Is it real Cinnabar?? Is it?

[abbylilyd]

Okay so I think I happened upon some cinnabar shou beads.. I'm still hunting for my mysterious iPhone that has vanished so I will post **bleep** pictures with my **bleep** camera tomorrow in the best light possible but in the meantime how can you tell if it's real are there certain tests that can be done like Coral can be soaked in milk and then it turns red Bakelite you rub the heck out of it and it smells funky is there a test for Cinnabar?

[gauntlettgems]

I thought real cinnabar was poisonous.... You better google that!

[abbylilyd]

Here kitty kitty....

[abbylilyd]

So here are some pics..after researching..the symbol is longevity..

( which i find odd as cinnabar is lethal apparently..longevity/ poison..dont necessarily go hand in hand..but who am I to question? Right?). There is significant weight to this..no seams.

[rubiano98]

Isn't cinnabar toxic?

[abbylilyd]

If you ingest it...yes. It is safe to handle.

"The mercury sulfide minerals, like cinnabarand metacinnabar are quite insoluble and are safe to handle, ... The stuff makes pretty samples, but one should remember that while metallic mercury is harmless, even if you swallow it, the vapor is a serious poison."

[rubiano98]

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@abbylilydwrote:

"...that while metallic mercury is harmless, even if you swallow it, the vapor is a serious poison."

So wouldn't breathing any vapors it emitted be harmful?

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[abbylilyd]

Im still trying to determine if it even IS Cinnabar.. and if it is real and if it is toxic..why is it valuable?

[bluedaemon23]

Rubiano, IIRC it only gives off toxic vapors if you heat it. I'm not talking about warming it up to body temperature; I'm talking about hot enough to burn. It's perfectly safe to wear as jewelry, as people have been doing for thousands of years.

There was something on the old board a long time ago about cinnabar, how most of it nowadays is something else that's more or less the same color.

[abbylilyd]

So after doing a lot of research on this, Cinnabar is either made of lacquer which is authentic Cinnabar or plastic.. the only test I could find was to take nail polish remover solution on a Q-tip and gently rub the outside of one and it's supposed to turn the Q-tip red if it's real Cinnabar if it's plastic it won't turn it red so this is all I have to go on I'm hoping somebody can back me up here..my qtip turned red.

[abbylilyd]

[birdonawire27]

If plastic there should be a seam and the beads would be light weight.

Cinnabar would weigh more than plastic.  The red color looks too bright

(at least on my computer).  Cinnabar, also known as "dragon's blood" 

would be a darker red.  You could try, if you haven't already, googling

cinnabar necklace and compare.

[abbylilyd]

Hi there I took that picture with a application on my phone that has a flash with a loop and it was in full sun. I was trying to get it as bright as possible to look for layering in the carving it is darker than that when you're just holding it in your hand and there's significant weight to it no seems whatsoever. I found a necklace that looks exactly like mine I'll post the link same color exactly..let me know what you think...

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/49780145_chinese-carved-cinnabar-shou-bead-necklace-w-silver

[rubiano98]

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@bluedaemon23wrote:

Rubiano, IIRC it only gives off toxic vapors if you heat it. I'm not talking about warming it up to body temperature; I'm talking about hot enough to burn. It's perfectly safe to wear as jewelry, as people have been doing for thousands of years.

There was something on the old board a long time ago about cinnabar, how most of it nowadays is something else that's more or less the same color.

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Thank you for clarifying that. 

[bluedaemon23]

Nail polish remover on plastic? I'd think the plastic would melt and leave residue on the q tip.