on Facebook.

Recent acquisition! Gypsum with included thometzekite on matrix. Both gypsum and thometzekite are rare from tsumeb. This is in my opinion an excellent example of both! Most of the thometzekite that I've seen is flat lying on matrix and most of the gypsum is either found in cleavages or crude crystals. Love this piece! It measures .9 x 2.6 x 1.6 cm. Enjoy!

Thanks Leor!

Back in early 2004 I offered a suite of minerals from Palabora mine collected by John Gliddon when he worked there.

This specimen was part of that collection that never sold and became misplaced in our stock system.

It was discovered recently dusty and forgotten in our "crypt".

Now cleaned up - this is a really nice specimen of a rare mineral.

I spent most of my Monday in the office with camera.

Found some interesting mineralogy on some specimens from Bou Azzer.

Varied paragenesis with different chemistry. Great colours whatever!

The other week I was experimenting with lighting and rotation using tanzanite.

I managed to take these photographs - not much dichroism seen in the "rock tack"!

Fom the last Oxford Show.

UK Collector and Dealer Peter Briscoe has just moved house, and has still to finish unpacking boxes from his previous move - a familiar story!

As part of this a box of superb boracite specimens he collected around 20 years ago floated to the surface.

Collected from one boulder, cleaned and stowed away now to re-appear. Fantastic pale blue grey composite crystals to 4mm.

This unusual specimen featured in my Christmas auction in 2013/2014.

Smithsonite Psm Calcite.
Whatley Quarry, Somerset, UK.
Size: H:12.7cm x W:9.4cm x D:6.6cm
Largest Crystal: 2cm

Ha Ha, here is a specimen of well crystallised hemimorphite from Bage Mine, Cromford, Derbyshire.

According to the label the specimen was collected on 21 November, 1999 by George Fletcher.

Bage mine is well known for such UK classics such as matlockite and phosgenite, also producer of good specimens of more common minerals, such as hemimorphite.

We came across this this specimen of bright pine green chalcosiderite with goethite in a box yesterday.

Very dirty, but with its label in the box. The specimen has cleaned and trimmed well to reveal its interest.

Chalcosiderite was first noted as coming from Phoenix United Mine, Cornwall, UK, this specimen is from Stowe's Section.

One of Germany's most diverse sources of minerals, and still open here is a specimen of "plain old" baryte with inclusions of limonite etc.

Makes a pretty and elegant display.

George pulled this out of a box in the warehouse and challenged me to make a decent spin of this. Black & white minerals are proving quite hard to photograph in the new box, this one has lots tiny detail and depth of field.

Aegirine - Mount Malosa, Malawi
4.2cm High

This fine red vanadinite TN didn't make the buyer's cut in last night's auction and remained unsold.

Look out for it in our next TVM Mixed auction later in April for a second chance - it will be reduced to $5 start...

Back in November 2011 I offered this specimen in my birthday auction.

It is still one of my favourite Weardale specimens ever.

Here is its listing

Fluorite

Heights Quarry, County Durham, United Kingdom

Miniature (4.5-7 cm)

Size: H:4.8cm x W:4.8cm x D:4.3cm

Description: A large twinned and zoned deep purple pink fluorite with variable lustre and some odd inclusions to one face - circa 1990. Purple blue by daylight.

A few mousebites, genuinely a super specimen.

Back in 2009 after Munich show I did a flit back to the Czech Republic to pick up a big consignment of Dalnegorsk minerals - some 40 flats. They are still going strong, here is a galena and manganoan calcite combination that came out this week.

Some highlights from today's photography at TV Towers

A few weeks ago we were in the Warehouse/shed and found this specimen in a box at the back.

Purchased on a daytrip to Antwerp Show from TV Towers back in 2002.

Those were the days when I had more energy!

We have been referring  to e-Rocks as a website, this is true but actually it is 5 websites, each with its own job and connections to other websites and media outside.

The picture shows our internal structure and how everything is wired together so that we can create just about any "mineral" option a person could want. With direct connections outside (in the business known as APIs) we can ask other sites like Google eBay Paypal or Facebook for information and also post back.