FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Screenname]

You have to add polish to a stone to get it shiny and polished unless it's a gem stone right? Because things like Jasper don't take on a natural shine while something like Amethyst does because it's a gem. So please correct me if I'm wrong I'm fairly new to this rock thing. I have had my rocks for years but never really did any research on them.

[David Von Bargen]

When you polish something, you are making the surface flat (or gently rounded). Once you grind a stone to the desired shape, you go in and try to get rid of scratches and make the surface smooth. You go through various sanding grits and finally get to extremely fine grits in polishes. In the final polishing stages, you might have some surface melting to help create a smooth surface.

[Tracy]

I've seen plenty of polished amethyst and other gemstones - if the stone isn't good for faceting then it can be polished, or carved,...Also, gemstones extracted from the earth will not necessarily look polished. I'm not sure that the statement "only gemstones take on a natural shine" is accurate.

- Tracy