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Fluorite Bottle?

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bokaba
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« on: August 23, 2016, 09:13:56 pm »

Dear members,

Is this a carved fluorite bottle or another stone? Is it a modern piece?

Thank you,

Brian


* s-l1600.jpg (95.13 KB, 640x480 - viewed 36 times.)

* s-l16001.jpg (113.89 KB, 640x480 - viewed 35 times.)
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Wattana
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« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2016, 10:08:33 pm »

Yes Brian, this is a fluorite bottle.

Old fluorite snuff bottles are rare, partly because the material is so fragile.

You do not give any details of mouth, base and its size. Difficult to make comments on age without knowing more. From the two pictures you posted it looks like a modern bottle.

Tom 
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bokaba
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« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2016, 10:13:45 pm »

Dear Wattana,

It is about 2 3/4 inches tall. Here is a picture of the base. It looks like a rotary tool was used, so I am going with probably modern.


* s-l1600.jpg (39.69 KB, 397x368 - viewed 31 times.)
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Brian
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« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2016, 10:23:26 pm »

Thanks Brian,

Yes it does look modern. I'm guessing the hollowing follows the outside contour reasonably evenly, but is not too extensive. Is that right?

A real pity about the rotary tool marks. Fluorite is a relatively soft stone, so polishing out those tool marks would not have been difficult. Just lazy craftsmanship.

Tom
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2016, 04:32:10 am »

Dear Brian,
 
    Are there any lapidaries in your area? Possibly George could help you, and you could get the
marks ground away. Modern bottle, but quite pleasing.
Best,
Joey
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Wattana
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« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2016, 04:34:07 am »

 
    Are there any lapidaries in your area? Possibly George could help you, and you could get the
marks ground away. Modern bottle, but quite pleasing.


Dear Joey,

Exactly what I was thinking!   Wink

Tom
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YT
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« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2016, 04:50:46 am »

Dear Tom,

I have seen a green fluorite but not a purple one. I would have guessed this as amethyst.

Cheers,
YT
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Wattana
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« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2016, 05:03:48 am »

Dear YT,

The wavy banding seen in the lower half of the bottle is very characteristic of fluorite. Shades of blue-green are the most common colours for fluorite, but it can also exhibit strong purple streaks. I also think the colour in the photos is perhaps not natural daylight, which is making the stone look a little more red.

But I agree that it could be a striated pale amethyst............which will make it harder to remove the tool marks.  Wink

Tom
PS: Here are 3 natural fluorite crystals of differing colours


* fluorite crystal-1.jpg (17.23 KB, 400x364 - viewed 17 times.)

* Fluorite crystal-2.jpg (13.41 KB, 400x268 - viewed 12 times.)

* fluorite crystal-3.jpg (31.8 KB, 400x400 - viewed 15 times.)
« Last Edit: August 24, 2016, 05:15:50 am by Wattana » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2016, 05:34:09 am »

I like the bottle very much.. Very pleasing to the eye.

I will vote fluorite as well. And actually a fairly nice grade. Not gem grade, but nice..

It is hard to explain, so will not go into a long rant, but for the most part, lapidary tools are different than those used by a carver.  So you would need to find someone who carves.

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« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2016, 08:15:26 am »

"Great Minds Think Alike..." No need to finish the quotation!  Grin Roll Eyes
Best,
Joey


 
    Are there any lapidaries in your area? Possibly George could help you, and you could get the
marks ground away. Modern bottle, but quite pleasing.


Dear Joey,

Exactly what I was thinking!   Wink

Tom
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cshapiro
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« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2016, 12:29:40 pm »

Dear Brian,

I bought a badly chipped fluorite bottle you can see in this thread:
http://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,3096.0.html

I did as Tom suggested (he said use toothpaste but I used a very fine grit - I think 1500 wet sandpaper) and polished it and got really good results. I just worked on while watching TV, and it's surprising how quickly it was finished. So the bottom could be repaired by you pretty easily with an hour or two of fine sanding.  Grin
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Cathy
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« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2016, 08:21:53 pm »

Dear Brian,

I bought a badly chipped fluorite bottle you can see in this thread:
http://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,3096.0.html

I did as Tom suggested (he said use toothpaste but I used a very fine grit - I think 1500 wet sandpaper) and polished it and got really good results. I just worked on while watching TV, and it's surprising how quickly it was finished. So the bottom could be repaired by you pretty easily with an hour or two of fine sanding.  Grin
Good idea Cathy.
Although I would suggest a rougher one to start as his bottle has higher indents. Maybe a 600 progressively to 1200 and finally 1500. 3M has got one of the best quality. I have been using them for more than 20 years.

Cheers,
YT
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« Reply #12 on: August 24, 2016, 09:06:50 pm »

Brian,

Looks like you have some useful tips here!

Tom
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bokaba
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« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2016, 10:08:27 pm »

Thanks everyone. Even though not a snuff bottle, I wanted to share my fluorite urn (at least I think it's fluorite).


* Amethyst Urn 2_zpsprxyjv5x.jpg (160.41 KB, 576x768 - viewed 29 times.)

* Amethyst Urn_zpsavu8kzem.jpg (175.78 KB, 623x701 - viewed 25 times.)
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Brian
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« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2016, 10:17:18 pm »

Brian,

This urn is amazing! How tall is it?

Fluorite is extremely fragile and liable to breaking when worked, so I'm wondering if this really is fluorite......or banded amethyst.

Tom
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« Reply #15 on: August 25, 2016, 10:22:11 pm »

Tom,

The urn is about 8 inches tall and very heavy. The person who sold it to me said it was amethyst. I really like it. You usually see so-so ones made out of soapstone or serpentine. It may be banded amethyst as some of the leaves are carved paper-thin around the edges.
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« Reply #16 on: August 25, 2016, 10:32:11 pm »

Looks like amethyst..
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« Reply #17 on: August 26, 2016, 10:06:13 am »

Dear Brian,

      It's very impressive. I agree that it looks like Amethyst.
Best,
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Joey
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