ÿþ<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 97"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.7 [en] (Win98; I) [Netscape]"> <title>THE SPHERICAL WORLD</title> </head> <body text="#FFFF00" link="#000FFF" vlink="#FF0000" background="blckmrbl.jpg" <B> <center><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+4>THE SPHERICAL WORLD</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">A Publication of ATMOSPHERE</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">THE SOCIETY FOR THE APPRECIATION OF MINERAL SPHERES</font> <br>&nbsp; <br>&nbsp; <br>&nbsp; <br>&nbsp; <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+3>&nbsp;THE MYSTERY OF METALS</font></font></center> <font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>&nbsp;</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Metal spheres are fun to collect. You just have to have very secure shelving!</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>We re only half kidding, but metal spheres are worth their weight in enjoyment. They are some of the most eye catching pieces that a sphere collector can own.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Our favorite is the Schalenblende, which we have to go to Europe to buy because it is so rare to find in this part of the world. The name is German but the material is from Poland. A mix of sphalerite, marcasite, galena, zinc and lead, it has wonderful cream colored patterning alternating with shiny and dull metals. When polished well, it s spectacular. And Heavy.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Many collectors love the Gibeon meteorite spheres, etched swirls in a mostly nickel material. We even have one with a natural stand to show what the material looks like before it s been polished.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>One of the most unique species is the psilomelane, a rare sphere from Arizona which features wavy concentric lines and sometimes tiny slit openings!</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Pyrite and chalcopyrite are wonderful if you are addicted to that bright gold color, as we are. Our current favorites are the pyrite geodes from Peru with little waterfalls of cubed pyrite crystals just falling out of the vugs. They come in all sizes--from 1.5 inches up to five. There are also some lovely combinations with the shiny fool s gold--apache gold, pyrite and quartz, chal-copyrite with black basalt.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Let s talk about precious metals. Yes& they are expensive and hard to find, but we ve actually located an argentite silver sphere with really interesting patterns, as well as a white quartz with natural gold sprinkled on its face. (It s got a little pyrite, too)</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>The Nipomo, CA, marcasite is also quite lovely, accented by white quartz.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Copper sure brightens up a display. Michigan copper is some of the best in the world. Our sources bring us both pounded (soft brushed patina) and poured (shiny) copper spheres. And we ve even been able to track down half-inch mini marbles!</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Many of the most interesting are the metals in combination with each other or other materials. Take for instance, a hematite-enstatite mix (Utah); or the sphalerite, galena, barite and silver (Crede, CO ); manganese and psilomolene (Arizona) or the non-specifically named Mineral Rock (Oregon).</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Then, of course, there are spheres helped along by man silicon! made in a laboratory. Yes, the same stuff that powers our computers. It s brighter and shinier than hematite (and a lot more expensive.)</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Metal spheres are a wonderful compliment to any collection. Light them well and they will shine brightly in your life!</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp;<font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><i><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>Ocean Jasper/Mad in Madagascar</font></font></i> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>You haven t seen anything until you ve seen the frenzy for the new Ocean Jasper from Madagascar! We had a spectacular 5-inch specimen -- pink with green spots and white druzy-- in our hands in Munich as another buyer was trying to negotiate with the dealer to buy it out from under us. This sensational material has a very interesting story. It was found decades ago by a local Madagascar rockhound, but no one could find the way back to the site. Finally, a leading French mineral dealer, who spends half his time in Madagascar, decided to go looking for it since he d heard rumors of&nbsp; this wonderful material. With great effort, he located it on a cliffside that is impossible to see at high tide. Today it is being successfully mined for this incredible orbicular material which comes in virtually unlimited variations. The colors of the spots and matrix can be hunter or olive green, pink, peach, beige, brown, black, white, orange, gold or even red. Among our favorites are the charming  gears or green spray against white background. In addition to white druzy, this often comes with a remarkable hunter or pale green druzy. The only orbicular-patterned spheres that come to mind which are equally special are the red-yellow dominated Morgan Hill poppy jaspers. Enjoy a look at the Ocean Jasper we devoted a whole page of our Virtual Show to them!</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>Marbles, Marbles</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>Who s Got The Marbles?</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Here are a few new marbles we ve found: morganite, Mexican fire opal, amber with bugs, pietersite, pink tourmaline, aquamarine (beryl), pampas onyx, azurite-malachite, Larimar, bustamite-richtorite, and dinosaur bone.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><b><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>WE DO GET A- ROUND !</font></font></b> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Since our last newsletter, we have been globetrotting in a quest to find new spheres. Our journeys have taken us to Munich, Germany, to visit Europe s leading show; to the Denver Gem&amp; Mineral Show, as well as to see dealers in Namibia, Africa; California and Nevada.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+3>DENVER-MUNICH REPORT</font></font></font><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Since we attended these shows only two weeks apart in September and October, we re going to offer a combined report.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Here are the wonderful new finds.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><u><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Denver</font></font></u> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Pink Andean opal Remember the aqua blue? Now there is pink.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Australian green variscite lace in yellow jasper.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>* Ghost Jade from Nevada, green on green patterns. with a touch of chatoyance.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Striated Oregon opal with layers of alternating earth-tone colors.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Steffonite a Western regional jasper, akin to Morrisonite.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Arizona rainbow tiger eye ranges from peach to green to gold to brown.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Agate geode with black dot druzy..white druzy with small stark black dots visible in the pocket.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Navajo wood a pink wood with lovely patterns offset by calcite sections.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1><u>Munich&nbsp;</u></font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Bauxite Hard to find material in browns, beige and reds</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Chrome Diopside, a real find& bright kelly green gem stone top, grey matrix bottom.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Epidote from Madagascar This is a beautiful and rare deep hunter green sphere with a unique crystallization. It has open pockets and an entrancing attraction.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Nephaline-Aegirine It s like Halloween! The black aegirine and orange nephaline are speckled throughout.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Brazilian morganite The largest specimen of this rare pink-peach beryl we ve ever seen, it was largely cloudy with windows of clarity.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Spanish olivine is an interesting alternation of tan, olive green olivine and brown, almost shadowing each other. *Reptilian dinosaur bone Don t ask us which Australian prehistoric reptile. We wouldn t have a clue!</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Chinese Green Tourmaline in Quartz Giant tourmaline crystals terminating at the sphere edge.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>*Datalite Skarn with Wallastonite A beige backdrop for the green patterns instead of the usual white.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>PrOfile: Marcela Cruz</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>If you ve called the Sphere s To You/ Atmosphere office you ve probably had the delightful experience of talking with Marcela Cruz. Marcela manages all of the customer relations and is a long time friend of mine dating back to college. A native Southern Californian, she joined us in April 1998, after many years of managing offices for doctors and other professionals. Quickly taking to the beauty of the spheres, she has continued to hone her knowledge of the inventory. Some of you may have met her at a few of our earlier mineral shows before the two of us decided pictures on the Internet are a lot easier to handle than a ton of rocks at a show. Marcela s gracious Hispanic heritage has been a wonderful asset to the company since she is fluent in Spanish and acts as primary correspondent with our Spanish-speaking customers and dealers.</font></font><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1></font></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>When not in the office, she s often out hiking, playing with her adorable cats or cooking gourmet meals.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <p><i><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+2>ARE WE INTERACTING? ONLINE THAT IS..</font></font></i> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Since this newsletter began publishing five years ago (yes& this is our 9th volume) there has been a revolution. The Internet has joined us to stay.</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Sphere s To You now has an immense website with more than 4,000 spheres and 200 variations of marbles. We now also connect with many of our friends and customers via email. But it s also easy to lose track of people because they change addresses and Internet service providers. So if you want to make sure you get the earliest announcements of our wonderful new treasures, make sure you keep us current on your email (snail mail) address& Or if you ve just come online, please drop us an email to: spheres@iswest.com.&nbsp; By the way, we now offer secured credit card processing online. It s fun to be digital!&nbsp;</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp;<font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><b><u><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>MINERAL MATCHES</font></font></u></b><font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Match the sphere to its international place of origin:</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>1.&nbsp; Anhydrite</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>2.&nbsp; Crater Agate</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>3.&nbsp; Buddstone</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>4.&nbsp; Blue Aragonite</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>5.&nbsp; Muskovite</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>6.&nbsp; Sunstone-Moonstone</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>7.&nbsp; Dalmation Jasper&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>A.&nbsp; Argentina</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>B.&nbsp; Greece</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>C.&nbsp; Madagascar</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>D.&nbsp; Russia</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>E.&nbsp; BC, Canada</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>F.&nbsp; South Africa</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>G.&nbsp; Mexico</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"><font size=+1>Answer: 1(C), 2 (A), 3 (F), 4(B) 5 (E), 6(D), 7(G)</font></font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp; <br><font color="#FFFF00"></font>&nbsp;<font color="#FFFF00"></font> <p><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">&nbsp;</font> <br><font color="#FFFF00">.</font> <br>&nbsp; <br>&nbsp; </body> </html>