Spotted Fever... I have it bad... And it's an addiction to spotted stones. There is just something about the graphic quality of the spots that appeals to me. Some of you who read my blog or newsletters recognize the below stones- Williamsite. It's apple-green color, combined with the spots, is so attractive. But what really seals the deal for me is the fact that the stone is translucent. There is something about the amount of depth in the stone that makes me think Mother Nature worked overtime on this variety. Of course, there are different grades of the stone- you can see that the stone on the right is much more occluded, cloudy, and opaque. It actually has some chatoyance as well. The one on the left is much more gemmy due to its clarity. There are also some stones whose color is much more dim and not as bright green. Here with the Williamsite is Montana Agate. Pretty similar but without the apple green color. Still pretty amazing! Love those floaters! It's manganese oxide. The black dots in the Williamsite are chromite. Montana Agate also can have red streaks which are iron oxides. It amazes me how these rock-hard substances have formed with such clarity and beauty. Aren't these like candy? Montana Agate nodules are baseball-sized and found in riverbeds in, you guessed it, Montana. Williamsite is found in subterranean caves and is no longer mined. There was a pit dug along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border where it was found. It is a gemmy version of serpentine, in the antigorite family of stones, and resembles Siberian Jade with its iron flecks, as well as prehnite and chrysoprase. So, besides opal, which is my Number One, these stones are among my favorites. I would love to hear what stones appeal to you, and why. Leave me a comment and let me know what appeals to you! :) Dana