IS THE PRICE RIGHT for these beautiful gems? How do i tell?

popnicute wrote

on Oct 14, 2008 11:49 AM

yay! thanks, Deb for the insightful reviews!! i'm a sucker for blings!! maybe i was a magpie in the previous life!! *w*

i've dropped those first 4 beads since everyone and their neighbours seem to think that they're too highly priced. i think my pocket isn't ready yet too XD

i still wanna buy some labradorite and rainbow calsilica! they're beautiful!! <3 wonder if rainbow calsilica is manmade or not? the colors are incredible!

i have saved the pictures of these beads and others and i look at them often.. thinking which ones to buy... O_O which. one. to. buuuy? O.O

rings-n-things has AB grade stones and they're more of my price range XD but damn, i'd like some gorgeous bling toooo T^T

what do you think of Migem's labradorite, Deb? ok? too pricey?

DebWAZ wrote

on Oct 14, 2008 5:28 PM

You might have gotten a private e-mail from me. I wasn't finished writing, but I think I accidentally hit a button I shouldn't have! My new meds have me a little loopy! So I decided to answer you here on the forum. Please - everyone - remember that the opinions I express here are purely my own. I am not a gemologist or expert, just an LBS owner, who happens to love stones, rockhounding and geology.

Yep - you've got that magpie gene for sure, just like most beaders! <grinning>

My opinion (and remember it's only my opinion) is that rainbow (or Painted Desert) calsilica is a manmade stone. I've seen the reference Migem uses that cites a "geologist from a university" somewhere. I've contacted them directly for copies of that report, or the name of the university/geologist, but I got no answer. I happened to mention my hobby of paleontology and that I'm acquainted with a number of geologists and would like to contact their expert for more information. I guess that scared them off? If you search for "rainbow calsilica" on www.mindat.org, you'll find that the overwhelming opinion there is that the "stone" is manmade.

From MY research, I've learned that lab tests show that rainbow calsilica is actually CAR PAINT! Beautiful, but car paint nonetheless. There are "sister stones" called Fordite and Detroitite. (you can look these up on e-bay) All three come from the auto industry, when cars were painted on an assembly line/track in paint booths. Every so often, they would have to scrape off the paint from the tracks. One day, a lapidary happened to look at the chunks of scraped off layered paint and thought, "I wonder if I could make cabochons or something out of this stuff". Thus was born the family of "stones" from car paint. If you want to see some really neat stuff, try looking up Brunswickite or Bowlerene - yes, made from bowling balls!

We have rainbow calsilica in the store and it is pricey. I've killed lots of sales by telling customers "Those are so pretty, it's too bad they are car paint." Some customers say, "I don't care, it's still beautiful!" When the stuff is gone, I won't get any more.

Labradorite is a funny stone - most places price it fairly inexpensively, especially the chips and rounds. I used to be able to find it really cheap at rock shows. Facets, shapes and "fire" come in to play and labradorite starts to get more pricey. I don't know if labradorite is hard to work - that would increase the price even more to make up for breakage or "ooopses". I have a good idea where Migems gets their supplies and knowing MY markup from those suppliers, I would say that their prices are on the high side - especially since they don't have the overhead that a brick and mortar store does!  

If I was choosing to buy from an online seller, I'd buy from Rings-n-Things first! Russ Nobbs (the owner) has some of the same suppliers as I do, so I know first hand the quality of his goods! I also know that Russ is particular about making sure his stones have the correct names - a big plus in my book. I've visited his site often, but I don't remember ever seeing a description in quotations there, as I have with FMG. He has a gemstone guide on the website that is very handy for a quick reference.

Hope this helps - I think it's a little disjointed today - I apologize. I'm off to take more meds and maybe get some work done!

Deb - AZ Bead Depot

popnicute wrote

on Oct 14, 2008 7:43 PM

ah, i c.. car paint? XD they sure are beautiful.. i hope it's not harmful at all..

and where did you send the private mail to? i've checked both of my active e-mail accounts and none from you.. =O

i wish you had an online store, Deb! would love to buy from you!! :D i could listen to you for hours and make notes :D

i've contacted Russ about his stuffs, i'd like to buy from him too but he suggested me to find a local store first. he pointed me to ucbeads.com (located in Bali) which apparently right now the site is still under construction so many of their stones only got blank pages. while the real local store in my city carries no labradorite. would love to see it in real life since it's quite popular right now.. sounds like an amazing stone XDi mean, has fire and such ;))

there's actually a gem market 10 minutes from my house (tho i think they sell mostly cabochons), but since i've no experience in buying beads, i'm afraid i'd get them overpriced :\ i know people like to play prices with inexperience customers. like some months ago i went there with my aunt to bigger the holes in her stones (on a strand) and they asked for $25 for drilling fee! wtf? i found out later that a bead drill only worth like $17. lucky we didn't take their offer since the price they asked was even higher than the stones themself!

if you think russ has good prices, i guess i can note the prices and bring the note with me to the market =)

~ thanks again, Deb!! and i hope you're doing well ^^

DebWAZ wrote

on Oct 15, 2008 6:44 PM

Oh well  - it probably went into cyber limbo!

If you are going to visit gem sellers in your area, spend some time browsing Rings-N-Things and FMG to do your homework. This way, when you are shopping, you'll have a better idea of what a reasonable price is. You'll also have an idea if there is such a thing as "red" malachite or if rainbow calsilica is a real "stone". [NOTE: anyone going to ANY gem show - especially for the first time - should probably do the same homework!]

I got an answer from Migem, but I'm not reassured at all. "Hickoryite" is supposedly a jasper, but the pieces I've seen either look like a banded agate/carnelian or a red/brown version of rainbow calsilica. Migem is in Hong Kong and they apparently buy a lot of their goods from other vendors in HK. The reply I got essentially said, "The vendor told me it was __fill in name__ and that's all I know." Not much for building confidence, in my opinion.

Gotta run - hubby says it's closing time!

Deb - AZ Bead Depot

CrystalCubeBead. wrote

on Oct 16, 2008 8:10 AM

Deb :

Oh well  - it probably went into cyber limbo!

Deb - AZ Bead Depot

Deb,

I usually find mine in "DRAFTS"

Stan B.

popnicute wrote

on Oct 16, 2008 12:22 PM

thank you, deb! i will do my homework :D i just bought Botswana Agate cabochon from bitterbrook.com for 16$. but it's huge. 55.5mm long IIRC.. i love the banding in it <3 will probably wear it for myself if it's as good as (or even better than) the pic :D

popnicute wrote

on Oct 17, 2008 9:34 PM

Deb, i Googled "Hickoryite mineral" and it seems to be a genuine stone.. lotsa websites mentioned it to be genuine.

Hickoryite Lapidary Rough Rock

Unpolished rough rock specimens of Hickoryite ready for a rock saw or a rock garden. A banded rhyolite from an unknown locale, but possibly Chihuahua, Mexico. Regardless of its origins, Hickoryite rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock with fine-grained crystals that include quartz, feldspar, and mica, the same general chemical composition as granite. The actual rock you will receive is shown in the pictures below. Click on the images to see a more detailed view of this multicolored, banded, lapidary wonder stone, Hickoryite.

also zebra jasper apparently exists. many variants i saw in rings-n-things gemstone index :) tho i wouldn't know about the price since russ doesn't stock the green one :P mexican zebra jasper is pretty cheap tho..

CryssT wrote

on Oct 20, 2008 7:28 AM

since these are stones, not completed works and not even a creation like lampwork.  I see no reason that the pictures are not appropriate.  It's actually an advantage to the seller for it to be directly posted so that all of us can see them without opening multiple links as it might be more inducement to visit their store.  It's like listing pictures of coffee beans or types of pasta.  just my opinion. 

also, there was a news info on TV that when pictures are posted on like shutterbug or  your blog,etc that you must check a specific block that it can't be shared, or anybody - even Ad companies can use it without paying you and they are.

definitely something to think about.

cryss 

DebWAZ wrote

on Oct 20, 2008 5:14 PM

Kay,

I had quite a chat last week, with folks on Mindat about the hickoryite. There IS such a thing as hickoryite, so I stand corrected, with a qualifier. I've seen so many made up names for stones that hickoryite could well have been another one. I have always used Mindat and Rings-N-Things among my first "go-to's" when researching a new stone/bead and when neither had a reference, I did a search on hickoryite (forgot to add "mineral", duh) and got mostly finished items and the stones in the photos varied from what very closely resembled a banded agate or carnelian to a fine grained texture and very little resembled the photo you had. A couple of the folks on Mindat gave me links to various vendors of rough hickoryite and one of THOSE even had hickoryite labeled as SANDSTONE, not jasper! PLUS - finding the localities as "exclusive from Chihuahua", "special from Mexico", or the phrase in your post "unknown locale, possibly Chihuahua", etc. sent red flags up, because similar descriptions are attached to rainbow calsilica. So even when it's correct information, it's still confusing! EEEK! To make matters even worse, I have rhyolite in the store that is more of a green & pink, like a faded unakite and IT doesn't look like hickoryite, either! We have a butte in nearby Tempe, AZ that is topped with rhyolite and THAT doesn't resemble the stone in my store OR hickoryite! 

Zebra jasper is known from all over the world. I have a gorgeous pink and grey zebra jasper as well as the traditional black and white jasper. I've found zebra jasper that doesn't resemble either one when I was rockhounding and dinosaur diggin'. Green zebra jasper could be a natural color - I'd probably give them the benefit of the doubt on it, it's just not one that I'm familiar with.

Remember, I said that the opinions were my own, not as an expert! I'm going back to putting inventory on the computer - it's safer! <LOL>

Deb - AZ Bead Depot

popnicute wrote

on Oct 21, 2008 6:11 AM

lol, Deb! thanks for the info!! it does a bit suspicious isn't it cos its come from the same site as rainbow calsilica? XD oh well..

i have to restrain myself from buying stones.. spent a lot on silver already xD

DebWAZ wrote

on Oct 22, 2008 3:17 PM

 Good girl Kay, save your money for a while.

I was suspicious because on the finished jewelry, the description said it came from Mexico. Maybe I was too skeptical, huh?

Hickoryite is a real stone, but it doesn't hurt to be careful and do your homework BEFORE you spend your money, rather than after!

Gotta run - DH is hollering about his allergies today! <aaachooooo>

Deb - AZ Bead Depot

troll3 wrote

on Oct 23, 2008 1:29 PM

CryssT:

since these are stones, not completed works and not even a creation like lampwork.  I see no reason that the pictures are not appropriate.  It's actually an advantage to the seller for it to be directly posted so that all of us can see them without opening multiple links as it might be more inducement to visit their store.  It's like listing pictures of coffee beans or types of pasta.  just my opinion. 

This could be considered as a valid reason to break the copyright (although it's not quite clear to me, how it would help a vendor to keep potential customers away from their site), but there is another aspect to hotlinking: by doing it, you're stealing the other parts bandwidth, which can lead to higher costs or even unavailability to their site. Here's a good explanation on the subject: about hotlinking

CryssT:

also, there was a news info on TV that when pictures are posted on like shutterbug or  your blog,etc that you must check a specific block that it can't be shared, or anybody - even Ad companies can use it without paying you and they are.

definitely something to think about.

cryss

I very much doubt this, but one should of course remember that anything you post on the internet, can be subject to abuse. But maybe I'll start taking really bad pictures from now on, so no one will feel the need to use them for anything ;)

- Kirsi

popnicute wrote

on Oct 24, 2008 3:58 AM

troll:

CryssT:

since these are stones, not completed works and not even a creation like lampwork.  I see no reason that the pictures are not appropriate.  It's actually an advantage to the seller for it to be directly posted so that all of us can see them without opening multiple links as it might be more inducement to visit their store.  It's like listing pictures of coffee beans or types of pasta.  just my opinion. 

This could be considered as a valid reason to break the copyright (although it's not quite clear to me, how it would help a vendor to keep potential customers away from their site), but there is another aspect to hotlinking: by doing it, you're stealing the other parts bandwidth, which can lead to higher costs or even unavailability to their site. Here's a good explanation on the subject: about hotlinking

but isn't it the same if i were sending people in here to get look at the pictures by only text linking the pics? i mean, they will load the same pics eventho i didn't post the pics in here.. 

i think hotlinking is more likely forbidden for personal websites because i'm sure they wouldn't appreciate high traffic.. but for businesses..? didn't they buy big enough bandwidth to support the said high traffic they expected to happen? and if they didn't allow hotlinking, they could have what's offered in that website you linked us to (hotlink protection).

troll:

CryssT:

also, there was a news info on TV that when pictures are posted on like shutterbug or  your blog,etc that you must check a specific block that it can't be shared, or anybody - even Ad companies can use it without paying you and they are.

definitely something to think about.

cryss

I very much doubt this, but one should of course remember that anything you post on the internet, can be subject to abuse. But maybe I'll start taking really bad pictures from now on, so no one will feel the need to use them for anything ;)

- Kirsi

i know you're joking but taking bad pictures would only cost you instead of do you any good. like turn away potential customers and so on :P and no one would care to see what you posted. you could loose many good feedback/recognition you deserved by doing so.

watermark is a good option to prevent theft. true that watermark could be erased digitally, but it would make the thiefs at least thinking twice before stealing your images. removing strategically placed watermark isn't that easy to do and could cost them time and more money. lol.

Silverior wrote

on Oct 24, 2008 7:28 AM

popnicute:

there's actually a gem market 10 minutes from my house (tho i think they sell mostly cabochons), but since i've no experience in buying beads, i'm afraid i'd get them overpriced :\ i know people like to play prices with inexperience customers. like some months ago i went there with my aunt to bigger the holes in her stones (on a strand) and they asked for $25 for drilling fee! wtf? i found out later that a bead drill only worth like $17. lucky we didn't take their offer since the price they asked was even higher than the stones themself!

when you go to local market especially at "kaki lima". Looking for some information on internet about the current price will be better, but if you have no information at all. Try to bargain them at least 1/3 of their open price. Example when they open price Rp10,000. You should bargain them Rp3,000 or even less. If they get mad of your bid. Simply just walk away and leave them, pretend that you dont care. ^_^

popnicute wrote

on Oct 26, 2008 11:19 AM

OMG!!! I... I COULDN'T CONTAIN MYSELF AND BOUGHT THESE BEAUTIES! @_@

I think they are very reasonably priced... -i think-

1.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11264688 ~ $5

2.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11264689 ~ $5 for a pair

3.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11264690 ~ $3

4.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11264691 ~ $20 for 10 slices.

Pretty, aren't they? *.*

Is there any chance that the blue agate is color treated? or is it its natural color?