Our neighbors to the South may well be one of the richest source of beautiful spheres. While, we all love to ogle the exotic spheres from around the world in our collector case, those from close to home should not be overlooked!

Agates
Mexican Agates are among the most beautiful in the world. They are vibrant in color and rich in variety and pattern. A cruise through any agate book will showcase Mexican agates right at the top. These include Agua Nueva (with touches of pink, red and purple), intricate Crazy Lace, Red Lace, Black Lace and Silver Lace, Luna (with orbicular white moons against a lavender/blue background), Flame (red and pink flame pattern), Laguna (multiple colors which can range from purple to red to silver to orange to lavender to tan), Calico (with its minute patterning in creams and pinks), Moss (glassy golds and reds), Cathedral (firey reds and golds), Cayanito (also in the red shades, with lots of fortifications), Bacon (rich browns that really are patterned like bacon) and Tube (various different patterns and colors, including rust brown “squiggles”). There is also the Mexican Coconut Agates that are actually geodes…They tend to be colored in pretty light blues, whites, browns and golds.  Frankly we can’t figure out why these are snapped up right away, especially the fabulous lace agates that just capture the eye as you trace their patterns around and around.

Calcites
Mexico boasts some of the most stunning blue calcite in the world, second only to Madagascar—and less expensive, too. But the country is known for its amazingly rich brilliant, glassy orange calcite, sometimes contrasted with white markings. We especially like the extremely highgrade “honeycomb” calcite, with its interlocking white lines.

Obsidians
No discussion of Mexican minerals is complete without fabulous volcanic obsidians. Black glass-like spheres where tiny fibrous inclusions developing in their cooling and hardening process have created all kinds of remarkable effects. You start with a plain black obsidian. Then mix in a little white snowflake (white spots just like snowflakes!), or perhaps sprinkle with rainbows. The rainbow obsidian is generally known for its pink and green circular bull eye’s, but look around a bit more and you’ll find gold, lavender, blue and peach sometime mixed into the concentric circles. There’s also the wonderful gold sheen obsidian, with its rich golden almost iridescent patina.

On a completely different volcanic path, though its getting hard to find, there is the lovely blue/green volcanic glass spheres, that remind you of clear ocean water!

Jaspers
Mexican jaspers are unique unto themselves. Consider the Dalmation Jasper, cream with black spots. Yes, indeed it looks just like that firedog in the old pictures. Then there is Leopard Skin Jasper, which actually looks more snakey, than leopard with browns, tans and beiges and once in awhile peach. Our favorite is the Imperial Jasper, a dreamy mix of greens, pinks and reds in luscious patterns that just draw you in. There’s also the calcite/aragonite mixed Easter Egg Jasper, so named because it looks pretty and sweet—with multiple rings of glistening red/peach/pink calcite. Also in the red shades is the pretty Vaquilla Jasper, which has beautiful mixed patterns of reds and golds—almost like a moss agate.

Organics
Mexico produces a number of spheres from organic matter. Some of the most interesting are the black and white Orthoceras spheres, with a variety of very large prehistoric critters very distinctly visible. There are also the Crawstone Fossil spheres –brown matrix with turitilla snails, flabellum coral and clams--all in one! Then there are the Coquina spheres, a coarse-grained, porous, variety of limestone made up of fragments of shells.

Fluorite
Produced in Mexico are lovely rich dark green, or frequently Mardi Gras (green/purple) fluorite spheres. These tend to be different from the Chinese. Mexican Mardi Gras is generally cut larger than the Chinese and is richer in color. Now and then, we can even find a nice rich blue color sphere from Mexico, but these tend to be quite rare.

Miscellaneous
We like the unusual white Sagenite spheres, with geometrically patterned lines throughout. Sagenite has hair-like needles that are often arranged in fans, sunbursts or other notable designs. Also from Mexico, we secure the pretty flat-textured Pink Dolomite spheres (which tend to be very inexpensive) and occasionally aragonites in cream/brown/orange rings. We also found a one-time stock of Desert Rose Selenites cut into spheres. Now and then we can also track down a small piece of the shiny metal galena from our Mexican dealers.

So next time you celebrate Cinco de Mayo, toast one to the beauty of Mexican spheres!

 Emerald!—Green Heaven

Emerald evokes in us images of the ancient world—emeralds in statues, jewelry, daggers and crowns. But these beautiful and luminous green beacons can be had in the most interesting spheres today.

Two locations are the primary sources, the American clear green emeralds from Western North Carolina. Mined by a few individuals, these pretty spheres from the Crabtree Mine are pure white calcite with distinctive tiny slivers of emerald scattered throughout…along with touches of black tourmaline. They are dainty!

The other major source of course is Brazil. And they are quite different, large 1-inch or larger crystals in black matrix, or emerald massive interspersed with touches of black hematite. These nearly all-emerald pieces are not only stunning, but they evoke the mystery of the ancient world.
 
 

This is our 20th Issue of the Spherical World! …10 years of sphere news!

This was our opal and tourmaline show! Lots of very cool opals and beautiful tourmalines seemed to just fall into our hands. Plus many other wonderful specimens.
· Blue Indicolite—Blue Tourmaline Marbles. Very, very rare indeed! From Brazil.
· Pink, Pink/Green and Green Tourmaline Babies from Russia
· Small Australian Opal marbles.
· Beautiful glassy, high polished pink opal from Peru. One is the largest specimen we’ve seen.
· Totally baby blue opal from Opal Butte Oregon
· Dark rich blue offset by matrix also from Opal Butte
· More fiery orange Oregon Opal with glassy windows
· Lime green opal from Madagascar
· Lime green and orange opal from Madagascar

Other great items include:
· First time ever!—Blue Smithsonite from Mexico
· Pretty blue Shattuckite from South Africa—two different versions, one with Cuprite
· Agates from Morocco, Bostwana, Kentucky and other locals.
· Grey/blue and white Natrolite with geometric markings from Russia
· The rarest of the rare—Pallasite spheres—a two-toned spotted meteorite from Belarus
· Firebrick Copper—white-dotted copper from Michigan
· Brachiopod—Million-year-old clam antecedents!
· Moonstone, Sunstone and Black Tourmaline all in one—a metaphysical feast!
· Purple Spurrite (also known as Damsonite) from Mexico
· Owyhee Sunset Jasper in Sunset colors
· More blue dino bone/More vivid red dino bone.
· Several great Turquoise spheres!
· Bronzite…a fabulous bronze irridescent flecked material from Brazil
· Psilomelane Babies—Marbles of this fantastic metallic silver/black banded material from Mexico
· Parcelas Agate—Looks like glassy grey agate in a snowstorm..from Mexico
· Some really nice green Chrysoprase from Australia and also Variscite from Utah
· Seldom seen Botswana Agate from Africa
· Condor Agate! Brilliantly colored Argentinean agate…Our favorite!
· Marbles in Blue Onyx, Petosky Stone, organic red MaryEllen Jasper and Firebrick Copper
· Native Copper Ore (green, shiny copper and black) from Michigan
· Great Ruby/Sapphire sphere!
· Black/gold metallic Pulsite with an array of unusual materials in its makeup.
· Luscious Malawi Blue Chalcedony
· Rich green chatoyant Diopside
· Chatoyant Blue/Black Pietersite from South Africa…a stunning specimen!
 

New Agate Book
Though we don’t sell it, we can’t resist telling you about a coffee table book that is so beautiful as to be breathtaking. It’s called simply “AGATES” and it’s by German professor Johann Zenz. The paperback version runs in the neighborhood of $85 and it’s worth every penny! It is the largest compendium of photographs of agate slabs ever assembled in print. Don’t miss this one if you are an agate lover…but then again, this book could make you an agate lover.  J
MOONSTONE
Everyone Loves Moonstone! Whether its that amazing shimmer, the beautiful chatoyancy that captures you or its metaphysical mysticism, this stone is a true wonder. Today Moonstone is not just a white feldspar that resembles our circling body of reflected light. It comes in several other wonderful colors—each with its own chatoyancy and unique appeal. Here is a quick look:

· Sunstone-Moonstone (Russia)
· Peach Moonstone (India)
· Green Moonstone (India)
· Aqua and Peach Moonstone (India)
· Peach and Bronze Moonstone (Madagacar)
· Rare Red (Madagascar)
· Silver (California)

The Disappeared has Re-appeared!
Put in your order now!

This was an amazing show because two materials that have been off the market were obtained in small quantities— very high caliber rich ruby red stalagtitic rhodochrosite from Argentina…the wonderful gemmy cherry-colored material with the “eyes.” Don’t miss the ones with black oxidation, too! These are very unusual.

We also secured more of the fabulous high-grade red sphalerite from Spain, prized for its metaphysical properties and golden/red fire. The rhodochrosite is in stock, but we are having more marbles and spheres cut from the sphalerite. If you want to be alerted when it comes in, please email jeff@spherestoyou.com
 

Door Jewels™

Here’s something cool! Buy two matching spheres from Spheres To You and Door Jewels can make them into doorknobs for your home! Finishes include satin nickel, shiny polished brass, and oil-rubbed bronze. They’ll even make drawer pulls of smaller spheres. Contact us for more information!
 

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

**Visit Us at Spheres To You**
As always, we will continue to welcome folks to the showroom by appointment. Please call (818) 991-5143 or email spheres@spherestyou.com. Or go to the website to see our selection and order: www.spherestoyou.com.

Sphere Collector News
 If you have interesting news about yourself or your collection, please email us at jeff@spherestoyou.com  or jackie@spherestoyou.com. Please put “Sphere Collector News” in the subject line.
 

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Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show (Spring), April 21–23, 2006, Denver, CO

West Coast Gem & Mineral Show (Spring), May 12–14, 2006, Costa Mesa, CA

East Coast Gem, Mineral &Fossil Show, August 11–13, 2006, West Springfield, MA

West Coast Gem & Mineral Show (Fall), November 10–12, 2005, Costa Mesa, CA

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show, January 27–February 10, 2006, Tucson, AZ
 

For information go to: www.mzexpos.com

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Radio Psychic

The world’s leading radio psychic Linda Salvin can be heard every weeknight. Ask her your questions or hear the wise, interesting, witty counsel she gives others. Go to www.lindasalvin.com to learn where you can hear her show.  For a private session, call 888 509 1077.
 

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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@iswest.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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