It’s a common green mineral. Serpentine. But have you ever thought about all the different variations there are?

Some of the brightest and most interesting serpentine spheres come from exotic locales around the world.
Among the most prized today are the striking rich almost kelly green spheres contrasted with dark green or black patterns from Russia. These can often be acquired in spheres up to six or eight inches.

Peruvian serpentine is mostly a lighter color, almost a lime green. It often has white spotting, pyrite or lighter/darker green shadows to offset the lively green color. Arriving on the market recently is an Afghani serpentine, alternating a gemmy, onyx green and a cream color.

One of our new  American favorites is a “bird’s eye” serpentine from Nevada. This has an orbicular look to it. There is a very decorative serpentine from Arizona which is pale  green and black in lovely recurring circular patterns. The black is augite. For more on Arizona serpentine see our next page!

Combinations
We love the new serpentine and stichtite spheres from Australia which we recently found in Tucson. These are chartreuse green with purple spots!! Serpentine can also be banded, in alternating shades of light and dark green.

Serpentine occurs on nearly every continent. With each variation, it provides a lively counterpoint. It is not a precious mineral, but it certainly can be interesting.
 

SPHERE'S TO YOU’S QUEST FOR THE RARE AND NEW
Each year we set out to find some new, beautiful and extraordinary materials for sphere collectors.
How do we do that?

• We hear about or see a new material and track down the dealers or miners who have it.
• We push, prod, urge and nag (if necessary) other dealers to cut high quality spheres of their best materials for us.
• We attend shows all over the world.
• We correspond with International dealers over the Internet.
• When there are no other options—we arrange to have a rare find cut by our selection of sphere cutters.

GUEST COLUMNISTS:
Bruce & Debbie Barlow
Bruce and Debbie Barlow of Arizona have been mining for about 20 years.

It started with rock-hounding trips as children and became an obsession after the first big "strike" in 1983.  We have dug many different kinds of materials, from many different types of mines, in several states--  from underground to open pit.  We've been perched on the side of a mountain.  We've gone 240 feet down a rickety old ladder and rappelled down other underground mines.  We even have a contract to work on a major operating copper mine.  Riding those huge Wabco trucks can really change your per-spective.  We have been on many wild goose chases. We have been stuck in mud and stuck behind a fallen tree.  Caught in rain and snow.  Chased by javelina, surprised by rattlesnakes, and kept awake by bats all night long.  Each time we head out it's an adventure.  The rough roads are exhausting, the weather conditions can be extreme, the insects can be brutal, and, of course, the digging is back breaking work.  But you forget all that each time you make that "strike"!

And there is nothing quite like the thrill of holding a million-plus-year-old rock, finished and preserved for all time!
Here’s a little bit of detail on one of those "strikes."

ARIZONA TIGER EYE
Age:  1 billion years, Precambrian Period
Location:  Globe, Arizona

Known as Arizona Tiger Eye because of its chatoyant cat’s eye effect, this material is actually a Serpentine.  It was produced when water from magmas changed igneous rocks.  The fibrous appearance is due to the presence of Chrysotile.

The material can be slightly translucent, and the colors can range from root beer brown to light green, with pink, gold, or silver bands.

This material is found in a very rugged and remote area north of Globe, Arizona.  Access is very limited. Most of these roads are not maintained and have not been traveled on in over 60 years.  In some cases, the roads have
completely disappeared.  We have re-searched more than 70 locations, searching for the very best grades of material.  To this date, we have found only one location that matches the high quality we desire.

Most of the tunnels vary from 200 to 1000 feet deep, and many are unstable.  Some of the material is hand dug, which produces a very low yield.  Occasionally we are able to get a drill in.  However, the veins generally run one to two inches thick of the desired chatoyant material with two or three inches of serpentine surrounding. Sometimes the veins are even thinner.  Many of the tunnels are only four feet high, which forces us to  crawl through them.

When we drill, it is necessary to remove several tons of material, and we recover only a few hundred pounds of usable content.

Once the high quality material is recovered, only a small amount can be brought out at a time due to the condition of the roads.
This forces us to make many trips to transport the material.  And it is very
rough on our vehicles!

The material is also very difficult to cut and polish, and requires special
skills in handling.  Each piece must be cut by hand, as the material would not hold together in a sphere making machine. It takes many hours to finish each
piece to our high standards.  The yield of finished product is low (only about
50%!), as many pieces fail to meet our quality control.

But when you see the finished sphere, you’ll know why it is worth all this effort. Nowhere else is this distinctive material found, and it creates stunningly beautiful pieces.

Tiffany Stone/Ice Cream Opalite
If you like purple, Utah’s got something special coming your way. Tiffany stone, also known as Ice Cream Opalite, is entrancing collectors worldwide. The striking spheres of this material are bright purple or lavender, generally offset by veins of black. Under short wave, the spheres fluoresce a lime green. Often found side-by-side with a vivid pink/peach variation, you can actually get spheres that are half pink/half purple.   These are just some of the elements which make this stone unique: beryl, beryllium, calcium fluorine, chalcedony, bryozoan and tabulate corals, opalite and druzy quartz.

TUCSON REPORT
 Tucson was once again a window on the world’s production of interesting spheres. Here are some of the 800 new spheres we found.
 *Gold and Silver Spheres—Yes …the real things.
 *Rainbow Fluorite— Argentinian multi-colored or yellow-green.
 *Blue Fluorite—A pretty teal color.
*Kimberlite—From the mines of South Africa
 *Sparkling Bronze Rutilated Quartz—Best we’ve ever seen.
 *Blue-Green Apatite—With opalescence! Also in  matrix of day-glo orange calcite.
 *Crystal Clear Brazilian Calcite—Millions of rainbows.
  *Unique Metals--Hematite-Enstatite and Sphalerite-Galena-Barite-Silver
 *Petrified Woods—Wond-erful  patterned woods—juniper, oak, elm, sequoia, Cheery Creek
      and more.
 *Indonesian Corals—In fabulous colors (orange, pink, yellow.)
 *Fossils—Favosite (Michigan), Hexagonaria (Alaska)
 *Utah Lacy White Calcite—With red and black ribbons
 *Scappolite—Green tourmaline from India in milky matrix
 *Exotic Agates and Jaspers—Too many to recount here.
 *And….Chert, Banded Dolomite, Bull’s Eye Mahogany Obsidian, Flowered Rhodochrosite,
     Yellow  Jade,  Lavendar Mexican Opalite, Black & White Septarians

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 FLUORITE SURPRISE!
 You are probably familiar with the lovely green and purple/green fluorites from China and Mexico. Perhaps even the amber fluorite. But now a few wonderful new editions to the fluorite sphere family are coming on the market.Cut specifically for Sphere’s To You, are a selection of beautiful Argentinian:
        · rainbow fluorite spheres of purple, green, yellow
        · yellow-green banded fluorite spheres
        · honey-colored fluorite