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Post by cabby on Jul 20, 2024 14:56:07 GMT -5
I’ve found a bunch of agates that have a full face but missing a side. Would rounding off the 90 degree corner still count as full face pattern? Guessing it’s still “collectible” if it’s a rare enough material, but how does that affect values compared to a flat full face? A lot of the agates have pockets that wouldn’t look right if I try to recut the face at a diagonal to make it flat. Any tips on how to turn a rock like this one into a good display specimen (for selling)?    |
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Post by amygdule on Jul 20, 2024 15:08:22 GMT -5
Nice agate. Is that a Dryhead ?
You could stand it upright with the small flat as the base.
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Post by cabby on Jul 20, 2024 15:32:38 GMT -5
Nice agate. Is that a Dryhead ? You could stand it upright with the small flat as the base. Yes, it’s a dryhead! Thought I finally got them all gathered together but then found this one today. Half a dozen or so of them are in this type of condition… really good shape and can see the full pattern when it’s angled, but not flat. Would like to get them into the “best” condition I can to sell as collection pieces. |
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Post by parfive on Jul 20, 2024 20:26:10 GMT -5
Sits fine as is. Polish if it isn’t. That’s it.
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Post by pebblesky on Jul 21, 2024 1:11:28 GMT -5
Looks very nice as is.
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Post by cabby on Jul 21, 2024 7:21:54 GMT -5
Thanks, guys! I read that the most important thing for most agate collectors is that specimen have the full pattern displayed, but I guess ones like this aren’t worth trying to recover? There’s so many that are beyond saving (as specimen, still fine for cabbing material) that I was hoping to salvage the least damaged ones.
….i think all of the best specimen quality dryheads are in the countertop 😆
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titaniumkid
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 499
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Post by titaniumkid on Jul 21, 2024 18:05:51 GMT -5
It's such a beautiful piece I reckon someone would still buy it as a specimen. Maybe not a hard core agate collector (not sure what their standards are), but a more general, amateur rock appreciator. If I saw it for sale, I would consider it.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 21, 2024 18:18:38 GMT -5
It took me a minute to understand what you meant by "recovering" this piece. Personally, I wouldn't try to cut it any differently to get the full fortification pattern on the same "side". If anything, you could take a small 45 degree angle off the 90 degree corner to "round it off" (thus creating a "third" cut side about 1/4" or less)...but I don't think it's necessary. If it were mine, I'd face polish the two cut sides on the wheels and put it on the shelf (or slap a price tag on it...) and call it a day...
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Post by cabby on Jul 21, 2024 18:29:44 GMT -5
Ok, obviously I was a bit too focused on what the “best” specimens are (according to the book about dryhead agates that I bought). Seems the general consensus is to leave it as is, just polished up. I think that will be my goal for the majority of dryhead, Botswana, and Janos agates that are already cut/broken but don’t have the full pattern displayed.
Thank you, everyone! Trying to figure out the best way to “fix up” some of these things for selling has been overwhelming when I started off knowing nothing! 😆
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 21, 2024 18:52:54 GMT -5
Ok, obviously I was a bit too focused on what the “best” specimens are (according to the book about dryhead agates that I bought). Seems the general consensus is to leave it as is, just polished up. I think that will be my goal for the majority of dryhead, Botswana, and Janos agates that are already cut/broken but don’t have the full pattern displayed. Thank you, everyone! Trying to figure out the best way to “fix up” some of these things for selling has been overwhelming when I started off knowing nothing! 😆 ...more often than not, things don't have to be "perfect" to be awesome.  |
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lapidary1234
spending too much on rocks
"If you like rocks you can't be all bad!!" ~ old timer quote
Member since October 2021
Posts: 293
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Post by lapidary1234 on Oct 27, 2024 20:57:04 GMT -5
cabby I've been reading some older threads and this one sparked a comment. I have more stones like this than I'd like to admit. Most are probably because I wanted to see what type of pattern emerged from different cuts. As far as a "perfect" specimen goes, I think that it depends on who/where its going as well as how/why its being displayed. If we take a step back and think of other situations we'll get different answers. For example, say you're starting a uv display, you might have a rock that sits nice and is aesthetic but doesn't fluorescent much at that orientation. In this situation the perfect specimen won't sit aestetically best. This goes further toward what kind of specimen is it intended for? I can see a large museum wanting the best of the best however if I simply desire a dryhead specimen this one would do just fine. Another thing to pay attention to is roi (return of investment). If you spend two hours "fixing" it will you be able to recoup the cost? All of these things play into what the "perfect" specimen is. For me personally a perfect specimen is one that I like how it looks and doesn't break my wallet. If I were starting a public museum I'd probably be more picky. Maybe its more of a know your customer sort of thing. If you have a buyer lined up who wants a flawless specimen maybe its worth putting some time into, or maybe its a different stone entirely!
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