Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)
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What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"
You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.
Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.
Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones
The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Thanks!
Ewwww! I’d let the other adult clean it up, too!
Morning marmalade!! Perfect!
Good morning!
Did you sleep well?
And I take it all the equipment dried rapidly and was put away smartly.
The shower has been had, but I feel slightly beat up. I’ve started to have interrupted sleep again, and that’s not a good sign.
Now to write to Charlie...Be back soon!
I feel pretty beat up this morning, too, although I didn’t sleep badly. I hope to knock out the forestry study guides before Tom gets here for Driving Adventures.
Frank is the only Young Person up so far.
The dead animal was a rabbit. Jake ate some parts. I hope he doesn’t throw up all day!
*tagline*
You’ll also get a sunburn and a headache.
You, too, SG.
Happy Friday!
JCP reminded me yesterday why I only go there if nobody has or is likely to have what I want.
Customer Service? You serve us you moron.
w00t!
I hope your wait isn’t too long.
Well, then, here's a good sign for you.
Cute, but not like she’d know.
The wait was not so long that I decided to do it myself, so that’s something.
Nobody’s ever going to have to provide good customer service again, except for the very rich.
Yes, that, too! LOL!
They were actually the first place to give me credit after my divorce, and they always had quality products. But I don’t understand why they suddenly had to go militant gay. Nope, won’t shop there.
I don’t care what a person’s sexual orientation is. But I don’t want their sexuality to determine my spending habits.
Thanks!
I needed that!
I think they’ve backed off a bit on catering to the gay community. Considering the problem with mall retail lately I can see going after a demographic that has so much liquid cash. But I’m not sure that group would ever have taken to “mom’s favorite department store” so they seem to have moved on.
My issue was I ordered something for pick-up. Then went to the store (which was mostly empty) to see if it was ready, and was told it was scheduled to be pulled tomorrow. It’s true I ordered it at 5:15 when the store closed at 7:00. But nobody could say, “Just go grab it and we’ll process it for you?” Nobody could say, “Let me go pick it and register it so I can give it to you?” Just, “It will be ready for you tomorrow.”
Their store brand is my preferred for a couple of items. But I may look harder for replacements next time.
I know the feeling about “preferred items.” Some stores have better stuff than other stores. I liked JCP because I knew the quality was always there, no matter what I bought, and there was no question of having to replace it. If you didn’t like it, bring it back.
Quality of service seems to be lacking, these days. Everywhere.
There’s still an open JCP???
Probably not in Utah...;o]
At least in New York there are a few.
I think there’s still one in Pineville. I stopped going there when you couldn’t find anyone to pay, even if you could find something to buy.
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