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Post by bobby1 on Feb 4, 2009 21:45:41 GMT -5
I'm working on another gold in Quartz? The local jeweler that I'm doing it for says it is Quartz, but I don't recall Quartz coming in black. It is going in this Platinum ring caked with diamonds. I have to proceed very slowly because the fit has to be perfect. Grrrrrr. Bob
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2009 21:47:18 GMT -5
Bob, That is stunning!!! And I would be scared to death of screwing it up! But you are the master. If you can do the turtle eyes, that should be a piece of cake. Shannon
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,472
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 4, 2009 22:32:07 GMT -5
Howdy Bobby, Is the jeweler sure that's gold in quartz and not "Apache gold" which looks just like your picture and is golden pyrite in a black metamorphic steatite? Sure looks identical to that material to me. The steatite should be softer than quartz. The stone would also be much less valuable than gold in quartz and hardly suitable for mounting in a high ticket setting because it's soft enough it would not hold a polish very well. ( at least if it gets much rubbing, scratches etc. Does OK if it's not abused) The name is another example of one those instances where common names screw up identifications and confuse jewelers that are not geologists. After all Apache gold means gold right*S*? If the matrix is quartz it could, I suppose, be quartz black stained by manganese inclusions but the gold in quartz I'm used to from the California mother load region is in quartz that is pretty white. The black would then be quartz hard though....Mel PS: for pics of Apache Gold check out www.barlowsgems.net
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Post by Bejewelme on Feb 4, 2009 23:40:49 GMT -5
Bob: That is going to be another fine piece of work!!! Can't wait to see the end result, with those new digs, it will be no problem for ya!!!
Mel- Thanks for yet another website to sit and drool at!
Amber
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Post by bobby1 on Feb 4, 2009 23:57:01 GMT -5
Mel, There is no question about it being gold. The jeweler tested it and it is Gold. It is soft and malleable, not brittle like Pyrite. He said it is from Canada. I did a scratch test on the matrix and Agate barely scratches it. It could be Manganese stained massive crystalline Quartz. It has pits and small fractures and a few small white semitranslucent spots within the matrix. The slab that I'm cutting it from has been treated with Opticon. It grinds like massive quartz. I'm having a hard time getting a real good polish on it because of the differences in hardness between the Gold and the matrix. Bob
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Post by Bikerrandy on Feb 5, 2009 0:03:58 GMT -5
That's a beautiful piece Bobby
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49er
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since February 2008
Posts: 753
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Post by 49er on Feb 5, 2009 0:31:40 GMT -5
Looks like a real challenge, but from the work you have posted it should be a breeze. On the polishing issue, have you tried diamond paste? Can not wait to see the finished ring.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,472
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 5, 2009 18:04:04 GMT -5
Bobby: Yep, if it's that hard it's not the apache gold because even though the pyrite/chalcopyrite is not real brittle ( I've cut quite a lot in quartz and other base stones that is quite workable and not too brittle, ie. Nipomo marcasite in agate) the matrix in apache gold is definitely softer than quartz.....Mel
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Post by Tony W on Feb 6, 2009 1:53:15 GMT -5
That will look great, Bobby! What are you dopping with? Tony
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Post by bobby1 on Feb 6, 2009 6:22:22 GMT -5
Tony, For really small cabs and Opals I use a real sticky dop wax called "Don's Dop". It melts at a lower temperature than my usual green dop so you don't have to heat the stone very much. Also, when you shape the wax to the stone you have to wet your fingers with soapy water or the dop wax sticks to your fingers. I've been using it for more then 20 years. Bob
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Feb 6, 2009 7:12:18 GMT -5
If anybody can do that cab, you can! Your work is amazing.
Chuck
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Post by llana2go on Feb 6, 2009 9:29:37 GMT -5
That stone is beautiful! Not real crazy about the ring though. Diamonds are NOT my best friend! llana
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Post by bobby1 on Feb 6, 2009 12:32:41 GMT -5
llana, I'm with you. It is all glitz and glitter but for me diamonds don't represent anything beautiful. The diamond industry has tons of these small diamonds so they cake 'em on and tell you this is the ultimate in glamour. They have got to get rid of them somehow. Through their promotions they have sold the consumer on believing that diamonds represent the ultimate in value. Just try to resell your diamond jewelry and you'll quickly see how much "value" they really have. Give me a colored stone or Agate anytime! Just my rant. Bob
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 13:36:13 GMT -5
I was just going to say the same thing....but you beat me to it. Give me a good agate any day over a diamond. I dont even like diamonds. My wedding ring is a tattoo on my finger and the band used for the ceremony is plain. We cab so many beautiful stones that are way more rare than diamonds anyway. Shannon
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,280
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Post by mossyrockhound on Feb 6, 2009 14:30:19 GMT -5
That stone and ring look like they will make an impressive combo. However, as far as diamonds go, I really like them - - - - in my saw blades, on my grinding wheels, on my sanding belts.........
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Post by frane on Feb 6, 2009 18:51:50 GMT -5
You always do a great job and that Jeweler knows it! I like my diamonds but truth to tell, I like a nice piece of quartz too. I love the stones with so much pattern and color though so I guess that is why I am into this board. Besides, diamond chips that size are better off helping us cut rocks. ;D Fran
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Post by Tony W on Feb 7, 2009 0:06:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, Bob. It sounds like that might hold well to a tiny nail head. My biggest problem with tiny stones is torquing the nail and stone back on each other and having to stone pop off because the head is too small. DeBeers has done a masterful job of making an apparently common pebble seem extremely rare. I'm just glad they didn't have a Crazy Lace mine, or an opal mine, especially an opal mine T
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Post by Bejewelme on Feb 8, 2009 10:01:06 GMT -5
Bob: My ex loved fine jewelry and liked buying me exotic colored stones. He said my diamond would be the only diamond he would buy me! So now I have a 3.5 carat radiant cut diamond that I am saving for my son, because when I try to hock it, they give you next to nothing so they can get an incredible mark up! I have beautiful tanzanites, Burmese rubies, garnets, Ceylon sapphires, emeralds that are so much more beautiful than diamond and worth so much more per carat, it is just so hard tying to resell used jewelry! So I am praying for a break-in, LOL, or keeping it for my nieces and son someday! Sadly my insured jewelry is worth 2 times my house! Anyone want my address? ? And funny I never wear it much anymore since getting into rocks! I do think diamonds still make a good accent though with the right stones! I think the colored sapphires are nice accents too and so much more inexpensive. If I ever got remarried I would want a colored stone or a crazy lace wedding ring I think, I love a good crazy lace!!! Plus I would have to be crazy to do it again!!! Amber
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Post by bobby1 on Feb 9, 2009 22:03:49 GMT -5
Here it is in the ring setting. It hasn't had the bezel pushed down on the cab yet. Bob
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Post by akansan on Feb 10, 2009 8:35:13 GMT -5
That stone looks awesome in the setting! I'm an April baby (diamond birthstone) and have always amazed my friends and family when I've confessed that I don't care for the stone. Give me a colored stone anyday! If I ever get a diamond, it'll definitely not be a clear white diamond but rather a colored diamond.
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