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I'm not an expert, but I did study jewelry making and gemstones a long time ago.

Gem-quality colored diamonds just aren't that common. If you have colored stones they are probably some other kind of stone. They may also be lab-grown synthetics or paste (glass).

The first thing I'd do is inspect them for size and imperfections. Gem-quality precious stones tend to not be very large, they tend to all be slightly different colored, and they tend to have flaws of some kind - internal spots or fractures, etc.

If you have a bunch of colored stones that are exactly the same size, shape and color - or equally perfectly colorless white stones, with no tiny imperfections in their surface or inside of them, they are quite possibly imitations of some kind or at best low-value semi-precious stones. Inexpensive synthetics can be very sparkly depending on their cut and the material they are made from, so "fire" isn't always an indication of value.

All you need to start with is a good light source and a good hand lens or desktop magnifier. If you wanted to get fancy you could buy a $30 USB microscope to plug into your computer. If you don't start seeing little lines and specks in the stones, or irregularities in the coloration, they are most likely imitations. Your magnifier doesn't HAVE to be very strong, either. 5x-10x ("five to ten power") magnification is perfectly adequate for finding these tiny irregularities, you can find such magnifiers (also called jeweler's loupes) in many hobby shops or online on eBay or Amazon, etc. Check online for buying guides, like this one.

Even if the stones do show these irregularities it's not guaranteed that they are natural, but it's a good first step. Really though, start by arming yourself with knowledge and simple tools. Go to a jewelry store and ask the sales clerk to show you some natural stones with minor imperfections, and to show you how to use a hand lens. Some may balk at the request, but you can always try another store.

Once you've done those things come back here and we can answer any questions that occur to you and suggest what to try next. Nobody was born knowing this stuff, and anyone who buys jewelry should at least know a little of it just to protect themselves.

Also, if you do buy a USB microscope you can take detailed photographs of a small batch of stones, one stone at a time, and then take them to someone for authentication knowing that they can't pull a switch on you by keeping your originals and returning fake or less valuable natural stones. It does happen sometimes, unfortunately.

Take your time, educate yourself, and have fun with it. You DON'T have to spend a lot of money, and even if you do decide to get the stones professionally appraised ask around to find the right person, settle on a price you're comfortable with up front, and just take them a few representative stones at a time.

Find out if there's a rock club in your area, they are also called gem and mineral societies. Sometimes the members will turn out to be mainly interested in agates and other semi-precious stones, but often there will be a few people fairly knowledgeable about precious gemstones as well.

tl;dr

Just sit down and start looking at the stones one at a time with a good handheld magnifier in good light. If the stones look too perfect and perfectly identical they're probably synthetics or fakes. (Though there are some lab-grown stones now with flaws and inclusions too.)

Good luck!

I'm in the Provo area, where are you?

Keep an eye out for the 2013 Timpanogos Gem and Mineral Society show at the Spanish Fork Fair Grounds... They usually sell a small orange pamphlet with directions to some really good locations. It's part of the fund raiser so worth the $5-$7, and of course ask the guys at the booth they love chatting about rocks. Gem Fair also comes to the South Town Expo center a few times a year but that is 70% beads and fake crap.

My favorite site for locations...
http://user.xmission.com/~jbdaniel/index.htm
Lots of good detail and some not very active forums.

I like the book Rockhounding Utah , http://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-Utah-William-A-Kappele/dp/1560444460

You can use Amazon preview and google books preview to check out the most of the sites. Also, Google the table of contents listings and you're sure to find plenty of articles about the particular site.


Personally my favorite places are as follows (google to find directions etc).

The Dugway Geode beds are excellent, get directions online, take plenty of water and a high clearance vehicle (needed for the last 1 mile or so). Drive around until you find the pits with the tractor. DO NOT dig the pit the tractor is next to, leave that for the claim owner. He is okay with rock hounds digging the other pits though.

Looking for trilobites near delta is fun, although you may want to try some of the commercial pits rather than the public one next to UDIGG. If you are spending the time and gas $ to get out there you may want pay to work to the prime areas. I've spent a lot of hours smashing rocks in the public quarry with very little luck. However, if you are in it for the adventure searching around online should lead you to some directions to some pretty decent sites.

I tumble a lot of the stuff I collect so I go after a lot of agate and jasper. There is some pretty good agate out near Wendover near the salt flats. Take the road that heads toward Silver Island Mountains (lots of directions online and in books). That road gets graded every so often and I have found some amazing stuff just sitting off the side of road in the berm. Drive slow with your widow rolled down and eyes peeled.

Last Chance Road on I-70 between Salina and Grand Junction has some really nice agate. Be warned though, the sign at the start of the road warning about washed out roads is SERIOUS. Last year it was impassable by all but the toughest 4x4's, I came upon on sorry traveler that had been stuck in the mud for 8 hours before a truck came along that was capable of pulling him out. If it's a dry year like now it's no problem with a car.

The "ghost town" area on Joy, UT in the Drum Mountains (near Delta) has some nice agate and jasper. Look for a location called Agate Hill, I find lots of red/yellow jasper further up the road closer to the hills.

Vernon and Salina wonder stone are super easy to collect and look pretty neat. It's won't polish all that well but it makes for great decorative pieces as is.

A really good place for collecting obsidian is on highway 257 between Delta and Milford. There is a turn off for a dirt road that leads to Kanosh, most directions online and in books will mention a sign that says "Kanosh 26" don't bother looking, it burned down a few years back. Keep an eye out the side of the road for black chunks of obsidian. When you start seeing a bunch of it get out and walk around. It's all over. Lots and lots of black stuff, some areas have some rather large mahogany chunks. If you climb of some of the hills you will find some very small pieces of really bright read obsidian, but all the deposits I have found are really fragmented smaller pieces.

Sounds like fun! I can't tell you much about the camping scene, but I do have some good spots in South-Central Colorado. Granted, there's can still be a lot of snow at altitude in early May, so some of the sites might be iffy at the time of your visit. I'll mark those with a star.

Trout Creek Pass pegmatites, about 20 minutes east of Buena Vista. The Clora May Mine is the easiest to access, with only a ~15 minute hike uphill. It's got some great chunks of pink feldspar, biotite and muscovite mica, and some massive (in the geology sense of the term) quartz/smoky quartz. There's a smaller amount of black tourmaline, although the quality isn't generally great IMHO. But the real prize is the uncommon rare earth minerals such as Aeschynite-(Y), Polycrase-(Y), and Xenotime. They're generally not breathtakingly beautiful, but a fantastic addition to your collection if you're a chemistry buff. Don't try and take them on the plane with you, though -- some are surprisingly radioactive.

Ruby Mountain, ~20 minutes south of BV. It's easy to find, and not bad of a hike up. Halfway up, there's a good outcropping for perlite and obsidian "Apache tears". The top is mostly rhyolite, but there are small (think millimeters, not centimeters) garnets in some pieces. More rarely, there are some funky "flower" shaped formations with tiny crystals of topaz. This site is pretty well picked over and half is on private land, but it's definitely convenient.

The Rock Doc. Awesome rock and mineral store in the same area as the above. You can also pick up supplies, books, and local intel on collecting sites.

Also not a site as such, but the National Mining Hall of Fame in Leadville has a fantastic collection. The Rock Hut mineral store in town has good specimens, but a bit pricey for my taste.

Mount Antero. The aquamarine is legendary, but this is definitely not a casual collecting spot. Inaccessible most of the year, lots of active claims, bad afternoon lightning storms. Wouldn't recommend unless you happen to plan ahead with an experienced local as a guide.

There are a few quarries, mines, and collecting sites around and behind Salida. Midway Springs has some cool Aragonite features -- you can find bright red-and-white chunks that look like miniature caves, including speleothems. There's good Magnetite and Actinolite specimens from the Calumet Mine, but it's not always open to collecting. I've never found anything worth writing home about in this area, but there's many sites I haven't seen.

Browns Canyon. The old fluorite mine on the way down has a bit of botryoidal white/clear fluorite on the dumps, but as above -- nothing to write home about. Cool igneous rocks further down the road, and I've found hydrothermal deposits of the uncommon tennis-ball green Vanadium mineral Volborthite.

There's stuff up towards the ghost town of St Elmo, but it's a bit hard to get to (especially before June/July) and there are active claims.

Go to the Bayou Salado Trading Post in Hartsel. The owners hold claims on nearby land for blue and yellow Barite, and you can dig for a nominal fee of like ~$5. It's very hot in the summer, but the crystals are abundant and just lie scattered in the red mud. They actually get more blue with sunlight exposure, unlike most minerals! There are some bigger clusters buried, if you're willing to dig.

Bonanza is an old mining town (pop. 16) further south in Saguache County. Not a lot to find without local help and 4WD, but I have found tiny crystals of Sylvanite, one of Colorado's famous Telluride minerals.

Westcliffe / Silver Cliff, previously a silver mining region. I've only been down this way once, but there are lots of digsites on public land north of town. My best find from that day was Rhyolite with Liesegang Rings. The Sangre de Cristo Gallery and Rockshop in town had great prices, in my experience.

Pinnacle Mine, across Monarch Pass. It's an active uranium mine and closed to collecting, but I thought I'd mention it because the front gate (covered in "No Trespassing" and "Danger -- Radioactivity" signs) is an awesome place for a selfie.

You might also check your library for copies of Voynick's Colorado Rockhounding, Kapelle's Rockhounding Colorado, and especially Mitchell's Gem Trails of Colorado, as they all have detailed site reports.

Oh, and you might also take a look at the Peak to Peak guide to CO sites, GatorGirl's pages for Colorado and Utah, and the Mindat pages for both states.

I can see this will not end based on what I say, so literature is probably the best way to resolve this. I would read this one. There are basic images of the different varieties. Google images actually does a great job of showing you the different types as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Agates-Minerals-Identification-Guides/dp/1591932823/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-4&keywords=lake+superior+agate

I have the damn things in my hand, I feel like I have an advantage on ID'ing them. I am going to take more pictures, to make you feel more comfortable so that one day people like me can post in peace. I don't expect an apology from you because I don't think you are the type of person to give one when your wrong. Knowing you're wrong though does ease the pain.

Do carnelian agates form in MN? Who knows, depends on how you define them. They are found in many places around the world, MN is not known to be a hotspot for them. I personally was under the impression they were mostly found in OR. Can you find Red Chalcedony in MN...yes. Could some rock hound from OR have dropped a carnelian agate off in MN? Yes it has probably happened. I would say if you have banded red chalcedony found in glacial till from the lake superior region it's safe to say its a lake superior agate. Going out on a limb with that one. I would even go as far as saying if you have banded chalcedony of many varieties and colors from glacial till from the lake superior region you more than likely have a lake superior agate.

I can tell you my setup that works pretty well for a DIY-scale operation. I bought this variable speed polisher from harbor freight

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-in-10-amp-heavy-duty-digital-variable-speed-polisher-62297.html

From there, you'll want to get a set of diamond polishing pads like the ones here:

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Polishing-Granite-Concrete-Marble/dp/B071ZTFYYX/ref=asc_df_B071ZTFYYX/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216531060403&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15897563041150168640&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052441&hvtargid=pla-351492880558&psc=1

You'll take off the head that's comes on the variable speed polisher and put the one that comes in the set you get with the polishing pads.

You'll next just want some sort of water source to wash off the dust and debris that accumulates while you are polishing. I made a watering system where I took two five-gallon buckets, put one on top of my table and the other at the bottom. I cut a hole and put in a PVC pipe and put a faucet on it. I put the water in the top one and turn on the faucet just slightly so the water drops into the bucket below. It still splashes water around so I usually drape a towel over myself. You can get good results by just washing the rock off in a basin every 10-15 seconds.

Polish the rock for as long as you'd like on each level. I usually start off with the speed setting on like 20-25 on the rougher grits (50, 150, 300) to really get it leveled. As you go up in grits (500, 1000, 2000, 3000), I'll usually slow it down to like 10 or 15. Take your time and you can get rocks looking really really nice and shiny.

If you really want to red-neck DIY it up, you can also buy their tile saw and cut rocks by hand.

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-in-portable-wet-cut-tile-saw-69231.html

This was great for me when I was geode hunting. There are some youtube videos showing people cutting the rocks by hand. The blade isn't sharp, so you just want to be careful and wear gloves/eye protection. There's a basin of water underneath so it does splash everywhere. I used a tarp against a wall in my garage and was able to catch most of the water and have it trickle down back into a bucket. With some practice, you can cut rocks flat enough to use your low-grit polishing pads to really get them flat.

Get him one of the small rock id books with lots of pictures (like http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Minerals/dp/0394502698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368484350&sr=1-1&keywords=rock+guide). Even if he's barely reading, he can match pictures to the rocks and you can read it with him.

And yeah, don't throw away his rocks. If space in the house becomes an issue, help him create a rock garden in the yard and mark off an area for him.

My parents have cute pictures of me when I was really little walking holding up pants with pockets bulging and so full of rocks that they wouldn't stay up. If he wants to bring too many home, you can make a rule about only the top 3 or 5 or give him a specific box or bag and he can't bring home more than will fit in that item from each trip.

When you travel, look online for cool rock spots or neat geology opportunities where you're going to tie in his hobby with family events. It will make him feel special and feed his love.

Very cool of you to work to support your kid's inquisitive nature.

Here is a nice website if you're looking for anything in particular or just want to know more in your area. I'm from the east side of OR so I'm a bit jelly you're on the coast, agates are my favorite to collect. One book I highly recommend is this. If you're like me and have no idea where to go it's a great guide. I am also new to the rock collecting scene and have started tumbling too, it's great fun and I hope you keep finding awesome stuff!

I have a 3 lb Chicago rotatory rock tumbler. From what I've read online, it seems like Lortone is the better brand. Worth the extra cost in quality. I basically follow the instructions that came with the tumbler, except the timeframes for the 4 stages are way off.

Here are my tips and lessons learned:

-Be patient. The first stage needs at least 3 weeks for the rocks to be smooth and rounded and the remaining stages need at least 10 days to get a fine polish and shine. The longer you leave them tumbling the shinier they will be, but they will get smaller. If you rush them through, they will turn out dull and it will end up taking more time because you have to start the stages over again. In order to save the slurry, I take a few rocks out with a spoon and wipe them down to see if they're ready for the next stage. If they're ready, I use a bucket, trash bag, and mesh strainer to clean them off. Don't put any slurry down your sink, it's bad for your plumbing. I just keep my bucket in the shed until I'm ready to throw it out.

-Use the plastic pellets in the last 3 stages to soften their tumble.

-Tumble rocks of similar hardness, otherwise the harder rocks with destroy the softer rocks.

-Be very careful oiling your bearings. I just put oil on a paper towel or toothpick and lightly rub it on. I put too much on the first time and oil got under the rubber on the driving shaft bearing. The rubber would no longer move with the shaft and the barrel wouldn't spin. It was a pain to get oil out of a tiny rubber tube.

-Get the larger pack of grit, you'll need it. I bought this pack of grit and pellets and recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZYSDFOG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's some good step by step instructions: http://www.skeenastormstones.com/uploads/1/3/2/4/13243124/rock_tumbling_tutorial_for_beginners_rev7-18-09.pdf

Here's a rock tumbling forum that provides a lot of information and tips: http://andy321.proboards.com/thread/77361/new-rock-tumbling

It seems like a lot of work, but once you have all the supplies, it's really low maintenance and very rewarding. Most of the time you're just letting it do it's thing. Now I've started an all quartz batch, which should be ready in about a month. I'd like to try some bright green or yellow calcite next.

P.S. I'm shocked that Reddit does not have a rock tumbling subreddit.

Rockhounding New England: A Guide To 100 Of The Region's Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762783656/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_6X26wb5VVT2AP

Rockhounding New York: A Guide To The State's Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762779004/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_KY26wbYF584VV

Roadside Geology of New York (Roadside Geology Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0878421807/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_dZ26wbRZZCT7B

The Collector's Guide to the Minerals of New York State (Schiffer Earth Science Monograph) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764343343/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_DZ26wbH96TSC2

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I've found rockhounding books usually have good intros and brief explanations which is good for beginners.

Utah is still a wonderful place for rockhounding and fossil hunting. Especially between Delta, UT and Tooele, UT (western border of the state).

Consider getting this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-Utah-William-Kappele/dp/1560444460

Talk to these folks:
http://thomasrangermtours.com

For the record, I don't get any financial gain from either of these recommendations.

Happy hounding!

Agreed. There is a great spot for some geodes less than an hour away. If anyone wants more information on rockhounding in CO, the book "Rockhounding Colorado" is a great source of information..

Yeah, I'm looking for a tumbler.
I've found a few online, but they look kind of sketchy....
http://www.ukge.co.uk/UK/Stone-Tumblers.asp?gclid=CNquv8S53a4CFUcRfAodqk9Kag
and this one is purely for kids, don't know if it's going to be worth a try at all.
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Crafts-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B00000ISUU

.... and good luck try not to electrocute your self too hard.

Ok she's going to need a rock hammer. I recommend an estwing like this: https://www.amazon.com/Estwing-E3-22P-Pointed-Shock-Reduction/dp/B0002OVCMO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500498067&sr=8-2&keywords=rock+hammer

hand lens (not a magnifying glass)! Every geo has one: https://www.amazon.com/Magnifier-Triplet-Illuminating-Magnifying-Jeweler/dp/B00KAPBYNC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500498120&sr=8-1&keywords=hand+lens

Journal/composition book for her to take notes and catalog her findings

Other things to think about: geology summer camp, local rockhounding groups/clubs, identification book, mineral ID kit, vest with lots of pockets, boxes for the rocks to be stored in, and good boots.

A good soak in Iron Out for a few days will help clean them up. Since it's quartz, you can also use a brass or steel bristle brush if they need a little extra help after the soak.

Check out Rockhounding Oregon: A Guide to the State's Best Rockhounding Sites. It’s a great resource for agate hotspots on the coast.

This is from a fantastic book actually, I cannot recommend it enough. It goes through every step of cutting as well as info on machines and tools and then more in depth chapters into getting good polishes and other technical issues.
https://www.amazon.com/Amateur-Gemstone-Faceting-1-Essentials/dp/3000474749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466220696&sr=8-1&keywords=tom+herbst

I would imagine there are books like this one...https://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-New-York-Guide-States/dp/0762779004
I own the one for Oregon and it has given me some great info to start with. Also, take a look at local rock clubs.

Buy yourself some iron out. Amazon sells a four pound container for less than $13: Summit Brands Iron OUT Rust Stain Remover Powder, 4 lb. 12 oz. Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00103XAQC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ad8JBb23T4JWJ Mix about 1 cup of iron out per gallon of water. Don't breathe the fumes and do it outside. I let my quartz crystals soak in the sun for about a day, and then soak in straight water for a few hours after. They will look beautiful afterwards.

Even if you're not exactly in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Roadside Geology book for the park is a great one, Amazon has lots of other books that look good too.

I haven't read The Rockhounding Guide to the NC Blue Ridge mountains, but I think I will before next vacation....

A couple ideas:

A rock hammer/pick- This is the most popular and here is the slightly fancier version.

Every rockhound needs a bag or bucket to carry their rocks while out hounding. I use this but a popular choice seems to be a canvas messenger-like bag such as this one.

These two books are pretty much the most complete and up-to-date books on faceting, highly recommended by myself and everyone I've seen here:

Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1: The Essentials
by Tom Herbst

Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 2: Expanding Your Horizons
by Tom Herbst

It appears you are interested in geology. I would suggest picking up a copy of Roadside Geology of New York. This well-written series of books provides great geology background for each state. The questions you have posted above are very broad and difficult to answer...

Audubon society book on rocks and minerals is an excellent one

http://www.herkimerdiamond.com is the only western-ish NY fee dig I'm aware of. This book has a list of rockhounding sites with appropriate maps/directions: https://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-New-York-Guide-States/dp/0762779004?ie=UTF8&adid=02XDNXCXNHT0QN810XCY

here's another link that might help? http://albanykid.com/2010/05/24/rockhounding-new-york/

So you live in Cali, eh? I worked south of V-town for a while and took a few trips through Napa. Nice area. Lots of grapes and expensive cars and shit. Take a trip over to the Petrified Forest and see if you can talk to the shop owners, I bet they'd know where you can go locally.

There's lots of stuff in Cali to find. You might have to take a few long drives for the good stuff, though. Get you a copy of the book "Gem Trails of California" and read up.

Apparently they revised Mitchell's original 1992 California Gem Trails book and split it into Northern Cali and Southern Cali.

I'd explore a few book stores to see if they have a copy of either, that way you can flip through the book to make sure you get the right one for your area.

> I had a friend get busted and had to go to court for this.

Your friend could have been claim jumping. Many mineral locals have claims on them, and they can be transient in nature. So even though it seems that it is on public lands, and is ok, someone could have come along and filed a claim over that particular area.

In defense of the claim holder, it takes a lot of expense, time, and energy to dig a hole in the ground. And the claim holder needs to see a return on that money. In defense of the collector, some claim holders should not be filing claims on things that they should not, such as designated public collecting areas. There is one such jerk in my area that may want to haul my butt into court, which at that time we could discuss the validity of his claims in the first place.

That's the short version. What you need to do is buy a recent collecting guide such as this, that will get you started. Then, after that if you have a concern, you go to your local BLM office and ask for information about what claims have been filed in the area you plan on collecting in.

Edit: Also, I should mention that collecting is illegal in National Parks, and also on private property. But I have a hard time thinking that someone would get more than just a trespass citation aka misdemeanor and not hauled into court. Though digging on private property might be considered vandalism. You can ask your friend which of these it was. I don't try to collect in these areas, so maybe someone can chime in on this.

Edit2: If you destroy property in State Parks, then this also might happen.

So this is the general idea.

With the proper bits, polishing paste, a rotary tool stand and an industrial rotary tool that specific agate could take hours. With just a regular old dremel, water and some crappy bits /u/ces614 is right that agate could take you days.

Source I do a lot of rotary tool work on shells, and have practiced on some small soft stones. On the Mohs scale they would fall between 3 and 5, an agate is what roughly 7 on the scale. The hardest thing I've worked on with the dremel I have is a striped fox conch, if you mesured it against the Mohs scale it would be about a 6 maybe 6.5. I was making a shell horn, it took an hour and a half total to finish it. Imagine spending an hour and half on that agate, thats if you only do one side. You'd have to take a lot of breaks even with a stand or a flex shaft. I guess if your just doing the one stone you could do it but man that's ify.

Personally just drop the $80 on a nice Lortone tumbler, they are simple and last damn near forever. Use the rotary tool, or whatever you already have to shape your agate then throw it in the tumbler. If you want to do it super cheap, buy a toy tumbler they cost about $30. After 2 or 3 sets of rocks they start to leak, unless they have improved them any since I was a kid (I'm 30 now) which I doubt.

At home, by myself with a flat lap, a handpiece and a book.

Edit: this book: https://www.amazon.com/Amateur-Gemstone-Faceting-1-Essentials/dp/3000474749