We drove at least 100 miles climbed to over 5,000 feet for an amazing rock-hounding experience. Unfortunately since was very novice at that time we didn’t realize that the maps I bought and all the research I did on the site was not going to guarantee that we would actually find what we were looking for. We wandered the mountains for several hours in 104 degree temperatures only picking up pretty specimens of Serpentine. The site was supposed to be a treasure trove of abandoned mines with the possibility of garnet and other wonderful semiprecious gems and minerals, but Terry and I could only see green.
So we enjoyed our hike to the point of dehydration and
decided that we better take a few of the specimens we found of Serpentine and
call it a day. The good thing was that
we did not have any Serpentine in our collection since we just came from
Wisconsin and so we still, to this day, have a large piece of our finds on
display.
Since Serpentine contains a mixture of magnetite, magnesite,
talc along with other minerals such as asbestos the grades of the rock can vary
quite a bit. Some of the Serpentine we
have found can only be used for display; it is much too soft and fragile to be
used for anything else. This type of
Serpentine is called Crysotile (Fibrous.)
But some Serpentine can be a very durable beautiful green that will be
wonderful for cabochons, beads, and carved collectibles, this is the Antigorite
(scaly) Serpentine. The color can vary
from green to a yellowish green and even have a grey tone or be white.
 |
| A Couple of better specimens we found |
 |
| A wonderful example of carved Serpentine from ArtFire Shop WaialuaPlantation at http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/waialuaplantation/4327787 |
 |
| This great ring was found on ArtFire at The Wild Tangent at http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/thewildtangent/3719668 |
Metaphysically travelers used Serpentine as a stone for
protection. Often it was traders traveling
from town to town or sailors that would wear Serpentine. Native Americans wore it to protect them from
any natural dangers while Roman’s used it to keep away hidden threats. It has also been thought to be used in
ancient cultures to help the dead with their travels from this world to the
next. It can also be used to protect the
home from negative outsides forces such as intruders. Overall Serpentine is the stone
(metaphysically speaking) for most of us in this day and age; we are always on
the move.
(for more information on Serpentine you can find references
on my information page http://butterflyintheattic.blogspot.com/p/information-and-referrences.html)
Here are some great picks from ArtFire using Serpentine:
