gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,808
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 16, 2013 20:06:03 GMT -5
I've finished a few new fire agate cabs. Not all are photographed yet but here's three. This is a Mexican stone. I've had the rough a long time and can't recall the mine. It yielded a very interesting stone with fiery sagenite "swords" and bright colored orbs that resemble fireworks. This stone is from Deer Creek, AZ It has 100% face color. The seller I bought this rough from wouldn't tell me where it's from but I'm assuming Mexico. The finished cab shows some of the strongest red color I've found in fire agate.
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Post by roy on Jul 16, 2013 20:08:36 GMT -5
wow nice work !
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Post by christopherl1234 on Jul 16, 2013 20:33:19 GMT -5
Very well done!! I love the sagenite sprays! The second one has some really nice color and the red in the last one is tops!
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Jul 16, 2013 21:14:37 GMT -5
The "fireworks" are wonderful! My gosh the red is vibrant too.
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Post by kk on Jul 17, 2013 5:27:17 GMT -5
Fantastic layout for that first one. Overall look of all is great. Lets see more.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 17, 2013 7:16:18 GMT -5
Ooooooh, look at the purdies! (sorry, I revert to baby babble at the sight of gorgeous rocks)
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,808
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 17, 2013 9:26:43 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your nice comments.
Christopher, I check every piece of rough carefully for sagenite blades because they're a favorite of mine too. They're amazing but I find they're often situated in places that can't be cut into a cab.
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,808
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 17, 2013 10:10:55 GMT -5
Okay kk, here's three more: This is a Deer Creek, AZ stone: This is one of the incredible Deer Creek green/purple gems (some people call them Turtlebacks): This is a Mexican fire agate I cut a few years ago. The image is in my archive and now I remember where my avatar image came from!
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 17, 2013 10:58:36 GMT -5
OMG God,look at that beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats it,I gotta get me some fire agate!!!! Who sells it?
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Post by kk on Jul 17, 2013 18:04:15 GMT -5
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,808
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 17, 2013 18:40:15 GMT -5
That red is simply delicious. Feel sad though that you took the best color only, and did not make it a bigger cab overall, allowing the stone to give its all. I'm a little puzzled by your comment. Strongly red fire agates are highly prized and I saw no point in sanding through the red layer to reach what might be an inferior color layer, as so often happens. There's plenty of orange and gold in the stone as well as red. As to the cab's size, I cut for edge-to-edge color when possible and the bright color patch on that rough was exactly the size of the resulting cab. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you have in mind?
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Post by kk on Jul 18, 2013 8:00:14 GMT -5
Sorry for somehow creating the misunderstanding. Not at all, absolutely keep the red, I prefer red above any other color (Including blue and purple) and fight one stone right now as much as I can to keep the red. What I meant was that I feel that the stone should have been allowed to maximum size, regardless to eventual shape and not shaped into a fairly conventional shape (hence, to get that shape you had to cut some colors short). Under no circumstance, did I intend to refer to the red color not being brought out for best effect.
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 18, 2013 11:37:10 GMT -5
KK, thanks for the clarification. I suspected there was some misunderstanding on my part. No, I wasn't cutting for a conventional shape -- sometimes things just work out that way. It's possible there were some inferior colors around the edges I trimmed away to let the brightest parts shine. I simply don't remember since that stone was cut some time back. I'll confess a bias against what I call "brown-edgers" when I can avoid them for ring and pendant stones. They have a pool of color in the middle surrounded by brown sard. Sometimes they can't be avoided but I'll often angle girdles inward toward the stone's center, leaving only bright color showing on top. That's so stones can be inset with the top edges flush with the metal of the setting, to be held in place by short prongs. I make my own wax models for casting and that method can make a very attractive setting. The middle stone in the first set of FA's pictured above is cut that way (and maybe the one in question is too -- I've temporarily misplaced it.) Here's how the back of the middle one looks:
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Post by kk on Jul 18, 2013 17:49:37 GMT -5
Yes I know. It's the two things that I really still have to learn. Often it would look better to just cut colors short instead of allowing colors to run to max extend and ending up with ones eye focusing more on the weak parts instead of the primary sections. The one I'm on right now, will have that problem overall, yet I can't get myself to cut it away. Increasing the likelihood that it will be looked at as a minor quality; will be the fact that the best color runs at an angle of 90 degrees. The other thing that I still have not gotten a grip on is the griddle. Virtually all my stones have a dome/are rounded all the way to the bottom, making any form of setting hard.
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Post by Toad on Jul 18, 2013 17:51:43 GMT -5
You do fantastic work.
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 18, 2013 22:03:25 GMT -5
Thanks very much, Toad! KK, I think the difficulty of setting is probably why FA doesn't have greater popularity. Virtually every stone requires a custom-made mounting and that can be an expensive undertaking as you no doubt know from the fine jewelry pieces you've had made. I didn't cut this stone and I don't know who did. I bought it from a show dealer who occasionally has a limited number of really nice cut FA's. I bought it because it's one of the most extreme examples I've ever seen of "cutting to the color." It took an amazing amount of time and energy to carve a piece like this. I pull it out now and then and brainstorm about how to set it (it's designed to be inset into the metal as above.) So far I haven't come up with a definite plan. It's a fairly large stone, 20+ ct. and about 20 x 30 mm. in largest dimensions. Whoever cut it commands my deepest admiration!
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adrian65
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Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
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Post by adrian65 on Jul 19, 2013 15:17:12 GMT -5
Superb cabs!
Adrian
PS. The specimen on this 2nd page is unbelievably beautiful!
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garock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
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Post by garock on Jul 19, 2013 15:28:13 GMT -5
Grand Fire agates ! So Beautiful ! !
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