Ready or not, here comes Round 2 and four matches!
Match #1: Two very useful minerals
This:
Nice Halloween vibe here. Mindat page. (Image by James St. John, CC BY 2.0 — Lots of information at that link, too)
Versus this, a/k/a the Time Lord on its Match page because of this:
Mindat page. Yes, it’s a gem, too, but NOT the manmade cubic zirconia. (Image by Candiru, public domain)
Match #2: “Can piezoelectric quartz burn through the fire retardant of Stibnite’s antimony?
Uh….
…Oooh! Pretty pictures — they’re better than a thousand words.
Which of these do you think should win?
This:
Reminds me a little of the Fortress of Solitude. Mindat page. (Image by Ursula from Pixabay, public domain)
Or this? (Note: There are pictures online of models holding this dark mineral; hope they survived the shoot. This antimony mineral is toxic and even professionals are very careful when handling it.)
Bizarro Superman could handle it — you and I, not so much. Mindat page. (Image by James St. John, CC BY 2.0; again, lots of info at that link.)
Match #3: Say what again?
Dioptase —
Can you imagine just walking along, stumbling over a bland rock, and seeing this when it breaks open? I’d start looking for nearby leprechauns. Mindat page. (Image by Verifex, CC BY-NC 2.0)
— or vivianite. There is no such thing as stable vivianite. (Mindat)
Relax; they’re just talking about color changes.
Still:
This is either the most beautiful or the scariest picture of a rock I’ve ever seen. It’s lurking, isn’t it. Mindat page. (Image by Cagla Acikgoz/Shutterstock)
Match #4: Live at time of posting
Voting page and results of all matches/links to future live ones between now and Septmber 25th, when I’ll do another update.
Which do you prefer? this —
Gemdat page. (Image by Cagla Acikgoz/Shutterstock)
— or this?
Gemdat page. (Image by Rob Lavinsky via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
A topaz and a ruby, big ones. What a choice!
Flight To Wonder 