Monday, January 28, 2002

A preview of the sights

Here are a few minerals and gems you will see at the Tucson show. Some of these also can be found in Arizona.

Sapphire

Description: Non-red variety of the mineral corundum (the red version is the ruby).

Color: Transparent light to dark blue, as well as violet, orange, clear and pink.

Found in: Kashmir, the former Burma (now Myanmar), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia and the United States.

History/legends: Sapphires are second only to diamonds in terms of hardness.

Emerald

Description: A variety of the mineral beryl.

Color: Transparent yellowish-green to dark bluish-green.

Found in: Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Russia and India.

History/legends: One of the most valuable precious stones. Cleopatra reportedly favored emeralds over all of her jewels.

Lapis lazuli

l Description: Made mostly of the mineral lazurite, flecked with variable amounts of pyrite and white calcite.

Color: Opaque, deep blue.

Found in: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Chile and the United States.

History/legends: Used in jewelry since ancient times.

Azurite

Description: A copper compound.

Color: Translucent to opaque light to deep blue.

Found in: Mexico, Arizona and elsewhere in the United States.

History/legends: Centuries ago, it was used as a blue pigment for paint. It can be found in Bisbee and mines between Superior and Globe.

Pyrite

Description: The most common sulfide mineral.

Color: Metallic, brassy yellow.

Found in: Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, the former Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Mexico, the United States.

History/legends: Called "fool's gold," pyrite is often associated with the presence of real gold, as well as copper. Can be found in Prescott, Chloride and Patagonia.

Opal

Description: Noncrystalline form of the mineral silica.

Color: Transparent to opaque porcelainlike material (colors appear as rainbowlike flashes).

Found in: Australia mostly.