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Seluin posted:I was looking for gems (particularly weird rare poo poo) and facet rough. It's an overwhelming experience. And you never know what you'll find being sold out of a duffelbag by some random guy sitting on a sidewalk.
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Feb 12, 2020 20:12
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Tucson acquisitions! Cobalt spinel chips, rhodochrosite cab, russian demantoid, hauyne, ethiopian emerald, and some grandiderite.
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Feb 12, 2020 20:44
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I just posted the first photo in the engagement/wedding thread, but I thought these might be welcome here as well! I'm a merch coordinator at a internet diamond/jewelry company, and sometimes they let me examine the shinies. My eventual goal with this job is to get them to pay my way through the Graduate Gemologist program with GIA.   The round is a 5ct 3x H/VS2, the cushion is also 5cts, but I sadly don't remember the other specs. My stone is a .75ct pink sapphire for scale.
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Feb 15, 2020 22:52
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Seluin posted:Tucson acquisitions! Excellent cobalt spinel samples. That material is hard to find. That's a very unique rhodochrosite cab, too.
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Feb 21, 2020 06:06
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Hi I have been on a wait list for a local jewelry making class for a year and I finally got in. I've been interested in creating jewelry for a while, mostly creating rings and earrings and stone setting. The class starts in two months! Is there anything I can start doing now that won't give me any bad habits? I don't have any tools, but I'm willing to buy stuff. I looked at wirewrapping and it seems like a cool way to start making earings with pretty stones in there. Could I start wax carving? I just don't want to sit on my hands like I have been doing and want to learn something now.
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Feb 24, 2020 15:43
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https://www.gia.edu/limited-time-offer-enroll-GIA-essentials-elearning-courses-no-charge The GIA is offering their three intro courses (normally 250 bucks each) for free. If you do all three you get a credential of some sort, no idea if anyone cares (I would think Graduate Gemologist is the one that really matters) but still it is something! I signed up for all three, I will report back.
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May 3, 2020 21:15
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Scarodactyl posted:https://www.gia.edu/limited-time-offer-enroll-GIA-essentials-elearning-courses-no-charge These are great programs for anyone with an interest in jewelry, diamonds, and gems. Great introduction to the theory of what makes jewels tick.
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May 4, 2020 04:57
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 Well thats one way to convince my wife to go to Tucson with me.... Xun fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jul 1, 2020 |
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Jul 1, 2020 23:06
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Xun posted:
Hah! Cut anything fun lately?
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Jul 3, 2020 21:11
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There are some really absolutely lovely pieces in here, not sure how I missed this. I'm just starting (so much so that i haven't actually finished anything yet or I'd post a pic) but I have a query about findings. I think it's info on findings I'm after anyway, it might be resin mounting. We'll see I guess. I'm after a way to securely mount fragile crystal gold on quartz specimens in pendant style fittings, or small (3-7 mm maybe) crystalline/wire gold nuggets as ear studs or similar.The gold structures are extremely fragile, to the point of breaking apart even with gentle handling sometimes, so soldering them or sticking them loose in clear fittings doesn't seem like it would work well and honestly I'm a bit scared to go near gold this fine with a torch, plus I'm concerned the quartz might separate from the specimens. I'm going to have to take some photos I think, but thats going to have to wait until I get a few minutes peace. Any other ideas on what to do with natural gold are welcome too. I mostly just dig it up, but I'm really hoping to make a few nice pieces for my partner and maybe to sell.
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Jul 6, 2020 16:23
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bend posted:There are some really absolutely lovely pieces in here, not sure how I missed this. That's a tough one. If they're too fragile to be touched then they won't last long in any sort of jewellery. I suppose you could encase them in resin somehow? But that might not be the look you're going for.
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Jul 6, 2020 18:17
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Hah! Cut anything fun lately? Sadly nope  the Sapphire is still waiting for me to cut the table and then polish the crown. Stupid masters thesis getting in my way 
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Jul 6, 2020 20:12
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IT IS DONE  
Xun fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Aug 5, 2020 |
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Aug 5, 2020 07:27
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Xun posted:IT IS DONE BEAUTIFUL.
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Aug 5, 2020 16:53
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That came out great!
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Aug 5, 2020 17:15
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Xun posted:IT IS DONE lovely!
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Aug 5, 2020 18:38
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Fantastic work 
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Aug 6, 2020 05:54
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That looks awesome!
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Aug 6, 2020 05:55
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After doing a bunch of wire weave bracelets I got into making wire wrapped jewelry, and I would like more semi-precious rocks to put a bunch of wire around. I'm a little (very) hesitant to just buy a whole bunch of cabochons from random Ebay/Etsy sellers so I figured I'd ask here. Does anyone knows a decent website for stuff like tiger's eye, quartz and labradorite cabochons? Or specific sellers on Ebay or Etsy. One of the pendants I made:
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Aug 7, 2020 05:32
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lemonslol posted:Hi I have been on a wait list for a local jewelry making class for a year and I finally got in. I've been interested in creating jewelry for a while, mostly creating rings and earrings and stone setting. The class starts in two months! Is there anything I can start doing now that won't give me any bad habits? I don't have any tools, but I'm willing to buy stuff. I looked at wirewrapping and it seems like a cool way to start making earings with pretty stones in there. Could I start wax carving? I just don't want to sit on my hands like I have been doing and want to learn something now. https://wire-wrap-tutorials.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c?CSLdesigns?featured (has the best beginner intro stuff) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxanaCrafts? The wire wraps tutorials guy is Russian and I bought a couple tutorials off his Etsy page (not recommended for beginners, the translations are a little rough) and came across my feelings for 2020.
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Aug 7, 2020 05:43
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Solenna posted:After doing a bunch of wire weave bracelets I got into making wire wrapped jewelry, and I would like more semi-precious rocks to put a bunch of wire around. I'm a little (very) hesitant to just buy a whole bunch of cabochons from random Ebay/Etsy sellers so I figured I'd ask here. Does anyone knows a decent website for stuff like tiger's eye, quartz and labradorite cabochons? Or specific sellers on Ebay or Etsy. If you're looking for good bulk type stuff a friend of mine runs http://wholesalerocks.biz --he's good at sourcing quality stuff and his prices are very competitive. If you want something more specific/artistic another friend's etsy page is https://lennysrockshop.etsy.com --he's an exceptional cabochon cutter with an eye for composition.
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Aug 7, 2020 06:08
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Scarodactyl posted:That's nice work! Aaaaaaa this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, thank you!
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Aug 7, 2020 07:20
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Practicing my microphotography! Opal.  Winza sapphire.  Pezzottaite.  Spinel.  Note, any streakiness is mostly my greasy fingers, not sloppy polish. Dumb question. But how do folks clean their gems before photography? My methods still have them pretty gross.
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Aug 9, 2020 01:40
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woah those are really awesome photos! My hands shake so much its a struggle to even get one nice photo Usually right before I take photos I drop the gem into acetone for awhile, then I only move them around with a gem grabby thing or tweezers afterwards. It usually doesn't need wiping but sometimes I transfer them to a glasses cleaning cloth or just a napkin if I'm lazy and wipe them off on there making sure I don't touch the gem with my fingers at all.
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Aug 9, 2020 02:40
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Nics pics! (To be a bit pedantic they are technically photomicrographs--microphotographs are photos made tiny. Apparently they got there first, namingwise). For prep alochol with fresh qtips works pretty well though it's kind of slow and a pain. Maybe an ultrasonic cleaner for something stubborn. One issue is some gems are triboelectric, so when you rub them they develop static electricity which attracts more dust. Steady hands aren't needed with photomicrography since the camera is fixed in place and remotely triggered.
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Aug 9, 2020 03:53
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Scarodactyl posted:Nics pics! (To be a bit pedantic they are technically photomicrographs--microphotographs are photos made tiny. Apparently they got there first, namingwise). Xun posted:woah those are really awesome photos! My hands shake so much its a struggle to even get one nice photo Xun posted:Usually right before I take photos I drop the gem into acetone for awhile, then I only move them around with a gem grabby thing or tweezers afterwards. It usually doesn't need wiping but sometimes I transfer them to a glasses cleaning cloth or just a napkin if I'm lazy and wipe them off on there making sure I don't touch the gem with my fingers at all. Scarodactyl posted:For prep alochol with fresh qtips works pretty well though it's kind of slow and a pain. Maybe an ultrasonic cleaner for something stubborn. One issue is some gems are triboelectric, so when you rub them they develop static electricity which attracts more dust. Cheers for the word! And iirc, alcohol & acetone shouldn't cause a problem with any gems unless they've been oiled/dyed, yeah? Today was spent trying to photograph a padparadscha to be accurate to its color. A task, which I have decided, is virtually impossible.
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Aug 10, 2020 00:47
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Seluin posted:Ha! I appreciate the pedantics Nice work on the pics! Yes in my experience, Pads are a real pain in the rear end. The BIGGEST issue I have had though, is emeralds. We have some stock of Muzo's and they've got this beautifully slight teal/blue tint to the green that is...almost impossible to get accurately.
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Aug 10, 2020 18:01
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Ugh. I feel you. I tried to take some microscope pictures of some emeralds, Paraiba tourm, mint garnets, tsavorites. All looked like absolute trash with none showing the real color. I’ve decided photographing green/teal stones is also impossible.
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Aug 10, 2020 19:18
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I want to swap out a stone from a bezel setting and replace it with another stone. How much should I expect to pay a jeweler to do this, roughly? I understand prices can vary. I also wonder about settings— can, say, an emerald setting that measures 11 by 9 hold a 10.5 by 9 or close, or maybe over a little bit, cushion cut stone, rectangular octagonal, squared off oval shaped stone or whatever easily? Does the stone going into that emerald setting have to be an exactly emerald cut stone or can it be an octagon shape, a cushion cut, or another similarly shaped but not exactly perfectly shaped or perfectly matched in size stone?
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Sep 1, 2020 13:49
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obviously I hosed it posted:I want to swap out a stone from a bezel setting and replace it with another stone. How much should I expect to pay a jeweler to do this, roughly? I understand prices can vary. I also wonder about settings— can, say, an emerald setting that measures 11 by 9 hold a 10.5 by 9 or close, or maybe over a little bit, cushion cut stone, rectangular octagonal, squared off oval shaped stone or whatever easily? Does the stone going into that emerald setting have to be an exactly emerald cut stone or can it be an octagon shape, a cushion cut, or another similarly shaped but not exactly perfectly shaped or perfectly matched in size stone? Bezels have to more exact than prong settings, and they need to be pretty close. Often if they're different the old bezel is taken out completely and a new one put in. The new stone needs to be more or less the same dimensions +/- 0.25mm and even then the farther away you get from the original size the more jank it's going to look. Some stones can be fudged more (rounds), but emerald cuts are harder due to the differing shapes, sizes, and corner lengths. Price is going to vary pretty wildly based on the size of the new stone, if it's even possible, and the amount of metal needed. WHenever I'm redoing bezels, I cut the stone out so I usually need to remake the entire bezel itself. If you have a pic of the setting I can try to give some more advice.
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Sep 1, 2020 17:14
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Thanks, Claes! I will get you a photo
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Sep 2, 2020 03:49
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Sent it to you!
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Sep 2, 2020 18:47
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obviously I hosed it posted:Sent it to you! Okay 
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Sep 2, 2020 19:14
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This might be the right thread to ask this in.. I inherited a nice 1940s(?) platinum ring from my grandmother. It has an empty center stone setting, which used to fit a ~1ct round diamond. I will probably inherit the stone eventually, but hopefully not for many years. In the meantime, I would like to be able to use the ring, as it is quite pretty and doesn’t do any good in storage. I’m trying to find something to go in the setting- whether it’s a bicolor stone, something with an interesting cut/color or neat occlusions- but I’m striking out working with my local jewelers, who mostly seem to just want to sell me a sapphire or diamond and be done with it. I’ve had some moderate success finding an appropriately sized nice bicolor sapphire after multiple rounds with the jeweler, but I don’t really know how better to do this kind of search. Any suggestions?
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Sep 10, 2020 19:05
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Yeah, your average jeweler is usually dealing with the best sellers and likely doesn't have great contacts for sourcing more unusual stuff. Do you have an idea of general budget and diameter needed?
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Sep 10, 2020 20:12
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You can also try looking up facetors on uh...instagram? Etsy? To see if any cool people are selling.
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Sep 10, 2020 20:21
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I got a very pretty 1/4" thick slab of labradorite that I would like to polish to shiny by hand. I understand it will take time and be somewhat of a project - I'm looking for one and polishing an already fairly smooth slab (think first pass through a planer wood) seems fairly meditative and low-complexity. Any specific recommendations for polishing compound/sandpaper/polishing cloths?
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Sep 10, 2020 20:52
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If I recall right labradorite wants cerium oxide on leather to polish, we used a big spinny wheel though
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Sep 10, 2020 21:22
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Yeah, feldspars love cerium and will polish to a mirror finish with it even with a relatively 1200 grit prepolish. It will even smooth out the dome on a cabochon to a limited extent. Cerium does have to be used wet because it is a chemical polish and the water is essential to that. Caveat: polishing a large flat surface is more difficult than a dome. People have luck with polishing pads used on granite slabs, but if you use one be sure to wear a respirator. Silicate grit can be quite nasty in the lungs.
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Sep 10, 2020 22:38
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I really want to get back into casting and jewelry in general, i was offered a lost wax silver casting apprenticeship at a renaissance festival from my favorite jeweler a couple years ago but unfortunately my disabilities made it impossible to accept because they travel all over the country (US). I live in Michigan, does anyone know of good programs i might be able to take part in?
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Sep 11, 2020 04:34
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