Sunstones in Oregon! Finding Precious Gemstones Rockhounding in the Oregon Desert

[@deborahgoslin5858]

Thank you for sharing this video ! I've wanted to look for Sunstone but was afraid to go by myself. Seeing you do it by yourself has made me not afraid ! I'M GOING TO DO IT ! .

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

That's so exciting that you're going to go out there and find some stones! I did have my husband with me camping, I just was roaming by myself (with my dogs). It's pretty remote out there so be safe and it is a good idea to go with a buddy just in case you have any troubles. Happy Sunstone hunting and I'd love to hear how you do!

[@MrChubbyHubby.]

Cool little gems Ozone Fine Art-Ventures, and a beautiful area to find them. Thank you for letting us tag along.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you so much! These sunstones are just the warmth for the chill of winter, eh? Thanks again for coming along for the adventure, cheers!

[@puliendopiedrasdecostarica]

Wow amazing Chrystals 👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍😍😍😍😍

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you so much 😊

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

Pretty material, rockhounding for sunstone is definitely on my bucket list!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

You definitely should do some sunstone hunting, very shiny, very rewarding! Do you have sunstones near you? Thanks for watching!

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures not that kind that you find in Oregon, but in Ontario usually the orange/pink feldspar with schiller or sparkles is called sunstone. So a different type of feldspar that is also called sunstone.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

@@Ontario_Rockhound That sounds lovely. I'd love to see a hunt of that!

[@andrenewcomb3708]

Rock candy with microchips planted quite some time ago. Glory be! Look what we found.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

LOL, definitely yummy candy. Cheers, thanks for watching!

[@sandmaker]

They are always beautiful, even right out of the dirt. I'm glad you found a bunch! Hydrate, hudrate, hydrate. 💦

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Yes, ya have to love those sunstones! Can't wait to cut cut cut! It's a pretty funny transition going from the foggy 100% humidity of the coast to the desert. I was turgid with drink but I think the sun got me anyhow. I just can't get enough of either; the sun or the stones, lol. Cheers and thanks for watching!

[@sandmaker]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures we just left the east coast and have to remind each other to drink Love the desert and sunstones.

[@shirleyrichards2514]

Thanks for sharing. What cool finds. Love it ❤

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks for watching!

[@Nini42317]

The stones look so great ❤ thank you for sharing with us! You are so great! I love your voice. Best regards.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you for watching! Cheers!

[@makalapuamegs1056]

Was out there a month ago and so your video caught my eye! Loved your knowledge and information! I had all the “tools” but ended up using a large kitty litter scooper with holes and my cane seat. As almost 74 with a bad back, it worked great! The too small stones fell through the quarter inch holes along with the dust and if you shook it back and forth like I’d do with a gold pan the larger stones popped to the top and I would deposit them into a mason jar I carried in my apron. It was so fun.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

That's so great that you had a chance to come out and get some of the sunshine off the ground! I love, love, love your kitty litter scooper story! That's such a good hack, clever, clever. Isn't it the most fun going out there and getting all that treasure? I can't wait to go back; it's now a solid annual (if not more often) trip for us. There will surely be another video coming in the next few months about it so we can all relive the fun together. Cheers!

[@makalapuamegs1056]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures thank you! The scoop was one of those tollhouse cookies moments! I loved Oregon and ended up staying over a month exploring all over the whole state. I’m a solo female traveling in my converted van. Had an old roommate from Hawai’i who I had not seen in 53 years who lived in Florence so decided to visit. Was going to just go up the coast to BC. Her husband retired from the forest service and showed me dispersed camping. Dug for fossils in Fossil, stayed out in the Owyhee River valley, hunted beach agates, jasper and petrified wood along the coast, sunstones, John Day River, Columbia River Gorge, climbed cinder cones, and so much more! Will definitely be back if health allows.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

@@makalapuamegs1056 Wow, that sounds like the dream vacation and all the things that are loveable about Oregon! You did it up right! So glad you had an opportunity to experience those things, you should see some familiar places in some of our other videos then too. We love getting out...way out! Perhaps one of these days we'll see ya out there, cheers!

[@tonypendley7341]

I’d love to hunt sun stones one day. Nice adventure. 😊

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you, Tony! You should totally go hunt some of the sunstones, it's always a great time (just bring your water, lol). Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@maryjaynemay3410]

Hmmm 😕 Oh my. Your finished work is extraordinary. Very nice. 😊

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you very much, I appreciate your feedback. Thanks, also, for watching! Cheers!

[@CalebLovelessMusic]

Super cool, love watching these!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks, Caleb! It would be fun to go hounding with you. I checked out your song with Julia, WOW! Hope you're all well, Cheers!

[@rockhoundingwithjasperblue]

What a great video! Definitely on my bucket list to get up to that area and hound for Sunstones! Thank you so much for taking us along!💎

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

You should! Most of the mines open in the spring when the roads are better. It's so remote, you don't want to get mired back there by yourself! It's abundantly worth the trip, even if you just hit the public collection area. Maybe we'll see ya there! Cheers and thanks for watching.

[@rockhoundingwithjasperblue]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures Oh, I’m definitely gonna get up there. It would be more than Awesome to run into you guys up there. I’ll send you a post when the time comes and hopefully we will cross paths. I know Chris Rose and Denise pretty well, over at the Spectrum mine. I really want to visit them there. Have you been to that one?💎

[@betojdesigns]

Wow, that was a great trip. You found a lot of material to play with. I did not know that about the oil and the refraction. So cool. Can’t wait to see what you carve, or facet from this collection. The video was excellent, and so informative, and fun with the dogs. I am so envious of that gorgeous view behind you of the coast from your patio 😊

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks so much! It was an incredibly good time. If they didn't close for the winter, I'd be going back soon. That being said, I did end up with plenty of good material to play with through the yucky months, lol. You're all coming along with me for that ride, I'll definitely be sharing videos. It's funny, that view gets obscured by fog a fair number of days where you can't see a few feet out the window. I'm not complaining, though, it's a lovely place to work. Thanks again for watching, cheers!

[@sfbfriend]

Very cool, your hubby I think is one lucky man

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you, we do have a blast running around the remote places finding the goodies. Thanks for watching!

[@Stand.Your.Ground.]

My uncle has a claim he will be working on this spring! Great video thank you!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you! I wonder if I know your uncle, lol! It's such a lovely place to go, even without the promise of gems in the ground. We can't wait to go back to the sage, coyotes howling, and stars in the sky and in the ground. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@alan_whoneedstiedye]

Interesting. Thank you.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks for watching!

[@arthurtamayo6522]

I love your videos

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you so much! There are some fresh ones being edited right now. Hope to have them out soon. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@BreakOutOfTheAlgorithm]

👍 Absolutely love it. And thanks again for the box of treasures. 🙏

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you! It was great hearing from you again. Glad the treasures went to you and are being well enjoyed! Cheers!

[@AgateAriel]

Great video! You have an awesome editing style!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you! I love playing around with the edits though it takes me longer than it should to get the videos out, lol. We need to have you back on the podcast, hope you've been well! Cheers!

[@blindsquirrelrocks]

Gawd those stones are beautiful!!! I'd look like a sunscreen display figure out there in that desert, trying not to get burned while picking up sunstones! Thanks for sharing your adventures, whether they be on the cool Oregon beaches, or the "cool" (hot!) Oregon outback areas!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

It's such a pleasure to share these amazing places. With all the stones to pick up, it's really hard to be disciplined and get the UV protection and remember to eat and drink. The sunstones are very distracting and alluring, lol. Thanks for watching!

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Terrific video, really appreciate it! Top ten bucket list spot for me. One small criticism: hitting a screwdriver with an Estwing is not a good idea.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you! Yeah, we all make our rookie errors, lol. Use proper hammer and chisels, kids (psa)! Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@CityRockhounding]

What a beautiful area Karen, that's for this journey. Some seriously cool finds out there. Great journey. What a great experience, cool stones! I was told by Lisa, that I need to talk to you about art and how to get into that world. I've been talking lots of photos lately and possibly putting them on canvas would be cool. I've been doing 365 photo challenge where I take one photo everyday for a year and I've been sharing my pictures on my channel, just posted one today. Thanks Karen for sharing you hard work and inspiring!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you! It's a really special place, I love going there and sharing it with you all. That's great that you're doing the photo challenge and putting the images on canvas sounds lovely as well. You're welcome to pm me over on FB or insta, though I dunno how much help I can be. Thanks so much for watching and rock on!

[@irsheebaba]

we were just on that beach last weekend!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Always a great time down here on these beaches and out to the high desert. Hope you guys found some cool finds! Cheers!

[@ccvgems8754]

Wowzer! Awesome Adventure 🤯. I just love your knowledge and descriptions. I really enjoyed the end in the wintergreen. Perfect ending! Loved the bloopers. Good luck carving 🍀 Stay Crystal 💫 Mari

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Glad you enjoyed it! It's so much fun playing with the pretties, especially getting a closer look like with the wintergreen. In the next video, I'll be doing some pre-forming and getting some of those under the microscope to have a look at what makes the different colors happen. Should be a fun eyeful. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@largent45]

Thank you for the chance to chat. Its just not the same if we dont get too. We get restless! You've seen the discord! Lol! It was a blast as usual and now, i need another glass of wine because someone kept steinkerning in the chat! Thanks Jackie! lol! And thanks for the video. The sunstones were gorgeous! Have you taken the training wheels off your faceting machine yet? Those sunstones are gorgeous. Patricks video where he facets a sunstone with schiller, is gorgeous. Just sayin!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Gotta have the Friday night chat and the crew time! We can't be trusted when restless (or any time?!). I think I may have to make a steinkern shirt, just to wear during vids and the podcast, should keep everybody's whistles wet! I have been waiting on parts for the facet machine (the manufacturer literally went out of business when I was getting it, lol my luck!). I shall take it for a spin as soon as I can get the parts assembled. Patrick's video and stone were so awesome and inspiring! He's so killin it. Thanks for watching and may the camel spiders and hobos steer clear of your abode. Cheers!

[@largent45]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures Thank you! You too! No more camel spiders in your tent! And a steinkern shirt would be hilarious and awesome! Im definitely going to have to start bringing up the bottle on friday nights! lol!

[@leslyeschoenhuth1107]

The long thin rod can be faceted to make 2 accent stones.. Fabulous hunting. Thanks for sharing..

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching. Hunting and mining there is always a treat. Cheers!

[@craigmoore-wc8pd]

great video! thank you

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for watching, cheers!

[@222foont]

Generator, air-compressor, hammer drill, rock hammer, etc. At least what I think Tim told me...

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Tim is right in some ways. It depends on if you're working on the BLM land, someone else's claim, one of the mines, or your own claim. There are limits to what tools you can use on BLM and at the mines, then of course, if you're working claims the rules are theirs to dictate. The end result is awesome gems, any way you dig it. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@laceyturner9905]

Fantastic video. Thank you so much!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching, cheers!

[@dustinfindsrocks]

I hope you are able to make some sales and get your faceting machine working! Theo totally blew my mind faceting these. I was like what’s the big deal with sunstones? Then I saw them faceted and was like oh… I see 🤩

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Yeah, it's fun to find anything that sparkly on the ground...but Theo did demonstrate why they're even better than pretty sparkly ground scores. It'll be a blast to get that machine going and have some fun faceting these up! Thanks for watching!

[@puliendopiedrasdecostarica]

Beautiful place

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

It really is! The desert has special beauty. Thanks again for watching!

[@williamogilvie6909]

Feldspar sometimes has chatoyancy; light reflected from inside the stone. I collected a lot of pink feldspar in the Great lakes. Some pieces were a good size - over an inch across and 3/4" thick. They are a light pink color with white chatoyancy.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Those sound lovely, William! Yes, the chatoyancy of some feldspar is wonderful and one of the reasons I love this stone. Thanks so much for watching, cheers!

[@deniseveiw7992]

Beautiful stone. I would love to see what you do with the stone.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

A few from that trip are featured in the recent full length video about gem cutting, and 'shorts' that show faceted stones and jewelry as well. Thanks for watching and keep an eye out for more on those stones, cheers!

[@offyarocka]

Wow that was a very cool adventure to see!!! Some amazing finds and that tip with the oil at the end is totally boss!!! Are your puppies Aussie? They are soooo cute!!!!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

That was a super trip, I miss tank top weather, lol. That oil hack works with other stones too if you're finding the gems out there. Yep, all three of those hooligans are pure aussie, gotta love em (and I guess ya can't have just one, lol). Thanks again for watching, cheers!

[@offyarocka]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures Thanks for sharing 🤘🤪🤘

[@zenflow4life]

Although i have lots of smalls, i would love to have one (or more) in the matrix

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

The specimens that are in the matrix are really cool, especially when you can see the tinier crystals formed throughout the basalt. Nice nursery rock situation. Thanks for watching!

[@FirstDjfiresf-nn1im]

I do believe they were organic plants hybriid that became anlimal and if you add heat of a volcano or the pressure of plates colliding it changes you , mellty in a tighter package

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Drugs are bad, mmmmmkay? 😮😢

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

The current belief, in science, is that the feldspar crystals were forming in the molten lava of the volcanic episode to the east of the sunstone bearing basalt. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Another top tier video! We have never been down there to look for sunstones but maybe next year! Never leave home or camp without your rock hammer! :) By any chance did you try looking for them at night at all with a flashlight? Did you think the belt run was worth the cost?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

I hope you get a chance to go next year, I think you two (3 actually) would enjoy it. What's there not to love about basalt bearing yet another lovely array of gems? It's fascinating to watch the materials change in situ and the telltale mineral signals that you might be on to something good. I love anything where there's sleuthing to be done. We collected some specimens that would be great as mico-mounts with the basalt and sunstone together (from some of those boulder whacks). I'd love to send you some if you don't have some already.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

@@OzoneFineArtVentures That's very kind of you but I think we will plan a trip down there for some self collecting!

[@sigridbuck5032]

WE WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN OUR. TRIP ! WE WENT TO A DIG AND GOT ALMOST NOTHING SO WE WALKED ON FREE AREA AND FOUND MORE . NOTHING BIG ENOUGH TO CUT BUT WE POLISHED SOME . BUT WE WERE TOLD ABOUT OBSIDIAN AND DID FIND SOME COLORFUL OBSIDIAN !

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Oh no, I'm so sorry you didn't have a good experience! Which mine did you go to? The free area is a total blast, so much fun to see all the sunstones on the ground like hail! It's great that you were able to get some nice obsidian at least. Did you go to Glass Butte? Once again, sorry you didn't have a good mining experience but thanks for watching the video! Cheers!

[@Amanda-yf7vj]

Ok I'm an idiot what's the difference between a sunstone and an agate? I find agate like this in the field

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Agate and Sunstone have a slight difference on the hardness scale, which may or may not help with your identification. The biggest difference, while they are both silicate oriented, is that the sunstone is a feldspar (aluminum in with the chemical mixture or aluminosilicate). The sunstone has a two way perfect cleavage, so it breaks along planes a lot of the time. Agate is microcrystalline and 'fortification' oriented (sedimentary issuances of the material into a vug/seam usually), so it does not have a perfect cleavage. If you've got waterlines or tiny, stacked lines of color or different transparent/translucencies, it's probably an agate. Hope that helps, cheers!

[@vf12497439]

Feldspar? I thought sun stone was dolomite?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

These Oregon Sunstones are Feldspar from what research I have done. Thank you for watching! Cheers!

[@richardmaka3720]

Im guessing while you look you do find a lot of leaverite

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Lots of leaverites, yes, lol! Thanks for watching!

[@zenflow4life]

How large are sunstone normally? Are they generally small?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Hi Jessica! Sunstones, where I find them, are generally small because of how they are formed; born in basalt lava flow and cooled at a different rate than the basalt, thus shattered. A sunstone the size of a quarter is a big one out there. You can see in the video how many thousands are that are smaller than a Skittle. Thanks for watching!

[@zenflow4life]

Absolutely and thank you for the reply. I've recently stumbled across your channel and really enjoyed your content. 💜 Rock on!

[@johnwatkins3883]

This the plush or ponderosa mine?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

This is the Spectrum Mine near Plush in the Rabbit Hills, and the BLM public collection area. Always a great time there, thanks for watching!

[@heathermccracken1988]

Where is this? Those are bigger than anything I have ever found d

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

This video was made at the BLM Sunstone Collection Area in the rabbit hills, Oregon, and at the Spectrum Sunstone mine. The bigger pieces would probably have been from the mine. Thank you for watching!

[@heathermccracken1988]

Ah, we didn't make it to the mine, was planning to but had a flat tire making us leave to limp back to service. We did dig and found one layer that had some but wasn't sure if farther down would have any

[@FirstDjfiresf-nn1im]

Herkirmer diamonds sunstones or quartz the names are local

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Herkimer diamonds and quartz are the same animal, different names, but the Oregon sunstones are Feldspar, so different animal in this case. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@Jack-i2p]

What's it worth?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Great question! So many different ways to look at that. The rough isn't worth too much unless there's color without fractures, then you can pay a lot. It's worth a lot to me because I can facet the rough and make gems that are worth much, much more that way. At the end of the day, the worth is subject to how much you appreciate the beauty of the gemstone, the rest is up to market fluctuations. Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@Nilnada0]

Would you be willing to tell me where to go for free collection?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Hi, the free collection area is Northeast of Plush Oregon. If you google maps Oregon Sunstone Public Collection, it'll drop a pin for you. There are also directions, I believe, through BLM since that is the landholder for the public collection area. The pay mines are right around there, so if you want to do that, they're all in the same rough location. Have fun!

[@gemcuttingservice]

Cut Sunstones into Artisticuts

[@cinaannie7338]

I would like to see your sunstones. Do you sell them on eBay? I sent you an email.😊

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Hi, didn't see an email. We have a website where the stones go into jewelry after being cut and polished in house. We usually don't sell loose stones but occasionally part with something if it fits someone else's vision. Try contacting me through Ozone Fine Art dot com. Cheers!

[@colnlincline3097]

The meandering “talk” is so distracting that I had to move on. The visuals somewhat interesting. People think that silence is to be avoided.

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thank you for your feedback. It's hard to find a balance sometimes. Thanks for watching.

[@jamesburke6078]

Title is wrong... Semi precious! Worth about 5$

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks for your appraisal, cheers!

[@laceyturner9905]

Fantastic video. Thank you so much!

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

You're very welcome!

[@laceyturner9905]

How much did it cost for you to dirt surf the mines and the conveyer belt selection?

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

@@laceyturner9905 I think the belt service at the Spectrum was around 200 and you get to keep everything. Plus, they help you out with extra hands and eyes on your belt run. You also get to go through some of their material/tailings while you're waiting or go dig in a pit or some such thing. It's a super deal, we always leave with plenty of good stuff and planning our next trip, lol.

[@jamesburke6078]

Title is wrong... Semi precious! Worth about 5$

[@OzoneFineArtVentures]

Thanks for your appraisal. Cheers!

[@canadiangemstones7636]

James must be a recent GIA graduate, they are terrific at appraisals, know all the most vital terminology, and boy do they love to share!