Jade I think

[wjackson]

I believe this is blue jade that my buddy found. He can also get a lot more. He said that this one is the size of a fist. It was found on a beach in northern California. Any thoughts on the type of rock this is? Thanks

 

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[curious kat]

It's a very pretty Blue sapphire color, Jade is Green as far as I know.

 

[GatorBoy]

It looks like blue sapphire to me

 

[wjackson]

Thanks guys. The main reason we assumed it was blue jade was because he found it on the cliffs of the coast in Big Sur, and Big Sur is known for it's jade. Anybody else have any ideas about this lovely rock.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Get it to someone who can look at it in person. Either a geologist in the closest university, the next rock-club or what ever.
It looks pretty close to facet grade, so that's my best suggestion.

 

[Bajahunter]

If it is jade it will be slightly softer than quartz. If it is a saphire it will be harder than quartz.
So find a piece of quartz and see if you can make a small scratch on your unknown rock somewhere.

 

[mamabear]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadeiteall the jade I have found doesn't have the crystalline formation your piece seems to have. I would take it to an "expert" to have it checked out. What ever it is, it is beautiful, & would be a nice piece for a collection.

 

[mamabear]

well, the link I thought I copied isn't the one on my post. will dig around & see if I can find the right one.

 

[JLeonhardy]

It would be EXTREMELY unusual to find a sapphire in Big Sur. You're actually more likely to find a raw diamond than a sapphire. That's probably Crocidolite -- an associate of Jade/Serpintine/Actinolite which is very common in that area. Both actinolite (green) and crocidolite (blue) are variations of asbestos.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

California Jade

blue jade from northern California...and it is not pot?

 

[curious kat]

This is some jade I picked up on the beach in northern CA.....

 

[wa-yu]

I believe this is blue jade that my buddy found. He can also get a lot more. He said that this one is the size of a fist. It was found on a beach in northern California. Any thoughts on the type of rock this is? Thanks

Hope nobody minds that I've resurrected an old thread. I've been a lurker here for a long time, but after reading this post (and having had to pick my jaw off of the floor) I couldn't help myself but finally register so I could respond to this. wjackson, not sure if you ever finally got a positive ID on your beautiful specimen, but I can tell you right now I'm 90% sure you have Benitoite there. An amazingly beautiful piece of Benitoite! Nice score and if you still have it and wish to unload it, be sure to give me first dibs on it.

 

[Brian T. Booth]

Hope nobody minds that I've resurrected an old thread. I've been a lurker here for a long time, but after reading this post (and having had to pick my jaw off of the floor) I couldn't help myself but finally register so I could respond to this. wjackson, not sure if you ever finally got a positive ID on your beautiful specimen, but I can tell you right now I'm 90% sure you have Benitoite there. An amazingly beautiful piece of Benitoite! Nice score and if you still have it and wish to unload it, be sure to give me first dibs on it.

Agreed. Benitoite. Excellent specimen.

 

[JLeonhardy]

It would be as extraordinary to find benitoite that far west as it would be for it to be a sapphire. Benitoite is pretty localized and note the crystal structure is tabular as opposed to triangular. I'll bet the crystal structure is fibrous under a 10X. I'm pretty sure that's crocidolite. Gem quality, though -- which a rarity.