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Identity HelpAny Help on identifying this interesting material?

2nd Apr 2020 22:23 UTCJohn Hornewer

Howdy everyone,

Any help on identifying this material would be greatly appreciated.

Mohs: Well, interestingly, a Mohs tester of 9 was not able to scratch it. This material easily scratched the lense of an IPhone X (hardcore, I know, but it's all I had, lol). The 9 tester was not able to scratch the Sapphire lens of the IPhone for reference.

Specific Gravity: 2.714 - 2.727

Reactivity: None with HCL

Locality: Arizona

The picture is about the size of a penny and weighs 1.148 grams.

Please excuse my noobness. This is my first time on this board and Mindat. I will try to provide any other pictures and information that anyone needs. I was only able to upload one picture.

Thanks again for any help.

2nd Apr 2020 22:27 UTCBob Harman

Artificial, GLASS CHEERS.....BOB

2nd Apr 2020 22:30 UTCJohn Hornewer

Lol. Except it comes from a new dig. Ancient artificial glass. Well, I didn't think of that option, lol.

2nd Apr 2020 22:27 UTCJohn Hornewer

Here's another photo. I hope this is the way to post multiple pics.

2nd Apr 2020 22:34 UTCJohn Hornewer

And this is the IPhone - no match for this stuff

3rd Apr 2020 00:02 UTCFrank K. Mazdab 🌟 Manager

"noobness" lesson #1... don't use your iPhone as a hardness test surface.

wait, is it still April 1st? no, it's April 2nd already...

3rd Apr 2020 00:44 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

An alien meteoric diamond? No! Just kidding.

It's probably quartz. Please try doing the hardness test again when you have more than your phone to scratch.

3rd Apr 2020 04:25 UTCJohn Hornewer

Hi Kevin,

I know, I know. I'm getting a piece of sacrificial corundum tomorrow to test further. Ugh, I should have done that before I scratched my phone. But hey, for all you IPhone people out there, the lens is really tough but not recommended for testing purposes.

3rd Apr 2020 01:46 UTCJosh Smith

I would agree about using something more than an iPhone for testing, but it is in fact a sapphire surface so.... very interesting.

3rd Apr 2020 02:21 UTCFrank K. Mazdab 🌟 Manager

there's some question about whether the lens itself is actually made of sapphire glass, or just a thin sapphire laminate on regular glass:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/4/13160180/apple-iphone-sapphire-camera-lens-analysis

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/10/03/video-all-iphone-sapphire-lenses-scratch-tested/

Apparently iPhone lens can be scratched already at Mohs 6 (oops!). Apple responded to one of these reports and said the test wasn't being done "properly". I don't know what "properly" means, but if a Mohs 6 hardness point (that's just orthoclase, folks) can scratch the lens under any reasonable circumstances, it's still a fail.

3rd Apr 2020 04:14 UTCJohn Hornewer

Hi Frank,

Yep, The IPhone test is unorthodox for sure. I did that because I didn't think it would scratch - ha. Oops, lol.

Anyways, I thought for sure this material was quartz until I really looked at it. To my noob eyes and fingers, something about this stuff just looks and feels different which is why I began testing it and that's why I'm here.

What I can say, for now, is I can't scratch it with a 9 mohs tester and I didn't scratch the IPhone with the 9 either. This material easily scratched quartz and now the IPhone, ouch.

I just want to figure out what the heck this is. If it's quartz, great - now I know (but the hardness and tenacity is throwing me a curve ball). I have had the honor, privilege (or nightmare) of bringing a new find to the world's stage so I'm no stranger to the unknown. I am just trying to figure out what this is and now, it's a mission for me.

I am getting ready to send out samples to the GIA as well as have XRD testing done. I am at a point now where scratching my head doesn't work anymore.

Of course, I'll keep you updated if I find anything concrete about this but this is where I'm at right now. I'm not speculating as to what it is because I have no idea, for now, as to what it is.

Gotta love the hunt!!!

3rd Apr 2020 04:19 UTCJohn Hornewer

Hi Josh,

Yep, I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack for risking my IPhone, but I really didn't think it would scratch like that. Live and learn. I'm going to get some sacrificial corundum tomorrow for testing. I'll let you know what i find.

3rd Apr 2020 07:04 UTCKeith Compton 🌟 Manager

Your specific gravity is close to quartz and it may be a little off. How did you do the SG test and how sure are you of its accuracy?

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