Andezin is a stone, the aesthetic properties of which very few people were excited until recently. Prosto andesine and ugly – if we consider it in terms of jewelry value. However, the events that occurred since the Beijing Olympics have created a credulous customer confidence in the exceptional attractiveness of andesine.

The existence of natural andesines of unparalleled beauty – red, green, changeable, brilliant brighter than diamonds and worthless trifles compared with other gems – it seemed to the general public to prove. We were sent letters to the site, requests started to sound, questions came pouring out: “Why aren’t you selling beautiful colored andesines?”

What can be answered…

Andesine in mineralogy and gemology

Mineralogy is a science. Gemology, in essence, is a commercial branch of art history, tirelessly seeking expansion of its material base.

In the mineralogical references of the andesines, there are completely gray pebbles, at best, with an admixture of brownish yellowness in color. For gemology, such andesines simply do not exist…

But if mineralogy suddenly assumes that, in theory, andesines are not forbidden to have pleasant tones of red and green, gemology starts to rub hands nervously: well, well, well … The public likes red pebbles, loves green pebbles; and only red-green go with a bang for any money!

At the same time, some gemologists – honest – humbly await relevant mineralogical findings. Others, reluctant to expect the grace of nature, brought up in the Michurinist spirit; take the initiative in their hands. Man, is he godless? And if God didn’t care about coloring andesine, would it be possible to correct reality?

Eternal gemological sedition has touched andesine

For thousands of years, mankind loves, collects and granite colored stones – and all these years alchemists are not tired. Yes, they failed to turn mercury into gold, granite into diamond, and roadside dust into a philosopher’s stone. But andezin something they succumb? Especially since science promises such an opportunity?

In principle, there is no difference in exactly who initiates the falsification. Just a private customer is always limited in funds, and the extent of his atrocities is negligible. It’s another matter if a strong-willed, purposeful and rich state acts as a customer. This is where the gods have to make room on the bench of the demiurges and give a spot to the creators of red-green andesines!

We do not know exactly who authorized the production of red andesine from feldspar mined in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. But today, a few years after the sensational appearance of the Olympic gems, it is definitely established: all the andesines of red, red-green, green-pink, grayish-pink and yellowish-red tones, as well as zoned, are artificially made.

Natural red andesine is not in nature!

The public craves illusions!

Commercial success is the star that illuminates the path of every businessman, regardless of his specialization. If you attract the attention of society, please to the unpretentious taste of the masses, throw a baited hook into the crowd in the form of something new and tasty, and then you can cut coupons of excessive demand!

It is according to this algorithm that the actions of the Chinese players, who decided to squeeze all the juice from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are lined up. The world community is already accustomed to the idea that everything in the world – from gunpowder and paper to an invulnerable state apparatus – was invented in China? So, the Beijing managers reasoned, the idea of ​​a new semi-precious stone of purely Chinese origin would also be accepted. And it does not matter that mineralogy with great doubt relates to discoveries of this kind: the weak voice of science cannot overcome the deafening rustling of bills!

Of course, any stuffing should be correctly furnished and well organized. First of all, you need to create an atmosphere of mystery and ignite the aura of romance. Mystery is easy! It is enough to lie loudly – and the more arrogant is the lie, the more willing it is to be believed – but in such a way that verification of what was said is impossible.

Well, and romance … Every person in his youth dreams of untrodden paths, transcendental heights and overcome difficulties. “So let’s give people the same dream! – decided to Beijing organizers. – That is, we will give not for free, but we will sell …”

And they sold it!” Shortly before the Olympics, the world gemological community was given two ideas about finding red andesines. In Europe, they talked about the deposits in the Congo, which give ah what wonderful andesines, but at a high price – because there is war around, everything is mined, stones dug out are carried out by secret paths, and after extraction of the mineral the holes are buried and trampled to prevent the enemy from recognizing.

In America, the idea of ​​the Tibetan origin of colored andesines was implanted. Say, among the transcendental tops, tamed yeti scramble on steep slopes, where red stones get out of the rocks with sharp claws, and then they are exchanged by greedy Tibetans for pressed tea and frozen yak fat.

Neither the Europeans in the warring Africa, nor the Americans in the teeth of the Yeti did not hurry to go to check the rumors. In the absence of alternatives to the invention of the hidden gem mines caught on.

Sleight of hand or a trick

“Cui podest malum? Who benefits from evil? ”Asks a Latin proverb. The answer is simple. Beneficiaries are sellers of counterfeit goods. To ignite the red-green flame in the andesine inserts at the current level of labor technology is not.

Chinese forgers took feldspar of suitable quality – it is not difficult to select a wagon or other stone of the required quality at a field producing thousands of tonnes. Then, a light, unblemished suspension of coarse impurities, free (or almost free) of brown iron oxides, the mineral was kept in a copper-containing solution.

After impregnation, the stone was subjected to heating, contributing to the fixation of copper ions in the crystal lattice and the subsequent manifestation of the properties of chromaticity – and colorful andesine is ready! Culling removes unsuccessfully refined spar, but even if the stonework turns out to be only 1% of a ton of heat-treated material, the game is worth the candle!

For the time being there was an accumulation of jewelry raw materials. Then cutters, engravers and, of course, merchants entered the business. A year before the start of the Beijing Olympics, the Asian marketplaces were filled with ornaments and souvenirs from the beautiful andesines. Hieroglyphic certificates of quality talked about natural stone, mined in China. Do not carp!

Exposing

Strictly speaking, no one in the world – except, perhaps, Oregon stone-cutters – is not against the appearance on the market of a new, relatively inexpensive and surprisingly beautiful gem. The Oregonians have their own interest: they mine and sell (not cheaply) the so-called solar stone, some varieties of which look exactly like newfangled andesines. However, the Oregon sunstone is a plagioclase, a relative of the andesine, and still not andesine…

And although it is far from Oregon to California, the mineralogists of Pasadena decided to stand up for the honor of the birthplace of the sun stone. Found, by the way, is also not particularly long. The authoritative commission set about studying samples of Chinese andesine and made some efforts to find secret deposits.

The Japanese also began to stir. The Far Eastern expedition was afraid to go to Africa, but Tibet, far and wide, walked by Japanese mountaineers, tourists and researchers, attracted specialists in precious stones. Titanic efforts of the locals, attracted by the Japanese, in Tibetan scree was dug a handful of pink and red andesine. However, the impurity composition of the mineral was fundamentally different from the elemental complex of commodity andesines of the Olympic format.

According to rumors, the Russian conquerors of the African continent, acting tacitly but effectively, tried to find out the mining sites of Congolese andesines. But in the Congo, as it turned out, it is much easier to dig up human bones and automata shells into the bargain than to find at least some deposit of a mythical stone.

Publications in the media and the Internet have done their job. The cost of “natural” andesines from China has declined, and the Oregon miners of sun stone are no longer offended. However, the Chinese “prospectors” still supply the world gemological market with their hand-made products – but at least without an advertising pump and on a smaller scale.  Finally Healing Crystals is the best option for you.