Metal spheres are fun to collect. You just have to have very secure shelving!

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.

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.

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.

One of the most unique species is the psilomelane, a rare sphere from Arizona which features wavy concentric lines and sometimes tiny slit openings!

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.

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)

The Nipomo, CA, marcasite is also quite lovely, accented by white quartz.  

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!

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).

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.)

Metal spheres are a wonderful compliment to any collection. Light them well and they will shine brightly in your life!
 

Ocean Jasper/Mad in Madagascar
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  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!

Marbles, Marbles
Who’s Got The Marbles?
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.

WE DO GET A-“ROUND”!
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& Mineral Show, as well as to see dealers in Namibia, Africa; California and Nevada.

DENVER-MUNICH REPORT

Since we attended these shows only two weeks apart in September and October, we’re going to offer a combined report.
Here are the wonderful new finds.

Denver
*Pink Andean opal—Remember the aqua blue? Now there is pink.
*Australian green variscite lace in yellow jasper.
* Ghost Jade from Nevada, green on green patterns. with a touch of chatoyance.
*Striated Oregon opal with layers of alternating earth-tone colors.
*Steffonite—a Western regional jasper, akin to Morrisonite.
*Arizona rainbow tiger eye—ranges from peach to green to gold to brown.
*Agate geode with black dot druzy..white druzy with small stark black dots visible in the pocket.
*Navajo wood—a pink wood with lovely patterns offset by calcite sections.

Munich 
*Bauxite—Hard to find material in browns, beige and reds
*Chrome Diopside, a real find…bright kelly green gem stone top, grey matrix bottom.
*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.
*Nephaline-Aegirine—It’s like Halloween! The black aegirine and orange nephaline are speckled throughout.
*Brazilian morganite—The largest specimen of this rare pink-peach beryl we’ve ever seen, it was largely cloudy with windows of clarity.
*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!
*Chinese Green Tourmaline in Quartz—Giant tourmaline crystals terminating at the sphere edge.
*Datalite Skarn with Wallastonite—A beige backdrop for the green patterns instead of the usual white.

PrOfile: Marcela Cruz

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.

When not in the office, she’s often out hiking, playing with her adorable cats or cooking gourmet meals.  
 

ARE WE INTERACTING? ONLINE THAT IS..
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.
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.  By the way, we now offer secured credit card processing online. It’s fun to be digital! 
 

MINERAL MATCHES

Match the sphere to its international place of origin:
1.  Anhydrite
2.  Crater Agate
3.  Buddstone
4.  Blue Aragonite
5.  Muskovite
6.  Sunstone-Moonstone
7.  Dalmation Jasper      
 
A.  Argentina
B.  Greece
C.  Madagascar
D.  Russia
E.  BC, Canada
F.  South Africa
G.  Mexico
Answer: 1(C), 2 (A), 3 (F), 4(B) 5 (E), 6(D), 7(G)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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