Stone #14 caught my eye on the beach because of the series of light-coloured spots shining through the dark substance of the stone. Like stars shining through the darkness of deep space. The stone, 5 cms long, completed polishing on 1 December 2021 – the close-ups remind me of far-away galaxies seen through a powerful telescope:
Tumble polishing has clarified the pattern but the spots remain somehow indistinct, without clear boundaries:
I have no idea what kind of rock this stone comes from, nor how the “spots” originated. One of my guesses would be that when the stone was in liquid form, a light-coloured mineral flowed through a darker coloured mineral in a series of narrow trails, and then was “frozen” in place as the rock cooled quickly. But this is pure speculation on my part.
Stone #14 is not a brecciated stone (like Stone #2 and Stone #8) nor is it amygdaloidal (like this stone) nor is it a porphyry (like Stone 9 in this Post). And it lacks the well-defined orbs of an orbicular jasper like Stone #4.
The following are among the other “spotted” and “spotty” stones I have spotted on Gemstone Beach over the past couple of years – the photos were taken on the beach at the time they were found:
Stone of the Day #15 is here. The beginning of this January 2022 Stone of the Day Series is here.
hi, u have some beautiful rocks there. Can I ask for your help identifying some I have found on a local beach of mine here in the UK please?
kind regards Annemarie
annemariemarara@gmail.com
Hi Annemarie. I have very limited experience with stones from the UK. You are more likely to get help from the kind of people who are involved with rock or lapidary Facebook Groups based in the UK, like “Rock Tumbling and Polishing Group” and “rock identification group” – I have no experience of these Groups but have found similar ones useful in New Zealand. You can search for and find them in Facebook. John