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Post by addictedtorocks on Aug 14, 2003 17:18:26 GMT -5
We collected rocks in the streams in the Lake Tahoe region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and came home with buckets full of quartz, carnelians and some multi colored rocks. My twin daughters love amethyst. Can you find any amethyst in Northern Calif? We live in the Sacramento area of Calif. Thanks.
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Post by docone31 on Aug 14, 2003 22:14:12 GMT -5
I have never heard of amythyst really being found in the western region. At least not in the classical sense. Amythyst, being in the quartz family, chrystalline, should be found where quartz is found. However you do have Oregon Opal there, and sunstone, a feldspar. Amythyst, being my birthstone has a certain apeal to me. My wife and I are headed to Sacremento down the road, she is going for diamond grading and pearl grading. I am going for master metalsmithing and master faceting. The GIA school is somewhere there and it will be good to know at least someone who loves stones. Amythyst rough is easy and inexpensive to purchase, but it is not like finding it. Good hunting, I hope you find what you seek. Doc
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Post by addicted to rocks on Aug 15, 2003 11:41:35 GMT -5
Doc, Thank you for the amethyst info. I worked for several years in an upscale GIA certified jewelry store in the Sac area. I was a sales person without GIA but most people there were GIA. That is where I got addicted to colored stones etc. When I had my twins 8 yrs ago I had to quit (they were a handful) and now I hunt for rocks as a replacement for being around the stones all day. My daughters love my amethyst stones I got from the wholesale crowd. Have fun in Sac, there is lots to do with all the rivers around the city. Addicted to rocks
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Post by docone31 on Aug 15, 2003 17:00:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the return. Have you ever tried faceting? It is really not all that difficult, and aside from the start up expense, it is addictive. Good rock hunting, I hope you and the twins totally share the experience, and hear the heart of the stone. Doc
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Aug 16, 2003 20:43:04 GMT -5
Greetings All, Hey docone31, I'm very interested in faceting, but you are right about the startup cost. I've spent some time at Jeff Grahams website, www.faceters.com, and am really wanting to get into it. But it will probably be a year or two to save up the money, and I would be foolish not to take a class first. Just out of curiosity though, have you had any luck in selling any of your pieces? It's not as if I'm interested in lapidary as a career, but if it is possible to sell enough for the hobby to pay for itself that would go a long way to helping me make up my mind. But for now, I'll just keep tumbling WilliamC
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Post by docone31 on Aug 17, 2003 16:45:34 GMT -5
William, this is off the amythyst, however, yes, I make a living out of it. I started in a flea market, and I am still in one. I now do upscale professional jewelery, refacet stones, my wife restores pearl necklaces, I drill pearls, do goldsmithing, silversmithing and design jewelery. I just got back from the market for four days of making. It started out starving, and I now have no time. My faceting started out from my making cabachons, which came from tumbling stones and wire wrapping. I suited up, showed up, and have been in profit from day one. The person who started this thread, could have been me 25yrs ago. Deep interest, child in tow, learning about the world, the hard way. I tumble stones to find the ones I will facet. I rarely facet gems, or gem quality stones. They are too inexpensive to turn down. If a customer wants a gem, I order one, and design a ring around it. When I make the bizzarre, I facet crazy lace agate, Oregon sunstone, moonstone, etc. These sell almost immediately. All my tools came to me through the fleamarket. Jewelers had old tools unused and I made an offer. I got the faceter used and rebuilt it. The cab station was in disrepair, the tumblers I use were frozen from neglect, one had a full bbl full of emeralds!!! some 30cts and up. It was mixed up with star rubies. I bought all the wrong things first, and built what I needed. My first diamond saw came from Home Depot for 99$. The Plascraft 4.5" works great for cutting rough and cabachon roughs. If you want to succeed, suit up, show up, and don't quit. People buy from me because I love what I do. They have never seen the work before, but they like what I tell them, and show. The Lady who started this thread, her daughters might become gemologists, lapidariasts, or designers, or they just might have memories that last a lifetime. My son went his own way, never to be heard from again. I now bring the heart from the stone. I used to cut the design into the stone, now I take the design from the stone. Follow your dreams, show them to others. Show folks there are gems beneath their feet, we only need to look. Good luck Doc
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Post by Beachcomber on Aug 17, 2003 17:01:51 GMT -5
Well I don't know about the west coast. I do know that out east here we have some cool deposits. I went on a hike to Cape Split Nova Scotia.. has the highest tides in the world..dangerous darn place... had to climb down a 300 ft cliff... most of the day I found nothin...then around 8 o'clock I smacked open a geode and had a fist full of nice dark amythest crystals... just got outta there with my rocks... they say they got a tidal bore..man it comes in quick! One big wave.. then what was dry gound is under about 50 ft of water. Gotta love the Amythest though... one of my favorites to tumble....if you have the patience to crush quartz into a powder.. it gives em a really glassy sheen.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Aug 19, 2003 6:50:34 GMT -5
Greetings All,
Thanks very much, Doc, for the information and inspiration. Fortunatley I have a career I enjoy immensely (I'm a research scientist) but it would be wonderful to develop my interest in lapidary as a profitable hobby and to be able to teach my son a useful craft. Your enthusiasm really shows Doc, thanks!
WilliamC
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Post by docone31 on Aug 19, 2003 9:48:32 GMT -5
I started out with this quite accidently, and today, I have a business I share with my wife, I am also a lapidary equipment distributor. Make some stuff, get a table at a flea market, and have at it. It will take you where it needs you to go. It is fun, profitable, and makes a difference in other people's lives Good luck Doc
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mrflake
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 58
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Post by mrflake on Aug 19, 2003 10:33:19 GMT -5
re Docgones words, very inspirational, do you have any pictures of your faceted stones, I read that no one bothers to facet non gemstones as facetting is , yet surely a facetted stone must have a lot of apppeal to many as well as me. I have been l gathering info on faceting and all the material seems to come from the states, why is there so little about it in the UK, even testimonials on gemstone wholsalers sites all come from abroad, I have yet to see one from the UK, am I missing something that makes this a pointless thing to pursue in the UK? Interestingly I can find no equipment suppliers in the UK so a machine will at some stage come from across the pond, again like others here I am in the same position my partners daughter showed a small interest in polished stones and that has got me into it and it appears the bug is biting harder all the time.
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Post by docone31 on Aug 19, 2003 22:36:09 GMT -5
A few folks facet semi-precious stones. They look great. It seems like the motives of folks on this side of the pond, I like that, most go for the glitz. I like to bring what I see out of the stone. My emeralds look like an exotic jade, my rubies have veins. I like that stuff. I can sell my craft as others feel my entheusiasm and like the unconventiality of my work. For lapidary equipment, here is what you do. Get a conventional grinder. Here we go by 6" and 8", now here is the tricky part. Take off the shields. Voila. Get an aquarium pump. Hook it up so it drips, repeat drips on the grinding wheel. Make some kind of splash shield and grind some stones. To make a dop stick, get some dowel stock. Cut into 6" pieces, or the metric equivilent, get some letter sealing wax. Melt it into an old tuna can, minus tuna, just warm enough to liquify no more. Put a second stoneware plate on another burner. Set the stone on the plate to make a little, repeat little hotter. Twirl the end of the dop in the liquid wax, make a little wax end, immediately transfer to the little hotter stone. Smooth the wax to the perimeter of the stone and grind. Down the road you can get a rubber drum for sanding belts, and a leather belt for polishing. That is how I did it in the beginning. I wish I was back there. Today I refacet stones, design for people who do not care, and repair junk they think is so special. It used to be fun. You might have to purchase rough over the internet. You do have an opalized chalk there that you can boil in sugar and soak in pressurized sulphuric acid. Look up Andamooke Opals. You can also get an electric motor, arbor and bearings for a grinding set up, very inexpensively. The motor must turn 1750, and the pulleys must be 1 to 1 1/2. Bingo instant lapidariast. let me know how it turns out. E-mail me for more info, I do not want to go too far off this topic.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Aug 20, 2003 9:50:34 GMT -5
If you love rocks...you've got to love this board! Great info! Super interesting. Don
"Where would we be without rocks? Just floating around in space like a bunch of knuckleheads with no where to stand." Author unknown
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