California is rich in many things—natural resources, beautiful scenery, great climate and extraordinary spheres! The state offers a wide selection of spheres that can be found nowhere else. They are truly unique to their landscape.

A quick survey shows that no one area of the state has a monopoly on beautiful spheres. From the north are the lovely green Bird’s Eye Serpentine from San Andreas and the green translucent Pulga jade (Vesuvianite) in the Sierra foothills. This region also produces the pretty multi-blue shaded California blue jade.

As we head south, you will find the remarkable orbicular red/yellow Morgan Hill poppy jasper.
Across the state, the trees of Mariposa have lent their name to mariposite-white background veined with green and light yellow sulfer markings. The San Luis Obispo region includes golden/green Stone Canyon jasper and its lovely red and gold counterpart from San Miguel, plus silvery Nipomo marcasite mixed with quartz.

Among the unique agates from the state are moss agate (Coyucos Beach), Plasma agate, patterned Sian agate (San Bernar-dino), and delicate white tube agate.

A one-of-a-kind mineralogical area, Boron, produces ulexite, an off-white chatoyant cat’s eye often called “TV rock.”

Death Valley and the state’s dry high and low desert regions produce beautiful spheres of lime green verde antique marble, graphic feldspar with quartz, white calcite, black-on-white howlite, peach-and-black Ballarat marble and wonderful onyx—red strawberry, silver lace, multicolored travertine, beige queen’s lace, brilliant Trona red and gold, translucent green with golden markings and brown/white Cadiz onyx. Dreamy aragonites also come from this region including root beer and red/gold Kokoweef with interesting crystallization.

Another favorite onyx from the Kokoweef area is the outrageous Popcorn onyx, with its cutouts that look just like popped kernels, which are really stalactitic.

One cannot leave a survey of the state’s beautiful spheres without giving credit to the tourmaline mines of San Diego county, which produce lovely lavendar lepidolite, much of it with pink tourmaline (rubellite) inclusions.

What’s the Right Size of Sphere for You?

Selecting spheres for a collection is a very personal experience. Many of us start out just picking beautiful spheres that appeal to our perception of beauty. But as a collection develops, it often makes aesthetic sense to determine a conscious choice about what size best suits the collection—and then to concentrate on buying spheres within that size range.

How does one decide?
There are a number of factors. One is obviously just personal taste—do you like larger pieces—above 4 inches for example, because they are dramatic! Or smaller pieces because you  prefer something you can hold in the palm of your hand?

Here are some factors to consider:
1. What size display area do you have? What fits best in that area?
2. How strong is your shelving? Can it hold numerous heavy pieces?
3. Are you trying to make a dramatic statement? Do you want large pieces that make people awestruck?
4. What range can your wallet afford—obviously, the bigger, the more expensive.
5. If you like really small pieces such as marbles (1.25 inches and under), are they for display or only your personal enjoyment in a box? If for display, do you have someplace where they won’t get lost—or roll under the furniture?
6. For consistency, the majority of spheres are available in the 2-3.25 inch range, and this would likely afford the largest diversity in the collection.
7. Lighting is impor- tant to show off your collection. Do you have a large enough area that is well lighted to accommodate a growing collection?
8. Growth! How big can your collection get? Is it meant to stay small and select or do you have a compelling need to buy every piece that just “calls to you”, like most of us with the collection bug…?!? Staying in the smaller size range can certainly allow for more space availability.
9. Your personal lifting ability can also influence your collection. Bigger spheres require stronger people to unload and move about.
10. Mobility. If you have a tendency to stay at one place a long time, acquiring larger pieces makes sense. But if you are highly mobile, you  most likely will prefer a collection of medium size that can easily be packed and moved.
 

At this time of the year, we offer a review of the newest materials found at both Quartszite and Tucson, Arizona.

Here we go!

*Desert Rose Selenite from Mexico. Cut from the amazing sand-colored desert rose formations.
*Polka Dot Jasper–dotted jasper from the famous Oregon mine.
*Betrandite—Black-on- white silhouette from Utah.
*Flower Tube Onyx—See box!
*Cinnabar—Deep red coloring, from Northern California.
*Epidiote/Hematite—Lovely lime green with spots of silver metallic hematite, Cadiz, CA.
*Mystery Rock—Nothing like you’ve ever seen! Has a shimmer to it, Dell, CA.
*Lemurian Quartz—Said to be significant in the mineral world for healing and mind
/universe communication, Brazil.
*Black Nephrite Jade from Wyoming.
*Agua Fria—Translucent white with grey and black markings, and druzy pockets, from Arizona.
*Australian Rhodonite—Some of the most wonderful shocking pink we’ve ever encountered.
*Russian Marcasite—Individual cels of the mineral.
*Brazilian Emerald—Incredible huge crystals. Have never seen any like it!
*Araucaria Pine Cone—Spheres carved from petrified Pine Cone millions of years old from Argentina.
*Ussingite—A new lavendar or pink colored mineral from Russia.
*Opal Butte Chalcedony—Translucent agate with unusual patterns.
*Ebony Fluorite—so dark it’s almost black (China) and Honey Fluorite, a warm syrup brown (Mexico).
*Skutterudite—A rare silver colored mineral (Canada).
*Spectrapyrite Concre-tions—Crack open these ugly mud colored Russian geodes and find gold! Shimmering crystals of pyrite, sometimes with a metallic spectrum of colors.
*Cacoxenite—A rare amber quartz from Brazil, with internal belts of golden crystallization.
*Petedunnite—A rare Sterling Hill NJ fluorescent mineral which shows flecks of bright green, red and blue against black.
*Aegerine—Sharp slivers of Canadian black aegerine in white matrix.
Pouches and Pillows
If you like to keep or display your spheres in luxurious style..consider velvet pillows and pouches!
Pillows come filled with soft bean bag inside, or even quartz or amethyst crystals. Tasseled or un-tasselled? Pouches are plain or have designs on them. Lots of wonderful colors available. Check our site.

Flowering Tube Onyx
Our friends in Utah have introduced us to an extra- ordinary new sphere. It’s called Flowering Tube Onyx and it features intricate designs of black tracery—often in flower patterns--on a red, yellow, gold, peach, brown mixed matrix.  This material is from a site so remote, it is hand carried 20 miles on a backpack from the mine location. No jeeps, mules or trucks!

Today’s Tip
If you have or intend to purchase a copper sphere, we recommend Wright’s Copper Polish. It  keeps a sphere beautifully shiny and wards off any discoloration if polished regularly.

THE SPHERICAL WORLD
Editor:  Jackie Lapin
Published By:
Sphere’s To You
 PO Box 1270
Agoura Hills, CA 9l376
Phone: (8l8) 991-5143
FAX: (8l8) 707-3543
E-mail address:
Spheres@spherestoyou.com
www.spherestoyou.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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