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Author Topic: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?  (Read 3276 times)

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jgrocks

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Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« on: April 14, 2018, 07:10:16 PM »

I bought these recently from a very old collection. I believe these are the Edwards Black Nephrite Jade, they are black as can be and definitely Wyo material. I've seen pictures of Edwards, and these look identical in the rough. I remember reading that true Edwards also never had rounded features in the rough...
picture album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/67661627@N05/albums/72157694787392924









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Redrummd

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2018, 08:27:38 PM »

Not sure and I have quite a bit of Edwards - Two issues -

1) The "flakes" look translucent and not truly black. 

2) There are a lot of internal "flaws" I have not seen in any Edwards I have.

I would cut a thin slab 1/16 best but no thicker than 1/8 inch thick and this should be easy with true Edwards.  Sand it to a knife edge and if it stays true black with no translucency it may be Edwards.
Edwards Jade Wyoming 2.JPG
*Edwards Jade Wyoming 2.JPG (90.14 kB . 800x600 - viewed 515 times)



















jgrocks

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2018, 08:41:23 PM »

Thank you for the information, I thought about getting the rough slabbed but not that thin, I'll have to try that though. I don't have a saw, so I'll be going to Jerry's rock shop most likely for getting it slabbed.

EDIT: Not sure if you noticed but the rough I show many pictures of in this post has a very sharp edge which is holding the black very well in sunlight, I also have a chip which broke off another rough I have not pictured here or in the album which is 1/16" roughly to even thinner and when held to the light the middle is black still. I'm pretty confident when I do get this slabbed to 1/16 and a 1/8", the polished slabs will hold the color just fine.
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55fossil

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2018, 10:12:28 AM »

   Find a very bright lite and hold it up to the thinnest clean edge of your rough. If there is any greenish tint or the light shines through it you may need to re-evaluate. Better to do some minimal testing before spending money on custom rock cutting.
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jgrocks

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2018, 10:34:40 AM »

I'm not sure what you are going on about there 55fossil, even Edwards with a very very thin slice will show green when back lit.. I wish Redrummd would show that polished knife edged Edwards while back lit
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55fossil

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2018, 07:50:49 PM »

  It seems this subject on black jade was discussed here in December of 2015.   PS:  A simple comment is not going on, sorry if it ruffled your nightie. Jade is a very complex "rock" and there is a lot of misinformation and many opinions on what really qualifies as Jade. One such subject is how black does black jade need to be. Another is whether "black Jade" is even jade. back to my hole in the ground....rrrrrr

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Redrummd

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2018, 09:39:25 PM »

Edwards Black XRD testing 2011 _ edited only to remove some personal back and forth stuff between Vic and I.....


From: vshowell@comcast.net [mailto:vshowell@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2011 9:37 AM
To: Michael Hoover
Subject: Re: edwards black

Hi Mike
the Edwards has been tested and more tests will be performed to hopefully include talking George into taking it into the SEM.
It tests better than any BC jade for sure,
and tested better than the Wyoming green piece I got from Agren.

Appears to be a super nice actinolite-tremolite nephrite jade with nice high peaks for tremolite.
I found no evidence of quartz which is defined by specific 2 theta peaks on the graph readouts.

Your Edwards Black is superb material.
You can just see it and feel it when handling it.
The hardness results not from the quartz suspect, but most likely from the tremendous character of this specimen itself,
representing intensely interlocked fibers of actinolite-tremolite.
It exceeds 95% of all the salt water beach black in quality. 
I have tested a couple of beach black pieces that tested better than the Edwards in tremolite and actinolite peaks,
but no matter what,
the beach black stuff here will have a percentage of feldspars... though often slight,
they do compromise the hardness and the purist of blackness desired.
We also have a genre of "green-black" from the beaches here that tests well.

The Edwards had no discernable chlorites to consider whereas ALL Washington nephrites
will display some level of chlorite,
from minute to inundated.
I have seen however ...Washington nephrites with explosive tremolite levels exceeding anything anywhere else,
and that could mean a host of explanations,
so until better authority is approached with cumulative data,
I cannot comment on that phenomena.
ie
I need to extensively talk to George Mustoe,
but I need to organize specific data sheets to specific questions etc,
and ultimately,
puzzling data and samples go into the SEM ...electron microscope

I will have to review the BC jades but my memory is that there were no chlorites in those either.

There will be more testing on your pieces as time goes on.

I will send you a copy of the XRD data sheet on the Edwards.
If I were you I would back pocket that untill more data is produced from those samples.

Can you open attachments with images?
If so I can send an image of the XRD data.


Thanks
Vic

irockhound

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2018, 10:20:55 PM »

The only Edwards I have has an orange rind to it.  Was the rind common in the edwards?
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Phishisgroovin

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2018, 07:40:09 AM »

so you are near Kent?
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jgrocks

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2018, 09:39:37 AM »

Phishisgroovin, yes, South Hill Puyallup
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Phishisgroovin

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2018, 02:31:03 PM »

Phishisgroovin, yes, South Hill Puyallup
SWEET!!
A new lapidary friend that is CLOSE!
How much does Glen charge to cut?
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Phishisgroovin

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2018, 02:32:54 PM »

I have a 20 inch saw but i am out of oil in it from cleaning it.
lacking 3+ gallons now and my blade doesnt touch the oil anymore after i cleaned the saw.
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Phishisgroovin

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2018, 02:35:16 PM »

Are you firearms friendly?
I always ask before i invite places.
I am a licened concealed carry kind of person but open carry when out in the toolies rock hounding & prospecting. I ask because i dont want someone freaking out about my pow pow when i get out of my vehicle to go find rocks....
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Redrummd

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #13 on: April 16, 2018, 11:05:20 PM »

The only Edwards I have has an orange rind to it.  Was the rind common in the edwards?

The "upper" mine had the red/orange skin (down to about 35 feet). The lower had a white skin.

Redrummd

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Re: Wyoming Black Nephrite Jade Edwards ?
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2018, 05:25:52 PM »

Here are photos of a "knife edge" on Edwards Black.  The edge is about the thickness of a business card.  The light is a 200 lumen LED about 1/2 inch across - so, extremely bright.  At about 1.5 mm thick the light does not go through the sample piece.
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