Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 31, 2014 7:48:54 GMT -5
Howdy folks, This one didn't look like much on the exterior. Inside, pretty dang nice stuff. Got the two big slabs off then reoriented the heel and got the other two.....Mel One fracture in each of these but should yield at least one big cab from each. Both of these broke along their only fracture so what is left of each is a single nice sized hunk of pretty dang perfect Morgan hill.
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luvtogrow
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2012
Posts: 194
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Post by luvtogrow on Jul 31, 2014 10:11:29 GMT -5
Stunning! Can't take my eyes off these slabs.
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knifegirl
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2014
Posts: 24
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Post by knifegirl on Jul 31, 2014 10:14:38 GMT -5
Nice!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 31, 2014 12:28:27 GMT -5
Nice! Psychedelic! Kind of reminds me of an obnoxious tie in the 70s. For a rock, it's really cool.
Thanks for sharing, Mel.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,548
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Post by jamesp on Jul 31, 2014 13:02:33 GMT -5
Material like that and other hard to find high grade agates do not often get sold for what they are worth. There is such thing as a gemologist, why not an agatologist ? Dead serious. Some agate is really rare. The experienced guys know about old stocks and can ID it. Experienced people will pay the price knowing what it is. There should be a way to category value on such and make it public or put it on a value scale or do whatever it takes to protect it's value. Fire agate comes to mind, and it is expensive. Mel...need a job ?? And some of it is so rare it was all in a small vein. Way rarer than diamonds. A lot of the time the beneficiaries sell the valuable stuff off, but a lot of people do not have the knowledge of what it is worth-seller or buyer. Just because it is not called opal or sapphire ? Many agates are way rarer than those are.
I like it Jean, Psychedelic Neck Tie Agate. $300/carat. Mel would like that...
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 31, 2014 18:06:33 GMT -5
Interesting comments James. As an old time agate/jasper fancier I've often thought along those lines myself. Most so called gemstones are not really all that rare. Heck, diamonds are a regulated and controlled gem and not that rare at all. How many types of agate and jasper that are beautiful and durable gems are now totally extinct or nearly so? To me, good poppy jasper, OJ, blue Biggs, Holley Blue, Dryhead, Deschuttes, Howardite, Stephonite, almost any of the old porcelain jaspers etc are so much rarer than diamonds. And, they only come from a single location or area which makes it easy for supplies to diminish or disappear entirely and make them rarer still. I think, slowly, folks are coming to realize this as we can sure see prices jumping up but really, many of these materials should command prices much higher than they do. And another thing, I think perfect slabs or polished specimens should be even more valuable as once chopped up into cabs, some of the wonderful character of these materials is lost....Mel
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,548
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Post by jamesp on Jul 31, 2014 18:39:51 GMT -5
Interesting comments James. As an old time agate/jasper fancier I've often thought along those lines myself. Most so called gemstones are not really all that rare. Heck, diamonds are a regulated and controlled gem and not that rare at all. How many types of agate and jasper that are beautiful and durable gems are now totally extinct or nearly so? To me, good poppy jasper, OJ, blue Biggs, Holley Blue, Dryhead, Deschuttes, Howardite, Stephonite, almost any of the old porcelain jaspers etc are so much rarer than diamonds. And, they only come from a single location or area which makes it easy for supplies to diminish or disappear entirely and make them rarer still. I think, slowly, folks are coming to realize this as we can sure see prices jumping up but really, many of these materials should command prices much higher than they do. And another thing, I think perfect slabs or polished specimens should be even more valuable as once chopped up into cabs, some of the wonderful character of these materials is lost....Mel All fact. Hope an awareness rises and these materials will pick up value more and more. So much of it is right here in our country. People are into the history and background of everything. The history of agates in general is deep and interesting. Montana agates for instance has a big story behind it. People seem to be more and more interested in nature, agate is right there too. I too, think the trend to seek some of these famous agates is picking up.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 31, 2014 22:15:38 GMT -5
I probably have 2000 cts or better of gems- some of them really nice and expensive, but they hold no candle to my cab and slab collection- value wise. I agree with the both of you wholeheartedly. A great agate or jasper is usually terribly undervalued. People in the know who buy these kinds of rocks understand their values, but the average person would take a sparkly faceted garnet over a gorgeous poppy jasper, any day.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,548
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Post by jamesp on Aug 1, 2014 5:22:34 GMT -5
I probably have 2000 cts or better of gems- some of them really nice and expensive, but they hold no candle to my cab and slab collection- value wise. I agree with the both of you wholeheartedly. A great agate or jasper is usually terribly undervalued. People in the know who buy these kinds of rocks understand their values, but the average person would take a sparkly faceted garnet over a gorgeous poppy jasper, any day. I was thinking about the people that have to buy the slab and make the cab Tela. To get the cab I imagine you have to dodge fractures and find the sweet spot where the best pattern is. So you have waste, and the slab may have been 5 times bigger than the cab. So you incur costs from waste of a high dollar material also. I guess the unfortunate part is that the general customer base does not know how rare the stuff is. They just buy a red poppy to go with their red dress. Maybe an authenticated description and history would be helpful. Who would do the authentication ? I see etsy sellers w/great descriptions. But sellers are not always to be trusted, as they are bias. Another problem is the big variety of agate/jasper, they get thrown into a lump category. I always wondered what would happen if a seller's site was 'Red' or 'Polka Dot' or 'Wood' and sold under a category. And seller specialized. Seems self defeating, the fun part is the variety. Markets are cruel, unless you are selling something known and in demand.
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