ok, I've been trying to heat some aquamarines in a crock pot with the liner out and sand in. they're crashing and looking a lot like labradorite??!! There's a picture below. As you can see, it's interesting, but NOT appealing for a jewelry designer (like myself) Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Is there something else besides dirt that should be in the pot? Thanks guys!! Jill
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:44 pm Posts: 1079 Location: Washington State
jillhord wrote:
Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Is there something else besides dirt that should be in the pot?|
The gem materials which are to be heated NEED to be without inclusions. (Any inclusions can expand, move or extend farther into the material, depending on the type of inclusion). Start with small inclusions....end with large inclusions. I've got a large aqua crystal, that I bought off E-Bay years ago, which looks great at one angle. Tilt it and it's shot through with parallel fractures...from heating and having the inclusions expand. Nice way to turn good stones into fish tank sculpture!
Then there is the need to control the heat input fairly closely. In other words the temperature rise and fall needs to be controlled pretty well. The sand is a good start, but a kiln with a accurate digital temperature controller is preferable.
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