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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 13, 2012 18:03:08 GMT -5
Can't speak to lakers, but in most cases it does take away from the value of Fairburns. My last pic shows a polished face, but it had already been partially polished when I got it, so I finished it. That would have been about a $15.00 stone. Now probably worth $5.00.
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Post by helens on Jul 13, 2012 18:04:25 GMT -5
REALLY?! Polishing only one bit of a fairburn drops the value that much?! The rest of it is rough!!
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 13, 2012 18:44:46 GMT -5
That was the only pattern showing on that one.
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Post by helens on Jul 13, 2012 22:39:15 GMT -5
No... I mean you see elementary's pictures of agates? He polished one patterned face on each rock... now why would doing that reduce value if it were a fairburn?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2012 23:22:33 GMT -5
The colored ones are really beautiful but the black and white are way over the top. I studied black and white photography and I still prefer black and white so to me the black and white Fairburns are like precious gems. My problem is that I would really really want to cut and polish. What is a Fairburn pendant worth? lol
Jim
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Post by helens on Jul 13, 2012 23:28:36 GMT -5
Jim, you'd slice it up and drop the value to 1/10 if polishing a face drops it 1/4!!! And... you couldn't help yourself either:). LOL!
I'm still wrapping brain around WHY a rough lumpy rock has to stay rough and lumpy to be more valuable... it doesn't make any sense to me...
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 13, 2012 23:52:24 GMT -5
Jim, I have a friend who makes jewelry out of Fairburns. He seldom cuts a real collector grade stone. There are plenty of chips and small broken stones to be used for jewelry. I'll see if I can find the link to his website, so you can see what he does. Helen, while it's true that grinding and polishing can increase the beauty of a Fairburn, It also reduces the size and weight of the stone. The purest collector wouldn't think of polishing a Fairburn that they have collected or bought. Many of the better Fairburns are museum grade stones, and museums want them in their natural state. When it comes to agates, Fairburns are the rarest of the rare. A person wouldn't cut a rare and valuable painting. The same holds true for the rare agates. Certainly Lowell has polished a few hard to find agates, but most are of the more common varieties. Just minutes ago I closed the deal on another Fairburn. This one has beautiful coloring, and a full face pattern on 2 sides. I'll post pics when it arrives. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday. I suppose some reading this wonder why I always capitalize the name Fairburn. It's because the agate gets its name from the place it was first discovered. Near the little town of Fairburn, S.D. Oh, by the way, here's the link to my friends website. www.dbsagates.com/I'm trying right now to try to find a type of Fairburn known as a ghost agate. They're extremely rare, and usually go for a high price. They are made up completely of white and clear alternating bands. Doesn't sound very interesting, but are really striking stones to see in person. |
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 18, 2012 13:52:02 GMT -5
New arrival today, 7/18/2012. Gem grade Fairburn, about silver dollar size. Valued at $200.00 +. Full face pattern on 2 sides. This one was hard to photograph, due to the high natural polish. Front face.  Back face.  |
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Post by helens on Jul 18, 2012 14:54:44 GMT -5
Wow... that's a beauty!!! I just got the lakers I bought that I showed you... um... I think I'm going to polish them, because they just don't look that great without polish...
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 18, 2012 16:09:44 GMT -5
Helen, with just my Optivisors I counted 26 bands in that beauty. I may have to set up the microscope and see how many I missed. I have one Fairburn that I've counted 36 bands in, using a loupe. But it's not nearly as colorful as this one.
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Post by helens on Jul 20, 2012 7:53:24 GMT -5
26 bands! I think you should slice it up and send me a piece!
(I'm JUST KIDDING!!! LOL!)
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 20, 2012 9:10:28 GMT -5
Slice a specimen I just paid $200.00 for ? You'd better be kidding. LOL. This stone is an investment which will keep going up in value.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2012 9:28:17 GMT -5
I just checked your friends jewelry and I have to say that for what he makes he seems way cheap. Those are some beautiful rings and I think only one was over $100 and most were 75 to 85. At that price I am tempted to buy one myself.
Jim
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 21, 2012 19:13:48 GMT -5
Another small but very nice Fairburn. 7/21/2012.  |
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 21, 2012 19:15:16 GMT -5
I just checked your friends jewelry and I have to say that for what he makes he seems way cheap. Those are some beautiful rings and I think only one was over $100 and most were 75 to 85. At that price I am tempted to buy one myself. Jim Jim, he'd certainly sell you one. He's a hell of a nice guy, and easy to deal with. |
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Post by NatureNut on Jul 21, 2012 19:41:44 GMT -5
That one is scrumptious Don.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 21, 2012 20:57:11 GMT -5
And another beautifully colored Fairburn for today.  |
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 21, 2012 21:40:39 GMT -5
In Fairburn talk, this is a " Signer ". Meaning it shows all signs of being a Fairburn, but is so badly tarnished that the colors and banding can't be seen. This one only shows the fortifications around the outside. Hopefully, a day or 2 in acid will bring out the colors and patterns.  |
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 23, 2012 9:40:37 GMT -5
Here's a possible Ghost Fairburn. It needs an acid soak to see if the staining can be removed. This one has been tumbled. (Not by me). About silver dollar size.  |
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 30, 2012 18:58:22 GMT -5
Yeeee Haaaa !! Just bought 8 more Fairburns for $35.00. They're all small. About quarter size, but very nice full face agates. I'll post pics as soon as they arrive.
I should add, these are coming from a Native American friend, and were collected on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Closed to us pale faces.
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