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Post by bobby1 on Dec 18, 2008 19:27:58 GMT -5
Here is a picture of the cab that I posted before, a very small cab that I shaped for a ring out of gold in a black matrix, the scraps from the cabbing and a large piece of the Sixteen-To-One material. Here is a picture of the small cab ready to be set in a ring. The jeweler that I'm doing this cab for says it is from Canada. Here is a picture of two rings that I made for my wife a few years ago. It is from the Sixteen-To-One material. Thanks for looking Bob
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Dec 18, 2008 19:38:35 GMT -5
Very Nice Bob. I really like the rings you made for your wife. Steve
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Post by Bejewelme on Dec 18, 2008 20:38:16 GMT -5
Bob: That is some neat material, is it very hard? It is tough to say which I like best, but I think that ring with the gold on black is very stunning, I like the white gold frame on it, I think it offers some contrast between the gold colors.
Is this a naturally occurring rock, or some kind of man-made glass? Great design work !!!! Amber
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Post by frane on Dec 18, 2008 21:13:34 GMT -5
They all look wonderful! That looks like a very nice material to work with! Fran
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Dec 18, 2008 21:59:01 GMT -5
That beautiful and - as far as I understand - expensive material couldn't find a better destination. Those rings look like an extension of the natural patterns in the stones.
Adrian
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 18, 2008 23:01:09 GMT -5
Amber, This white/gold material is a natural stone consisting of Masive (Not crystalline) Quartz and pure gold. It comes from the Sixteen-To-One mine in Alleghany, California Northeast of Sacramento. The black/gold material is from Quebec, canada. I'm not sure exactly what the matrix material is, but it tends to be slightly porous, fractured and crystalline. I had a real time getting a good polish on it. The white/gold material is rather hard and it polishes very well. I read an article a few months ago where they have developed a process to get gold to migrate into some fractured quartz and end up with a close resemblance to the mined material, but it doesn't nearly match the mined material. With the exceedingly high price of the natural, it pays to expend considerable effort to try to simulate the material. Bob
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Post by Bejewelme on Dec 19, 2008 6:51:47 GMT -5
Bob: Doesn't really matter I guess what it is because that stuff is sharp, and makes nice looking jewelry!!!! I love the ring, it is beautiful, done by the master! Amber
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 19, 2008 8:34:00 GMT -5
Your work with the gold rings and the creation of the cabs are gorgeous. Do you have a form that pre casts the ring or do you create them by hand? How ever you do it, they are magnificent
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 19, 2008 9:27:36 GMT -5
When I make my rings I sometimes make them directly in metal (fabrication), carve a model from hard wax, build up a model with a wax pen or modify commercially available wax models....whatever strikes my fancy at the time. The stone always dictates what I do for the jewelry. Because I am primarily a hobbiest, I do what ever I want (unless my wife wants something specific) or I want to try a new process or idea. I'm blessed with the fact that my livelyhood is not dependent upon my stonecutting or jewelry making activities. If it were I probably would be starving, though less food consumption wouldn't hurt me. Now that I'm retired I get to devote much more time to doing what I've always loved to do - lapidary and jewelry making. Unfortunately, the local jewelry store is starting to persuade me to do more work for them. I'll have to balance their wants with what I want to do. Dang! I wish I could get my work shop finished sooner! Working in a cold garage (that is getting colder) is no fun. Bob
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 19, 2008 9:32:10 GMT -5
Thank you bobby for the info. If ever you are in the mood to make a tutorial on how you do it, I am sure many would love to see your work in progress.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Dec 19, 2008 10:06:01 GMT -5
Niiiiiice! beautiful work!
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Post by LCARS on Dec 19, 2008 11:01:33 GMT -5
That stuff is killa!
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Post by Tonyterner on Dec 19, 2008 11:48:27 GMT -5
So you are using the lost wax process for the rings. I've seen that done but never tried it. Do you cast yourself or take it to a local jeweler?
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 19, 2008 13:08:44 GMT -5
Tony, Up until about two years ago I did my own casting, but since I rearranged my garage in the old house and later moved most everything to my new house or storage I haven't been doing any casting. I started a tutorial on making your own wax pen to make models for casting before I moved, but I can't finish it until I get the shop done and get all my junk moved in. All I have the capability of doing now is cabbing in my cold garage. (New storm coming in today). Cold for me is in the 40's and 50's. I realize this isn't anything like the cold in the Northeast that you all are having now, though! Bob
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Post by Michael John on Dec 19, 2008 14:52:53 GMT -5
Bob, you're further north than I am, so I'd imagine it's a bit colder there than here. I can definately relate to the Cold Garage Syndrome. Although it's not below freezing, it's plenty cold enough to make extended periods of time very unpleasant. The hard part is getting the motivation just to go out there LOL! Out of curiosity, I just did a little reading on the 16 to 1 mine ... very interesting! Apparently, it's a hit-and-miss / feast-or-famine situation there. When they strike, they REALLY strike, but those strikes are few and far between. They're currently selling-off a lot of their specimen collection in order to pay for further exploration and mining, which is apparently heart-breaking but unavoidable. California tree-huggers aren't making matters any easier, either (what else is new). Bob, that jeweler must have a helluva lot of faith and trust in you. Slabs from the 16/1 are being sold for $600 to $1,400 per troy ounce, depending on grade. Although that may seem like a lot of cash, anyone who understands how rare this sort of gold occurence is also knows that these prices are insanely LOW. They obviously need cash, so they're selling at bargain-basement prices. This material should actually be selling for 2 to 4 times the current price of gold (which is ~$840/oz right now). www.origsix.com/catalog.aspYou're a very lucky man to be working that stuff!
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Post by Bejewelme on Dec 19, 2008 16:46:49 GMT -5
Michael John:
That is some interesting reading, thanks for sharing that info. Bob is certainly the man for the job, and to be handling something so rare and exquisite is a true compliment to his skills,
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Post by texaswoodie on Dec 19, 2008 19:09:27 GMT -5
Awesome!!
Curt
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Dec 19, 2008 21:19:19 GMT -5
Nice work! When I worked up in Ketchikan Alaska they had MANY jewelry shops offering gold in white quartz jewelry. I wanted a ring but never could afford it. What does one small slab of the gold in quartz run you?
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Post by beefjello on Dec 19, 2008 21:52:01 GMT -5
Oh man that makes me wanna grab the metal detector and head for the hills! Stunning rings Bobby, and yummy material!
I need to go cut some cabs!
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 19, 2008 22:22:43 GMT -5
michaeljohn, Actually the jeweler isn't that trusting. Only the black/gold material is his. The large slab of white/gold is mine. I knew I had a piece of this material but I had forgotten what size it was. When I was looking for it I came across this piece. I know I still have a smaller piece somewhere. When I got the material about 15 years ago or so, Gold was in the $250 or $300 range. If I remember correctly I paid bullion prices for the rough. I'm guessing that this piece is about 40% Gold and 60% Quartz, so you can see it is somewhat more expensive than pure gold. I don't have my scales handy but I would guess this piece is about 1 1/2 oz. Much more costly now. Bob
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