AUSTRALIA PINK & PERU GOLD QUARTZ CABOCHON 11.7 CARAT NATURAL GOLD QUARTZ GEMS

Description

GOLD QUARTZ CABOCHON
from
AUSTRALIA
R
uler is
1/4"
wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter.
G
emstone weight:
36.78
Grains -
11.7
Carats
S
ize:
24.6X15.2X3.3
mm
A U.S. ten cent piece (pictured) measures 17 mm in diameter.
H
aving been a placer miner for eighteen years, some of these gems erase every notion I ever had about what gold ores are supposed to look like. Here's another such cab; almost too beautiful to be believed. From all the various types I've worked with, this Australia stone is one of my favorites. Matrix colors alternate from a Peru (brown) to a Salmon Pink nearer the bottom. Amongst all the gold quartzes, it's a most unusual color scheme to be sure. A constellation of precious metal particles fill approximately half of the pendant-shaped cab. These show on both the top, slightly-domed top and on the flat backside. The overall effect is dazzling. The parent stone hails from Down Under and comes from collection of very old stock rock. Two faces are pictured, both the 'show' face and the flat back. Gems like this aren't created in factories, they're cut from natural gold ore and turned by hand on wheels. Such gemstone as this is beyond rare.
U.S. S&H .00
w/tracking and insurance.
Combined shipping offered. If you plan on buying more than one item from Gold of Eldorado, please request an invoice from me at checkout time
.
Check any and all
Gold of Eldorado
feedback for disputes arising from non-authenticity of the specimens I sell. All of my advertised specimens, slabs, cabochons, gold ores et al are comprised of naturally-occurring minerals (not man-made). These will contain visible native gold and/or are composed almost entirely of gold (i.e. gold nuggets, gold flakes, wire gold specimens).
T
his is the real deal...natural gold in quartz as God and nature worked it out over the millennium.
WEIGHT CONVERSIONS:
15.43 GRAINS = 1 GRAM
31.103 GRAMS = 1 TROY OUNCE
24 GRAINS = 1 PENNYWEIGHT (DWT)
20 DWT = 1 TROY OUNCE
480 GRAINS = 1 TROY OUNCE
SHIPPING .00
(includes USPS tracking and insurance to all U.S. destinations)
COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNT OFFERED FOR MULTIPLE ITEM PURCHASES. WHEN CHECKING OUT, PLEASE REQUEST AN INVOICE FROM THIS SELLER
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS S&H .00
shipped via USPS Priority box.
FAST REFUND OFFERED
(If, for any reason, you're not happy with this item)
We leave no stones unturned insuring our customers get what they bargained for.
If you're not satisfied with this item, contact me. Then, if the problem can't be fixed, return product within 30 days in  'as purchased' condition for a full refund.
PAYMENTS
For U.S. buyers: We accept paypal.
For intnl. customers: We accept paypal
Pay securely with
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.
Payment must be made within 7 days from close of  auction.  We ship as soon as funds clear. If you have questions, please ask them before bidding.
THE WORLD OF GOLD QUART
Z
W
elcome to the world of Natural Gold Quartz. For those of you unfamiliar with this product, GQ is, essentially, gold ore, very high-grade gold ore found in the outer crust of the earth. When geological conditions are just right, metallic gold-crystals lithify (harden), along with quartz, in fissure-type veins, in altered faults (contact zones) and various other rock formations. This occurs as boiling hot, hydrothermal solutions full of silica and metal cool. It was once thought that most precious metal deposits formed beneath the ocean, but in more recent times, it was discovered that geothermal hot springs well-above sea level have been producing ore bodies of tremendous size. Since most of the gold recovered from these types of deposits is micron in size, placer deposits are not typically associated with such lodes. Where prominent, gold-bearing, fissure-type veins exist, however, erosion weathers richer portions of these ore bodies to form gold nuggets, gold flakes, flour gold, and even finer 'free gold'. Vein filling which retains the host matrix rock (gangue) and harbors metalliferous gold can become one of the earth's more highly-prized gemstones.
The ideal criteria for this gemstone type are hardness, color, and richness.
The best grades of gem rock are very hard, unbrecciated, and contain minimal cracks or fissures. Cryptocrystalline quartz/gold, where it exists, is highly-prized by gemologists/lapidaries/jewelers/and collectors. Overall mineral compositions and characteristics of gold-bearing stone found in fissure veins
(and larger ore bodies) vary from one deposit to the next. This results in the formation of differently-colored matrix (host rock). The gemstone offered here is just one more example.
The metallic mineral, gold, occurs in a variety of geological formations. In modern-day mining enterprises, entire mountains are blasted down, transported and piled into heaps, then soaked with cyanide to leach the precious metal from the ore. A century ago, it was much more likely that prospectors would sink a vertical shaft on top of an ore outcropping or attempt to follow a horizontal or diagonal lead/ledge/lens/vein into a mountainside. Once extracted from the mine-shaft, recovering the gold locked inside the ore was very labor intensive. Arrastras were one of the earlier crushing devices used for pulverizing and removing gold from such ore. Stamp mills, even more labor-intensive albeit more productive, soon followed. An old time prospector's first inkling of a lode occurrence would more than likely have been the discovery of a quartz vein. A rich placer deposit holding coarse, gnarly, even crystalline gold along with gangue would have been a very strong indicator for the presence of a vein system close by.
Quartz veins, at one time, were notoriously famous producers of gold, but many of these prominent, fissure-type, lode deposits such as the Homestake Mine in South Dakota and California's Sixteen to One were mined to great depth. Since ore grades rarely remain consistently uniform throughout the life of a mine and veins shift displaced as they are by the continual movement of the earth's crust, deep deposits, at some point, may be lost or simply become unprofitable to mine. Water seepage was often a major problem in many of the historic old mines of the western U.S.
Sometimes, a productive vein decides to relocate. It doesn't do this overnight, but, as a result of ancient geological shifting in the earth's crust, the vein may have slipped sideways to another location and, in that manner, is lost. Prices for metals fluctuate dramatically. A great many factors influence the availability, production, and profitability of gold quartz gemstone. GQ appears to be extremely scare at this time since only a scant handful of mines around the world are producing this rare gemstone material. Even when a new high-grade ore deposit is discovered, collectors and dealers are tasked with procuring something not being publicly offered or made available. I am making this available.
Thanks for checking out our digs.
G
old of
E
ldorado
8-19-10