Good guess, and sort of in a way, but not exactly, and not plating…although it was in solution, and then crystalized…you’re getting closer…
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Tell us already…lol
Might be a good science project for my 12 year old…lol
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LOL…OK…spoiler alert warning, for anyone who wants to keep guessing…
Almost a year ago, I had etched a sheet of copper with ferric chloride (and I think I added some citric acid, too), and then when the etching was finished I dipped the sheet into a baking soda & water solution to neutralize the acid still remaining on it.
I saved the baking soda & water solution in a (safely secured) bottle in anticipation of using it again at another time (waste not, want not 
), and just the other day I found that something had formed at the bottom of the solution during that time.
I was curious as to what they were, cause I knew I hadn’t saved any solid particles, and the solution was dark brown, so it wasn’t until I screened them out that I saw how colorful and shiny they were…was a nice surprise.
Not sure how long it took them to form, or if they would keep growing year after year…
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this…
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make some more of them and use them in a project.
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Ok so a year from now…
Wonder how fast they actually formed and if there is a catalyst to fast growth…
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There is. If you introduce a seed crystal to the solution you can speed up the process by an order of magnitude or more.
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Found this article interesting…I wonder if the copper made the crystals more blue.
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I googled and found an article mentioning they can grow them in a few hours (Will see if I can find it). Perhaps it’s similar but not the same as what we have here.
Edit: here is the link
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Very late to this party.
I would have said copper sulphate crystals but what are they in???
Mmmm? Raised figure on the bottom of the container, “fancy” pattern around the top, a moulded plastic of some kind. A soda bottle top?
30 year old, dry chunks of Gatorade? (I was late to the original post)
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Close 
It’s a Vitamin Water bottle cap(pretty old bottle, from when they were running some kind of promotion and were using black caps instead of the usual clear ones. I can be a bit of a pack rat, and have a bunch of those bottles saved because they are very handy; super thick plastic and a wide mouth…
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That’s a great idea! But they are actually really soft, and kind of waxy / chalky, and can’t take any kind of handling without disintegrating…I think I’d have to maybe seal them in thick epoxy, or protect them behind glass, etc, for them to last at all…
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Oh they are so small… first glance I thought the “container” was much bigger and the crystals were too…
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ummm…
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