Micro sculptures with gold

[www.time.com]

Russian micro-miniaturist works with gold - astonishing detail!

Maggie - interesting link, and he is using the same make and model microscope I have



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2012 08:57PM by Jeff Weissman.

That is indeed amazing, Maggie! I hope the chap doesn't start collecting minerals, because then even micromounts would no longer be safe from fakery

Did you see the part about where he times his work to his heart beat? I cannot imagine such self-control, or self awareness!

Says he's having a hard time finding buyers for his work. I would be more than willing to treat it like a nice crystalline gold sample and give him a healthy multiple on the spot price by weight...

The bit with the flea is totally over the top.

Back in the late 1930s Ollie Jordan Sr. worked a small gold mine on William's Creek above Liberty. He would sometimes find rich pockets of wire gold (really electrum). He would scrapes the wires out by hand. I sure wish I knew what that felt like. His partner was Miss Ollie Blisset, perhaps his daughter. She may have been the one who sold complete wire gold alphabets to tourists.

I think tweezers were involved.

The Jordans still owned the property in the 1960s. I don't know about the modern ownership.

High above Liberty is the Ace of Diamonds claim. It is under modern ownership, but part of the USFS road is paved with electrum bearing shale.

The most beautiful gold (electrum) crystals I've ever seen have come from that road. Be prepared to take a 5 gallon bucket of shale home and a get a one gallon jug of HCl to clear out the calcite which embeds the gold. This is not a good area to trespass. USFS employees won't even get out of their trucks above Liberty.

Liberty was once a charming little mining town. They had a gold and mineral shop until about 15 years ago, but a female strip club owner from Tacoma bought the whole town and turned it into a faux western town. Probably with high speed internet.

You can still buy Liberty gold specimens at the new Liberty Cafe located on SR 97 at the union of the road up to old Liberty. Very good sandwiches.

I love stories about spinster mining women. I have a small collection of books about them. My favorite was a personal friend, Miss Lucy DeLuke of Marysvale, Utah. Someday when I write my memoirs there will be a chapter about her. It was her Tunnel Extension Mine which hosted the original source of cannonite. I proposed that the mineral be named DeLukite, but to no avail.

You should see the 1930s era photos of her in her proud riding boots and atop her horses.

Bart

That's pretty impressive!