Angry Turtle Gems, Minerals and Jewelry

We are two life-long gem and mineral lovers with a big collection of gems and minerals and a lot of pictures to share.  We make jewelry, cut stones and sell loose rough and cut gems from all over the world.  Topaz is my favorite!

[angryturtlegems]

A couple closeups of a sample of peanut obsidian. I hadn't seen this material before, but a friend sent me a bit to look at. It looks like a red snowflake obsidian at first glance but closer inspection shows it is a bit more unique. As you can see in the photos the 'obsidian' portions have a complex twxture that indicates a (partial?) conversion to perlite, or hydrated obsidian. The spherules are a mix of oligoclase feldspar and cristobalite with later chalcedony filling the cracks. There is a great paper from '68 about this material by Paul L Broughton which goes into great detail and I would highly recommend reading it. #obsidian #peanutobsidian #gems #minerals #geology #spherules #microscope

[angryturtlegems]

Just got this amazing moss and sagenite agate back from our cutter. The moss is botryoidal and covered in green needles, and the sagenite has formed beautiful yellow tendrils that resemble flowers. Probably took too many pictures but I liked the look too much. Cut for us by Lenny Samuelson (lennysrockshop.etsy.com). #gemstones #mossagate #sagenite #lapidary #flower #cactus #microscope

[angryturtlegems]

Just got this amazing moss and sagenite agate back from our cutter. The moss is botryoidal and covered in green needles, and the sagenite has formed beautiful yellow tendrils that resemble flowers. Probably took too many pictures but I liked the look too much. Cut for us by Lenny Samuelson (lennysrockshop.etsy.com). #gemstones #mossagate #sagenite #lapidary #flower #cactus #microscope

[angryturtlegems]

Hard not to love Ethiopian opals. No neat inclusions here, just some brilliant pkay of color. This one even shows color when strongly backlit. #opals #gemstones #microscope #mineralogy #ethiopian #ethiopianopal

[angryturtlegems]

Back from Tucson with some new goodies! Looking forward to photographing more when I get the time, but here is a really cool set of what I think are negative crystals in an Ethiopian emerald. #emerald #gems #ethiopian #microscope #gemology #gemstones #ethiopianemerald

[angryturtlegems]

Fresh in from the cutter, rare apple green jade from Wyoming cut from material my dad found himself! This was an insanely lucky find and this finely colored material is basically unobtainable now. I cut a lot of my own material but for fine agates, jades or specialty stuff I turn to my friend Lenny Samuelson (lennysrockshop.etsy.com). He did an amazing job as always! Alas, not for sale, but now that he has #jade #nephrite #wyoming #wyomingjade #applegreen #lapidary #cabochon #suite #raregems

[angryturtlegems]

Not the rarest material but awfully fun to cut! Chocolate chalcedony from Morocco with a roguh nodule. It has wonderful translucent depths and takes a mirror finish. Maybe not the most marketable color but a favorite of mine. #chalcedony #morocco #chocolate #lapidary #gemrough #beforeandafter

[angryturtlegems]

This is one of my favorite gems in my personal collection: a bright, pure yellow Nigerian topaz. It is just over 50 carats and has a completely natural and stable color.