The wrong rock

With a new feature model, I guess. I've had it for a bit now, but I just realised that he doesn't have a name. Maybe let's make him Alfred.

Alfred is, of course, modelling some of my stash of rocks. And no, I'm not talking about them today (oh, shut up with your sighs of relief). What I did want to talk about is inappropriate rocks.

But can rocks be inappropriate, Dee? Of course they can, if they're being used for inappropriate things. Take hardness, for example. One of the things that makes me laugh when I watch the bad jewellery shows on the shopping channel is how often those companies use rocks that will be worn once or twice and then look like crap. Take apatite, for example. It's a lovely mineral and, when polished up, can be very attractive in a jewellery setting. Here comes the but. But apatite's hardness is 5 on the Mohs scale. That translates as not very hard, when it comes to jewellery. Lots of things can scratch it. It'd be fine as a pendant or maybe in earrings, but in a ring it would quickly become a destroyed mess. To be fair, some of the more educated hosts do mention the Mohs number of a given rock. But how many shoppers are familiar with the Mohs scale? They may have learned it in school (it's learned in Grade Three here), but other than remembering the name would most people know anything else about it?

That's just one example. There are tons others out there. Even pearls which, yes, not rocks, but are often found to be bedazzling fancy-looking shopping channel rings. Well, I have a ring of my mother's that's set with a pearl. It's a neat gold ring with a small pearl in the centre. I like it. I never wear it. And why? Pearls are soft, and all the lustre on that pearl wore off years ago. I'd have to get the ring reset. Probably not expensive since it is a small pearl, but when I look at the pearl monstrosities that people pay too much for on television I just shake my head. Don't wear your pearls on your hands, ladies.

Hardness is just one example of why you should research your rocks. You may have a reasonably hard rock -- I'll use pyrite as an example even though the small pieces used as marcasite wouldn't really apply to what I'm getting at -- that's also brittle. One good smack and you have two pieces of pyrite. There are plenty of other factors, but work &c &c...

I guess what I'm saying is before you make that impulse purchase, look up your favourite rocks and find out a little bit about them first. There are ways to wear fragile rocks (ever wonder why I do the pendant thing so much?), but don't waste your money on something that will turn out to be completely wasted too soon.



Thus endeth the public service message, I guess. I've been typing too long. See you the next time I actually have something to say.

For a change.