Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 17:28:57 GMT -5
Consolidated rock shop that is... got a chance to get into our favorite rock shop this morning. They've had this 9" x 9" guadalupe poppy jasper slab displayed in a 'not for sale' cabinet for years - I've tried to get it several times but I guess the stars alligned today.   Along with some of my other treasures of the morning...  Hampton Butte wood - knot hole  Unknown dendritic wood  Agatized Morgan Hill poppy jasper  Shells in mud. I love this stuff  Every cabochon I've put up on Etsy has sold pretty fast.  malachite chrsocolla in agate - gem silica?  Something from Peru. The red area looks metallic and it is heavy for its size.  Thanks fer lookin |
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Post by gmitch067 on May 14, 2017 18:44:50 GMT -5
That Poppy Jasper slab is really a beautiful and interesting piece! I am more drawn to the Malichite Chrysocolla and the Peruvian "Something" (love dem blues!). Did they get another shipment of slabs in??? I was planning on going in on Tuesday to pick through them again.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 18:52:32 GMT -5
Did they get another shipment of slabs in??? I was planning on going in on Tuesday to pick through them again. I don't know - no way of knowing. I haven't been in there since last September before I broke my ankle. The Guadalupe slab has been in one of the side rooms in a locked "not for sale" cabinet for many years. I Finally got him to come up with his not for sale price  Got to take your time and look in every nook and cranny with that store. Every time I think I've seen it all I find something new. Did you see his $10,000 red dinosaur leg bone?  |
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Post by gmitch067 on May 14, 2017 19:11:22 GMT -5
No. I plan on going this Tuesday (they are closed on Mondays). I will check it out. Thanks!
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Post by coloradocliff on May 14, 2017 19:14:36 GMT -5
Boy Tommy. You had a great day.
plus 1 on the Jasper but all of tem were interesting. How hard is the mudstone/ Does it take a polishing?
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 19:15:12 GMT -5
No. I plan on going this Tuesday (they are closed on Mondays). I will check it out. Thanks! It's near the front checkout counter opposite the aisle. Amazing - too rich for me but truly amazing piece. |
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Post by gmitch067 on May 14, 2017 19:27:52 GMT -5
I usually make a beeline back to the area where the geodes are. Just past them are a few boxes of slabs and broken slab pieces, which I love to pick through. I make small pieces of jewelry using dremel and sandpaper, so the slabs I focus on are those which need less cutting to fit the cheap backings I have (the biggest backing being a 30mmX40mm oval - the rest are much smaller). The beauty of your Poppy Jasper would be destroyed if it were cut up into a bunch of oval circle and teardrop shapes.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 19:29:57 GMT -5
How hard is the mudstone/ Does it take a polishing? It's soft but not too crumbly - I would say around a 4 on the scale. If a shell meets the edge of the cab at the wrong angle it does have a tendency to chip. All in all though it's really nice and forgiving to work with - a pleasurable change after grinding on agates for a while. The best part is the shells and the mud are around the same hardness so it does not undercut at all. When finished the mud takes a low satin shine while the shells take a bright mirror shine and the result is a really nice contrast. |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 19:33:12 GMT -5
The beauty of your Poppy Jasper would be destroyed if it were cut up into a bunch of oval circle and teardrop shapes. Therein lies the dilemma... It's too special as a specimen to cut ... but ... I'm a cutter lol - it's what I buy slabs for. I have several cabochon customers who LOVE the Guadalupe cabs I've sold - and have asked me to make more. I'm going to put it up on the shelf in my garage next to the only other slab I can't cut - and see which way it ends up. |
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Post by morerockspleaz on May 14, 2017 19:51:44 GMT -5
Nice shopping spree you had there. I am loving the Hampton Butte. Love Hampton butte. I will be curios so see the Peru cabbed. The malachite/chrysocolla oh yeah. That's my all time favorite stone to cab. The poppy well it was your lucky day.
BeLinda
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 14, 2017 19:59:00 GMT -5
That slab is awesome. I vote for not cutting it. Is it polished?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2017 20:11:23 GMT -5
The beauty of your Poppy Jasper would be destroyed if it were cut up into a bunch of oval circle and teardrop shapes. Therein lies the dilemma... It's too special as a specimen to cut ... but ... I'm a cutter lol - it's what I buy slabs for. I have several cabochon customers who LOVE the Guadalupe cabs I've sold - and have asked me to make more. I'm going to put it up on the shelf in my garage next to the only other slab I can't cut - and see which way it ends up. $1000 worth of cabs in that slab. $200 specimen or two car payments. Hmmm.... |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 20:54:59 GMT -5
That slab is awesome. I vote for not cutting it. Is it polished? It is not polished and there are in fact some saw marks on one side. That would be the top of course |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 14, 2017 21:01:57 GMT -5
$1000 worth of cabs in that slab. $200 specimen or two car payments. Hmmm.... Definitely factors into the things that make you go "hmmm..." Hmmm... up to 18 cabs as large as I tend to make them would be a welcome flow into my business inventory <and> I did pay through the nose for it. Hmmm... just look at the damn thing - it's very likely that it's one of largest remaining slabs of this rare material in existence... Hmmm... we don't have any car (or trailer) payments... |
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Post by captbob on May 14, 2017 21:20:46 GMT -5
That Guadalupe is amazing. I would never cut it, but I'm a specimen collector. Standard thickness? I'm going to put it up on the shelf in my garage next to the only other slab I can't cut - and see which way it ends up. So what is the other slab that you can't cut? |
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Post by deb193redux on May 14, 2017 22:34:12 GMT -5
nice color on the morgan hill
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Post by rockjunquie on May 15, 2017 8:30:30 GMT -5
Nice catch on the poppy!!! Incredible slab! I got a nice slab one time from a guy who was selling it as ocean jasper. Even as OJ it was ridiculously cheap. Mine now. LOL!
I could be dangerous in a place like that.
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Post by coloradocliff on May 15, 2017 8:35:33 GMT -5
The beauty of your Poppy Jasper would be destroyed if it were cut up into a bunch of oval circle and teardrop shapes. Therein lies the dilemma... It's too special as a specimen to cut ... but ... I'm a cutter lol - it's what I buy slabs for. I have several cabochon customers who LOVE the Guadalupe cabs I've sold - and have asked me to make more. I'm going to put it up on the shelf in my garage next to the only other slab I can't cut - and see which way it ends up. Wow Tommy that Guadalupe poppy Jasper is such an awesome slab. Maybe you can think of it as a really huge cab abd wont feel the urge to cut s bad. Thank you for telling us the mudstone characteristics. Much easier if someone we know and trust their abilities gives us the straight skinny.. Again big brother, you made a nice haul yesterday. |
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on May 15, 2017 9:33:03 GMT -5
Tommy, If you go down south of Pt Mugu at low tide that Pt. Mugu shell rock is all over the rocky beaches. We used to go collect it and then hit Alice's Restaurant at Malibu for breakfast with the weirdos. They also call it coquina. Used to have a pile of small boulders of it in my Ojai yard but only one big piece made it to Texas with me. Probably still in the yard with the huge Porterville nephrite jade stepping stone I forgot to dig up when I moved *L*.
That Guadalupe slab is freaking awesome by the way!!!!!!!!.....Mel
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 15, 2017 9:44:46 GMT -5
So what is the other slab that you can't cut? It's a large slab of Pope Valley/Creek poppy jasper. There are a number of reasons why I can't cut it - not the least of which is it's polished and it belongs to Eva She spotted it on a table at a show - I had walked right past it. After that day I changed my method a bit and started taking a closer look at polished slabs. Other reasons are it's uber-rare from the Napa, Lake Berryessa region which is very special to us both - I grew up playing in the lake and we have a house in Napa. It also suffers from "totality of pattern" ... it's beautiful as a complete slab but when cut into small segments it would lose too much and just look blah.  |
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Every cabochon I've put up on Etsy has sold pretty fast.
