Tag Archives: magnesium

The Great Masquerade

The story of the Black Prince’s Ruby and the Timur Ruby of the Crown Jewels of England both being enormous spinels is not new. The great deception was merely a case of misidentification and misunderstanding. It was always known that the two gems were “balas rubies,” i.e. rubies from Balascia: the ancient Latin name of…

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Best of the 2013 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

I’m back from my annual trek to the always amazing Annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. To me, the Tucson show is more like the Disneyland of gems and fossils. I absolutely love it! As usual, there were amazing geodes of every shape, color and size. As you may know, geodes are ancient works of…

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