GOLD QUARTZ CABOCHON from AUSTRALIA

Ruler is 1/4" wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter.

Gemstone weight: 22.1 Grains (Troy) - 7.1 Carats

Size: 13X12.7X3.3 mm

A U.S. ten cent piece (pictured) measures 17 mm in diameter.

Having been a placer miner for eighteen years, I had no clue back then how many different kinds of gold ores there were. Check out this collector stone. Aficionados of GQ may find it especially attractive.

This lustrous cab shows star-bursts of lustrous gold bursting within the show face. These metallic blebs create a wonderful aesthetic. Cabochon is slightly-curved across the top, flat on the bottom. Gympie ore, known to many GQ aficionados, is highly-prized. Seven point one carat cab measures 13 mm long, 12.7 mm wide, and 3.3 mm thickness.

In the hands of a lapidist, the mineral collaboration called gold quartz can be transformed into exquisite cabochon. Polished to a luster, it awaits setting into some treasured piece of jewelry.

If, perchance, you've a special project longing for a new cab, let me know. I may be able to provide a custom-made creation shaped and sized to your spec.

Like diamonds, gold is precious. In many jewelry settings, gold is the metal of choice used to accompany precious gemstones. Gold is extremely versatile. Relative to other gems, it's every bit as beautiful, if not more so, than the hard, clear carbon we know as diamonds. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. With natural gold quartz, you have silicon dioxide (SiO2) and precious metal occurring together. Add to those superlatives the fact that supply is limited and you'll understand why I love working with it so much.

I suspect that if Debeers were in charge of marketing, grade A GQ would cost around $500 per carat.

U.S. S&H $6.00

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).

This 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 $6.00 COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNT OFFERED FOR MULTIPLE ITEM PURCHASES. WHEN CHECKING OUT, PLEASE REQUEST AN INVOICE FROM THIS SELLER INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS S&H $15.00 shipped via USPS

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 [link removed by eBay].

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 QUARTZ
Welcome to the world of Natural Gold Quartz. For those of you unfamiliar with this product, GQ is, essentially, gold ore, very high-grade 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, faults (contact zones), and various other rock formations. This occurs as super-heated, hydrothermal solutions full of silica and metallic elements cool. It was once thought that most precious metal deposits formed beneath the ocean, but in more recent times, it's been discovered that geothermal hot springs high-above sea level were producing ore bodies of tremendous size all along.

Since most gold recovered from these types of lode deposits is micron in size, placer gold is not typically associated with them. Where prominent, fissure-type, auriferous veins exist, however, weathering breaks off richer portions to form gold nuggets, flakes, flour gold, and even finer colloidial 'free gold'. Vein filling which retains the host 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, California's Sixteen to One, and yes, the Gympie-Eldorado Mine in Queensland, Australia were mined to great depth. Ore grades rarely remain uniform throughout the life of that mine. Veins become displaced through fault block slippage. Over millions of years, this shifting of the earth's crust causes underground miners considerable grief. Deep deposits are often lost or simply become unprofitable to mine. Water seepage created major problems as well in many historic quartz mines around the planet. Many factors influence the availability, production, and profitability of high-grade gold quartz. Since only a scant handful of mines around the world produce this rare gemstone, GQ appears scare. Even when new deposits are found, collectors and dealers are tasked with procuring something not made available to the general public.

Thanks for checking out our digs.

Gold of Eldorado  8-19-10

GOLD QUARTZ CABOCHON 7.1 CARATS QUEENSLAND GEM GRADE GOLD AND QUARTZ