Fair rocks

Exotic looking stibnite crystals from China’s Hu Nan province, Peruvian pyrite valuable in appearance to fools and (my personal favorite) GOLD from the mines of California.

After you’ve gorged on fried foods, enjoyed the amusement rides and tried your luck at the many games of chance, take a moment to duck into the Mission Tower building housing exquisite displays of gems, minerals and fossils.

Like taking a trip around the world in well less than 90 days.

The rocks on display are entered in numerous categories — best cases, rough or natural state, specimens from the county and elsewhere,thumbnails, nodules fossils, gemstones, lapidary work jewelery, educational. and many more too numerous to mention.

In the county fair tradition, prizes are awarded after judging.

Docents give guided tours and there’s the opportunity to buttonhole an avid collector to learn more about how they came by their finds.

Don’t know the Malmquist family, but their displays took home many a prize.

Unfortunately, we missed the big contests on Saturday, June 20 for the “Ugliest Rock”. Otherwise, I might have been able to enter that Pet Rock my loving sister gave me for Christmas long ago during the big craze.

(Examiner)

Ruby Ring

• The DeLong Star Ruby
• The Hixon Ruby Crystal
• The Midnight Star Ruby
• The Neelanjali Ruby
• The Rajaratna Ruby
• The Rosser Reeves Ruby

• The Andamooka Opal, presented to Queen Elizabeth II, also known as the Queen’s Opal
• The Aurora Australis Opal, considered to be the most valuable black opal
• The Black Prince Opal, originally known as Harlequin Prince
• The Empress of Australia Opal
• The Fire Queen Opal
• The Flame Queen Opal
• The Flamingo Opal
• The Halley’s Comet Opal, the world’s largest uncut black opal
• The Jupiter Five Opal
• The Olympic Australis Opal, reported to be the largest and most valuable gem opal ever found
• The Pride of Australia Opal, also known as the Red Emperor Opal
• The Red Admiral Opal, also known as the Butterfly Stone

Emerald Necklace

• The Chalk Emerald
• The Duke of Devonshire Emerald
• The Gachala Emerald
• The Mackay Emerald

Emerald is a green variety of the mineral beryl. Other gemstone color variety that normally belongs to beryl includes aquamarine, Morganite, and heliodor. Other colors of beryl are simply referred as to by their color, such as red beryl.

The wonderful green color of emerald is unparalleled in the gem history. Emerald’s precious green color is caused by its small amounts of chromium and enhanced by traces of iron. Unlike other beryl’s, emeralds are often contain inclusions and other flaws. These flaws are not looked on as negative aspects for emerald like that they would be for other gemstones. Indeed, these flaws are considered as part of its character of the stone and are used to assure the purchaser of a natural stone.