Thread: encasing gems
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Old 2009-04-01, 6:20am
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kebira kebira is offline
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Unless the quartz is pure, a variety of minerals can be found throughout the sample.These form when the quartz is still a hot solution.It's what gives the various colors often seen with quartz, and impacts the fuse or melt point of the quartz. Pure quartz has a very high melt point, but some mineral quartz can melt at around 1110 deg F, the same temp as mica.And if you've ever tried to add some sparkle to boro with mica , you know how crappy decomposed mica looks. Just can't take the heat. I would guess the bubbles are some of the other minerals gassing out from the surface of the quartz. As for other minerals for encasing, most suffer from the same thing opals do, which is moisture in the mineral which rapidly expands and "explodes". Most minerals were formed in a hot water solution under pressure, so water is part of their makeup.It's hit or miss with encasing almost anything outside of lab opals.

Good luck
Kevin
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