Any rock hounds here?

[Trbo323]

My wife loves rocks, a little bit of the woo woo rocks and a little bit of the geologist side. I've been thinking about getting her a amethist cathedral geode as a birthday gift. I know there are a lot of dyed ones out there, I'm not sure if that will be a big turn off or not. I've been browsing eBay and I was shocked by how cheap some of them sell for. I'm getting to the point where I think I can mostly ID the dyed ones.

But what's your opinion, does it take away from the rock if it's dyed and you know it?

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[Daltech]

Prospector chiming in. I think the authentic stuff is more meaningful, unless you’re going for a specific dyed look. Do you have an any rock and gem shows coming to a town near you? It might just be the same stuff as on eBay, but I have no experience , just a thought.

[Daltech]

My old prospecting buddy gave his wife a pair of gold nugget earrings made from nuggets he found in the river. Pretty darn cool. My wife’s still waiting for hers. Lol

[Trbo323]

Prospector chiming in. I think the authentic stuff is more meaningful, unless you're going for a specific dyed look. Do you have an any rock and gem shows coming to a town near you? It might just be the same stuff as on eBay, but I have no experience , just a thought.

A show! That's a fantastic idea! There's one 40 minutes from us this weekend! Thanks

My old prospecting buddy gave his wife a pair of gold nugget earrings made from nuggets he found in the river. Pretty darn cool. My wife's still waiting for hers. Lol

Lol, I have the gold side covered a while ago. I made our wedding rings.

Not the stupid, go into the jewelry shop and pick out a stone to be mounted. I'm talking about actually ordering the gold from a supplier, twisting, bending soldering and finally mounting a stone.

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[Pyrate Jim]

I was big into crystals in my youth. Still have some nice examples.
Even found one here on the property.

Every stone has a story. A history.
For example, I picked up an ordinary chunk of clay because it had lines of harder sediment extruding between layers of softer stone. Interesting, but nothing special.
Upon closer examination, erosion patterns ran in lines at right angles to the deposits creating a near perfect grid.
It's an ugly piece of clay, yet it tells a story of sediment stone turned over at some point and eroded at a radically different angle.
A millennium of history held in the hand.

As far as altered stones, I draw a distinction between crystal and ore.
Artificial enhancement of color in natural stone like amethyst may look pretty, but it's not the real thing.
To answer the question.
Yes, in my opinion if I know the stone has been artificially enhanced it takes away my appreciation of what Nature has done on its own.

[Glovebox Operator]

Not a a real hound, but we've bought some uncut geodes and had fun marveling at what's inside. Aside from that i love perusing mineral shops. Pawn shops and coin shops sometimes have neat crystals too. Know a bit about pricing and value, and have a budget. They'll usually be willing to make a deal to move something.