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Scarodactyl posted:Have you tried cerium oxide? Feldspars polish like magic with cerium. Yeah it was cerium oxide on cloth or leather, I dont remember now. Never managed to get it super shiny but otoh the instructions were one grad student showing us where everything is, how to properly turn the tools on/off, how to dop, and like a 20 minute demonstration of cabbing technique and then we were all released towards the tools unsupervised  This is bad because I know there was malachite available for us lmao
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Dec 26, 2023 20:49
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Thanks for all the answers! Sounds like I can safely abandon this potential project!
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Dec 26, 2023 21:51
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Yeah, chances are good of damaging the equipment and causing a safety hazard from sharp chips flying around etc.
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Dec 26, 2023 21:54
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a few months back, the father of a good friend of mine passed away. during the cleaning out of the house, a package of opals with accompanying appraisal reports was discovered. apparently, the father liked opals and though they were going to be the next big thing as investment vehicles and so bought a bunch. as an example: one of the reports, which dates from 2012, is for a 5.78 carats stone given an "approximate retail replacement value" of around $7,000.00. I've seen the stone and it matches the report. If my friend were to try and sell these stones, approximately what sort of discount would be expected when compared to a retail price? should the stones be reevaluated and reappraised now that 12 years has passed? or was the old man ripped off?
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Jan 8, 2024 21:40
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Like any retail good you shouldn't expect to be able to sell for retail price unless that's your full time job. Opals are so variable depending on play of color and locale it is impossible to say if the appraisal is accurate from this amount of info.
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Jan 8, 2024 21:52
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Tunicate posted:Like any retail good you shouldn't expect to be able to sell for retail price unless that's your full time job. The opal attributes for the example are as follows: quote:Shape: Fancy cabochon Does this tell you any more? Would it make sense to have them reappraised at a wholesale price? My initial opinion to the friend, with this based on nothing, was that he probably shouldn't expect any more than 50% at most of the appraised value and probably only 25% if he were to try and sell the stones bedpan fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Jan 8, 2024 |
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Jan 8, 2024 22:03
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One problem with this is that it is a popular scam in the 80s or so (it's always oresent but comes in and out of prominence) to sell low quality stones with inflated fake appraisals specifically as investments, often in sealed containers. It would be hard to tell even from a genuine appraisal, but we don't even know if that's what we're dealing with. I suspect even 25% would be optimistic but if they are actually of good quality the market is good.
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Jan 9, 2024 05:01
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I want to make a ring but I'm having trouble finding a ring blank that looks interesting. I've found the stones I want to use, but haven't had any luck on the actual ring front. Is there an online catalog or something where I can look for just like, men's ring blanks for faceted stones? Google is giving me every kind of ring blank imaginable, from women's to cab cuts to art deco. Extra bonus points if it has em sub categorized as diff styles like "rock like" or "brutalist" instead of "silver" and "gold that is stupidly expensive". Any help is appreciated. Not having much luck with my google fu.
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Jan 12, 2024 20:44
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I'm sure the major jewelry supply company Rio Grande probably has ring blanks. Whether they are the blanks you're looking for I don't know, but it'd be worth it to look at their website.
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Jan 12, 2024 20:58
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Seconding riogrande.com. Keep in mind that their settings will require some finishing in order to properly set a stone (whether bezel or prong or whatever. )
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Jan 12, 2024 21:22
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I'm not married to any particular design but I do require the setting to handle faceted gems. I'll dig and see what I can find. Thanks!
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Jan 12, 2024 22:05
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Make your own?
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Jan 12, 2024 22:45
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Warning, making your own jewelry is kind of a pain in the rear end! On that note, I was lucky enough to pick up Scarodactyl’s LuAG Frog Coin from Super Mario RPG a little while ago, and I finally got around to making a pendant for it! The stone is double-sided like a rose cut, so I made the pendant similarly reversible. I don’t know that I’d do a pendant in this style again, since it doesn’t strike me as particularly safe, but I love the look of it and I hope I did the game (and the cutter!) justice. 
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Jan 12, 2024 23:43
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Woah, I had no idea that was you! That pendant is amazing!
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Jan 12, 2024 23:49
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Yea I'm not making my own. I am in no way skilled in anything remotely close to it, and honestly there's a better than even chance I'm gonna gently caress something up. Love that pendant! One of the rings I want to make is a luag garnet.
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Jan 12, 2024 23:51
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Scarodactyl posted:Woah, I had no idea that was you! That pendant is amazing! I’m glad you think so! It was gonna break my heart if that LuAG went to someone who didn’t spend their Thanksgiving break farming frog coins, so I’m glad I was able to snap it up before someone else did. It’s been so cool to see you and other cutters making video game inspired pieces, since it puts me one step closer to having all of the amazing fantasy jewelry I imagined as a kid. Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Yea I'm not making my own. I am in no way skilled in anything remotely close to it, and honestly there's a better than even chance I'm gonna gently caress something up. I gently caress up stuff all the time, haha, especially LuAG for some reason? I was convinced I’d find a way to somehow shatter this coin since I’ve already blown up one and chipped another, even though I never do that to other stones. It’s not like it’s particularly fragile, either; I’ve just had a run of bad luck. Such is life, I guess…
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Jan 13, 2024 01:02
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I've been saying in this thread that the real loving up is when you have to set it. Anything else just melt it back into a lump and start again
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Jan 13, 2024 02:51
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Soul Dentist posted:I've been saying in this thread that the real loving up is when you have to set it. Anything else just melt it back into a lump and start again https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2BFGWKOvGv/
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Jan 13, 2024 06:27
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For those who design rings in 3d to have them printed by shapeways or something, what's the normal price range you charge? Been playing with an image generator and I'm kinda curious what the budget should be.
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Jan 13, 2024 10:30
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Soul Dentist posted:I've been saying in this thread that the real loving up is when you have to set it. Anything else just melt it back into a lump and start again Haha bingo. Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:For those who design rings in 3d to have them printed by shapeways or something, what's the normal price range you charge? Been playing with an image generator and I'm kinda curious what the budget should be. Price is going to vary a lot based on design complexity, whether you’re getting trade pricing, and location of the designer.
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Jan 13, 2024 19:29
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Is it ok to pop up some pics of the design style I'm looking for? I don't want to spam the thread. I don't have anything particular in mind yet, just "chunky" and "rock like" design themes. If someone could lob up some price ideas, like "oh I'd charge $x for something like this", that's awesome, even if you aren't looking to make the model. I'm just trying to see what sort of budget I need to have before starting up the project.
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Jan 14, 2024 01:02
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Is it ok to pop up some pics of the design style I'm looking for? I don't want to spam the thread. 
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Jan 14, 2024 02:18
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Yeah there’s like eight people here and the thing about us is that we all like jewelry, so post jewelry!
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Jan 14, 2024 02:23
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Cool. Played with an AI generator and got these made. They don't look like they'd be hard to make but since I'm new to this,  .     All kinda rock like and chunky. I'm hoping to get a laug garnet so it has a nice bright green color. Personally I think it'd be easy to make but again, not a jeweler so I'm just basing it off it being a kinda simple design. I've got options for emerald cut, round cut, and oval cut. Not particularly married to any design. Opinions, ideas, etc?
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Jan 14, 2024 05:16
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Those are essentially large chunks of cast metal, so if your casting is good it'll be easy. The settings will either be bezeled, with the circular lip curled over the stone all the way around and only decorative prongs, or they will be prong set and you will be able to see a little gapping around the edges of some of those designs just based on where the stone sits.
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Jan 14, 2024 05:55
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I'm thinking shapeways print. Although, considering the stones I want to use, a slightly different shape that lets some light in might work a bit better. Thankfully this is still very much in the "boy that'd be neat!" stage.
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Jan 15, 2024 06:10
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I'm thinking shapeways print. The big thing to keep in mind with pieces like this in tyool 2024 is gold is currently at an all time high. Not sure what metal you're thinking of getting a ring like this in but if it is gold it is going to start adding up really fast. There's some ways around it, hollowing sections out, using frames under the stone, but it ends up being a volume thing. That being said I love the texture of some of these! As Soul Dentist mentioned the setting with any of them shouldn't be too bad.
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Jan 16, 2024 00:25
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Oh it'll be silver. I'd love it to be gold but just the idea of buying some nonfunctioning thing meant solely for decoration for thousands of dollars is just laughable. I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on a nonfunctioning thing that will be solely meant for decoration. That's way smarter.
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Jan 16, 2024 01:08
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Oh it'll be silver. Yeah totally fair, plus with silver you can darken it and then brush the high spots and that rocky texture would look reaaaaally nice.
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Jan 16, 2024 01:29
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Don’t know where else to go, so point me if I’m I the wrong thread. Looking for a good source of antique engagement rings. I’ve found some sellers on Etsy and a local place. We are budget conscious and also ethical and I love art deco pieces. Anyone have sellers you like? Probably be around $1k range.
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Jan 29, 2024 07:28
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The local place! If you don't already have a relationship with a jeweler, now is a great time to start one. Especially since if things go according to plan you'll need at least two more pieces in the near future. A good retail jeweler will be able to listen to what you want and come up with something that fits what you need. For art deco specifically I think you'll be surprised how many vintage pieces fit the style without specifically having like terraced buttressing or whatever specific element. Cushion cut stones already look art deco imo, and pretty much every precious metal was used for pieces. Buy a ring with a wedding band in mind, as your partner will almost certainly want to wear both at some point.
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Jan 29, 2024 11:14
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Actually only need to buy one ring! As the lady in the relationship I really only want the nice engagement ring, partner doesn’t wear jewelry so he has no interest in a band. 
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Jan 29, 2024 11:30
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Allow me to recommend my personal solution:
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Jan 29, 2024 11:52
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I think watch out for etsy, it's basically been overrun by dropshippers and they've gotten smart enough to try to hide it with original photos and descriptions and such. I feel kinda lame warning people about this but otoh I've seen people posting shops selling the same poo poo with a price difference of hundreds which really sucks in my opinion. Also there's the whole thing about cheap plated metals wearing through fast or causing skin reactions. I would definitely go with a local guy if possible, but there's also an engagement and wedding thread which might have some recommendations too https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2764878&pagenumber=299&perpage=40
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Jan 29, 2024 12:46
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Thanks all! Turns out my mistake and my mom still has my great grandmother’s engagement ring. It’s a platinum band with a big diamond and four flanking ones. Pretty and classic and she meant a lot to me as a tiny cheese. So now just need to get it appraised and mailed safely.
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Feb 3, 2024 08:19
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Oops, I forgot to mention but I am at the Tucson gem show selling our wide range of exotic lab created gems at 22nd street, main tent booth c22.
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Feb 3, 2024 09:45
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No tuscon for me this year 
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Feb 3, 2024 11:22
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cheese eats mouse posted:Thanks all! Turns out my mistake and my mom still has my great grandmother’s engagement ring. It’s a platinum band with a big diamond and four flanking ones. Pretty and classic and she meant a lot to me as a tiny cheese. So now just need to get it appraised and mailed safely. What's a big diamond
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Feb 3, 2024 11:28
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Soul Dentist posted:What's a big diamond More of an idiots description of bigger than the other 4.
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Feb 3, 2024 19:11
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Well post pics either way
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Feb 3, 2024 19:17
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