Nebula Stone
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From the moment I saw this gemstone, I was
smitten. I had to have some for a very special knife.
Ron
and Karen Nurnberg were kind enough to supply me with some small
slabs for a very special knife handle. I can't wait to use it. They
are the discoverers and original suppliers of this gemstone, making
it very special indeed.
The stone looks like translucent, glowing, green nebulas floating in a sea of inky black space. I've never seen anything like it, and it's a totally new discovery! Read the details of the discovery here. This is the stone that the Smithsonian Institute first said was a new variety of nephrite jade, but then admitted they didn't know what it was. The American Museum of Natural History claimed that "it's unlike anything any of us have ever seen!" Click here to learn more about Nebula Stone®, also called Eldarit®, Nebula Jade, and Nebulastein. |
Here are some details on the minerals in this gem:
| Name | Chemistry | Properties | Name origin |
| Acmite (Aegirine) | Sodium iron silicate (pyroxene group) | Black, greenish or brownish black, vitreous (glassy) | Named for the Greek word akme from "point" referring to the steeply pointed pyramidal crystalline form. The old Norwegian name aegirine, from Aegir, the Teutonic God of the Sea |
| Riebeckite | Silicate of sodium and iron (amphibole group) | dark blue-black vitreous (glassy) silky in crocidolite variety | Named for Emil Riebeck, German explorer and mineralogist. I've used the crocidolite variation in several projects, click here to see a beautiful gemstone handled Chef's' Set. |
| Anorthoclase | Sodium potassium silicate (feldspar group) | Greenish, transparent, vitreous (glassy), crystalline | Named from the Greek "oblique," and "fracture" referring to the crystalline cleavage |
| Zircon | Zirconium silicate | Black, green, transparent, vitreous (glassy) hard | Named from the Persian zargun, "gold-colored" |
| Quartz | Silicon dioxide | Lustrous, glassy, some in gem quality, all colors | Named from German quartz, meaning "uncertain origin" |
The breakdown of the mineralogy of this gemstone does not describe how these minerals combine to form this truly unique gemstone. This is some breathtaking and truly unique material that will make a stunning knife handle. Stay tuned for the result!
Here is a picture of the slabs:
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Cutting the Nebula Stone For you lapidaries, I've got a special client who's supplied some Nebula Stone for his projects, and I've begun to slab the material in my 18" lapidary diamond saw. This is some hard material and has even stalled the saw once. I'm cutting at near 5000 surface feet per minute, using a red blazer diamond blade by Raytech, one of the hottest diamond saw blades made. The feed is about 18 minutes per inch. The red stained Almag coolant was from cutting some jasper/hematite in a previous operation. The reason for the difficult cutting is probably the size and amount of zirconium silicate in this particular cobble. Tough, hard, and beautiful, I'll be very interested to see just how this gemstone looks on a finished knife handle!
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If you're interested in Nebula Stone for yourself, please visit the official site, the origin of all Nebula Stone here! Be sure and tell Ron and Karen that Jay sent you!
