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Techniques for CollectorsPolishing Rainbow Lattice Sunstone?

28th Sep 2015 03:47 UTCbendecamp

Has anyone worked extensively polishing Rainbow Lattice Sunstone? I just acquired two rough pieces that display the lattice. I'm under the impression that it polishes similar to Sunstone, but I had a fellow who worked on Opals in Australia tell me otherwise. Any help would be appreciated.

28th Sep 2015 06:14 UTCbendecamp

-- moved topic --

28th Sep 2015 09:28 UTCSpencer Ivan Mather

You can polish it just like sunstone, just remember to orientate it properly before cutting..

Spencer.

28th Sep 2015 11:31 UTCDavid Sheumack

Hello Bendecamp,

Yes, I agree with Spencer. Carefully look at the orientation of the "lattice"and cut in that plane. It's a rather tricky stone, i.e. finding the right orientation is fun since the lattice formation rarely follows the cleavage of the matrix.If it's not aligned correctly, you end up with a sparkly cab with no lattice, (but still quite pretty) or no sparkle :( . Good luck, the pieces you have are a great starter.

28th Sep 2015 22:15 UTCSteve Federico

I have no tips for you but those are really cool rocks.Never seen that before.......Steve

29th Sep 2015 03:00 UTCDoug Daniels

Is the opals fellow suggesting making doublets - i.e. a layer of quartz over the stone, then cutting the quartz as a cab? That would seem logical, as the inclusions are somewhat "layered", and making a cab of the actual stone will cut off some of the inclusions. (Hope that made some kind of sense....)

7th Nov 2015 02:57 UTCTony Stephens

That is a gorgeous stone ! Never seen it before thanks for posting it!

10th Nov 2016 22:56 UTCTim Jokela Jr

Incredible material, where from, and can you suggest a source?

Cleavage is often a problem with feldspars.

I suspect that you want to cut them flat, not domed like a cab.

If you've made any progress, I'd love to see pix!