Sadly I cannot provide links to these few new Obsidian wonders revealed on eBay.
Simply said, Bordello Red Lipstick Obsidian and the other do not exist. Like Agates, people are now coloring up translucent obsidian. Thankfully with my questioning these offering’s ended without a bid. Thank God! Two alternative and excellent links to proceed to. A wonderful and complete link to Obsidian information

An equally great site to show finished pieces of Obsidian Jewelry.
Real Obsidian Pictures are to follow at the bottom of the page.

Returning to the fake obsidian offerings I must admit to liking the second one. The description might have read. Under an Aurora borealis, lightning struck a mineral laden vug and created this once in the lifetime gem. BID NOW while it is 9.99 instead of 999.99 Be sure to leave feedback after doing some tests. This was one lucky fella to get these two rare pieces from one unknown source. WOW!

Obsidian is volcanic glass. It often has flow lines that create interesting effects. Gold sheen and silver sheen obsidian’s display gold and silver shimmerings when polished, rainbow obsidian displays different colors, etc. Obsidian has a reputation for being difficult to polish. Usually the reason for difficult polishing is that coarse grits can create a fairly deep fracture zone that doesn’t come out when the stone is cut at finer grits. Another problem is obsidian doesn’t polish well if it gets too hot. So, if you don’t use super coarse grinding wheels and if you keep your polishing wheel slow and wet, good results will easily be obtained. Diamond wheel finishing works well.

Usually Obsidian is a jet black stone with a vitreous (glassy) luster. Just like glass, obsidian tends to shatter into sharp fragments when hit hard, this strength and brittleness have resulted in its use as sharp cutting implements and weapons such as spear and arrowheads or inserted into wood made wonderful clubs. Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark brown to black color. Very few samples are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of quartzlike cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern (snowflake obsidian). It may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen (sheen obsidian) or an iridescent, rainbow-like sheen (rainbow obsidian).
Mahogany My own collection has been found and collected in Oregon. When so swirled it can also be called Red Ribbon Black Obsidian Quite rare. Outstanding nice swirls red ribbon black obsidian.

Impurities in obsidian change its appearance; for example, iron may cause it to appear reddish brown. Mahogany obsidian may range from an orange color to reddish brown, mottled with uneven splashes or streaks of black.

Pumpkin obsidian – also a Mahogany type. Pale color and questionably attractive.
Fireworks Obsidian (Or Firecracker Obsidian) or fire cracker orbicular Mexican obsidian

Fireworks Obsidian usually comes from Mexico It takes a good polish and cuts easily but is not suitable for knapping. As with all rocks from nature, there may be fracture lines either visible or invisible. Be aware of this in buying. BOOM! Light pink to dark red are the colors of these distinct exploding bursts on display against the backdrop of midnight black obsidian.

Great for lapidary work.
Sheen Obsidian –types
PURPLE SHEEN OBSIDIAN
GOLD SHEEN OBSIDIAN. These specimens are striking BLACK color with awesome gold sheen in it and it takes a bright polish. This is one outstanding chunk with awesome designs — sometimes mixed in with Mahogany obsidian

SILVER SHEEN is the same, with silver sheen in it. Both make for great jewelery

Both Gold and Silver Sheen Obsidian (can also be found in Mahogany Obsidian as well) All of these “sheen obsidians are hard to photograph as they need to be wet and in such light as to be photographed.

Rainbow Sheen Obsidian Wyoming Rainbow Obsidian. ???? “It looks like Silver sheen but when it moves then it has greens, gold in it also. It was sold to me as Rainbow” Unknown to me. There are also ‘double rainbow obsidian forms. Usually found in black obsidian.


Spiderweb Obsidian — Simply awesome stuff to work with. Peacock Obsidian is the same!

Snowflake obsidian — “Worry Stone”

Milky Quartz deposits in Black Obsidian creates the snowflake pattern.” Varies in form, I happen to have had some super sized examples Makes wonderful orbs and jewelry. (SOLD OUT!)
A rare Giant Snowflake Obsidian 4 x 3 inches and very thick (3/8″). 20.00.
When lava ejects from a volcano and forms obsidian, the cooling process is fast enough that the obsidian is considered a natural forming glass. Like glass, this material can break off in razor sharp jagged edges and, if ground up without using proper safety equipment, can disperse tiny shard-like fibers into the air and cause silicosis, a condition shared by people exposed to fiber glass or other dry ground glass material. The “snowflakes” in snowflake obsidian are made from cristobalite.
The hardness a stone is measured by how much force it takes to break it apart, how difficult it is to grind and how useful it is in cutting other stones. (Moh’s hardness scale), which measures all known stones. Diamond rates a 10 as one of the hardest substances, and graphite is rated at 1 because it is easily reduced. While pure obsidian can reach as high as 7 on Moh’s hardness scale, snowflake obsidian sits in the center at 5 to 5.5. Glass is also on this level of hardness, as are opal and turquoise.

Finally Obsidian can me found mixed in with other minerals such as Jasper.
This might be called Jasper Obsidian and there are many other possible combinations.
Velvet Peacock Obsidian (Mexico) No picture sadly.

Also known as Sea Foam or Pearl Obsidian a dandy trio that have the gorgeous velvet look with a nice mix of pink, lavender & green. However Obsidian can get all jumbled up with other minerals such as Jaspers and these can be incredible finds.

Even the mixture of black and red makes for wonderful cabs.

(c) Herb Senft 2013