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Post by Peruano on Feb 16, 2015 11:49:55 GMT -5
One of the guys in our lapidary lab is coming along fast, but still has a ways to go. He came up to me last week and said look at this amythyst cab. It took 11 minutes from the coarse wheel to the 3000. I told him that he needed to speed it up to 3 minutes, and agree to work in soap stone or onyx, and we could get him job at $1.00 per hour overseas. You have to have something really special, have special marketing techniques or outlets, have a name for yourself, or work for cheap to "make a living in lapidary" from my viewpoint. The most I've ever gotten for my work was when I gave it away and asked the recipient to make a charitable donation to a "cause" instead of paying me. Then you find that people value your work independent of whether they think you "need", "deserve", or "want" the money. Tom
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 16, 2015 11:57:08 GMT -5
Yeah, I definitely fall into the #1... I don't think I will be selling any normal sized cabs for that price any time soon. I drill holes and make all of my cabs into necklaces which is what people buy. The person that wants my blue opal piece said they would pay me $35 instead of my normal $25 so I guess i'll make a little profit on this one. In my area there are not too many lapidary folks, so I kind of have an advantage in that seance if people want to buy local. That is not to say that I don't have requests by people out of state.
My co-worker would be my only competition if I get into flee markets, but I tend to make larger pieces than he does and he uses gold and silver so his pieces cost a lot more than mine. I'm not sure if I want to go the gold and silver chain route or not.. I figure that people can get them if they want.
The only real problem Is i'm like you Captbob, I don't find the time to do it much with my equipment being 20 min away.. Tuesdays and thursdays are my only days I work at it usually between college breaks.
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Post by radio on Feb 16, 2015 13:27:30 GMT -5
That's the reason I migrated to Turquoise, precious opal and the more rare stuff many years ago. Folks see the value in the semi precious and precious stones and don't mind paying a fair price for a piece of jewelry with good stones in it.
By cutting and polishing all my own stones, then doing the silver work myself, I can turn a decent profit. Of course I have a pretty good stash of older material to draw from, otherwise it wouldn't be as profitable.
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Post by gingerkid on Feb 16, 2015 18:33:28 GMT -5
Hi, glennz01!  You were quite lucky if you found the blue opal rough in a box of materials. I'm guessing you have it marked to remove the flat spot in the opal cab? Sure hope you'll finish cabbing it. It has nice color. It could be Peruvian blue opal, Virgin Valley blue opal, or maybe some blue opal from Oregon usually found in thundereggs - all of these are 'common' opal, but not so common.  But, are you sure it's an opal? Probably want a proper id for the opal so you can look on the web to have a general idea of prices for the type of opal. Please check out opalauctions.com to give you some ideas on prices or you could ask on the Opal Auctions forum. |
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 17, 2015 2:20:49 GMT -5
It didn't come from the box (the box was an example to get the topic back on track) but I did buy t with other things... It was labels as opal before I got it so i'm guessing it is opal. I will be fixing it and I'll be working on it tuesday or thursday (one of those days) The person wants it just for the color and said they will pay me $35 even though I told them I would just charge $25. I guess they value my time I just toyed around rough shaping it for a few minutes one day, s the shape you see is not the final shape. |
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 23, 2015 18:59:59 GMT -5
Still a WIP but heres how it looks thus far. I think I like this stuff more with a 280 grit polish because you can see the crystal structure  |
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
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Post by spiritstone on Feb 23, 2015 19:30:41 GMT -5
You positive that is opal glennz. With crystal structure starting to show and the color looks better in this pic, maybe would it be hemmorphite? Not sure how to spell it and spell check doesnt show the correct spelling. |
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Post by mohs on Feb 23, 2015 19:41:57 GMT -5
reading this thread I have no hope of ever getting out of rock bottom  and I have my heart in it... m  stly |
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Feb 23, 2015 20:48:30 GMT -5
You positive that is opal glennz. With crystal structure starting to show and the color looks better in this pic, maybe would it be hemmorphite? Not sure how to spell it and spell check doesnt show the correct spelling. If he's seeing crystal structure it isn't opal. Opal's amorphous -- no crystals. Because of that it's classified as a mineraloid, not a mineral like crystalline forms of silica. He's either seeing coarse grinding marks or it's another mineral like hemimorphite (hah, checked the spelling!) My money's on a rough surface from grinding. |
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Don
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He wants you too, Malachi.
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Post by Don on Feb 24, 2015 0:55:30 GMT -5
Man, harsh thread.'common' blue opal rough can sell by the gram if it is from a named locale. Owyhee blue opal, Peruvian blue opal, heck, even blue lightning ridge potch can be worth a few bucks To the right person. Is it pretty? Is it cut well? Is it set in an attractive setting? If the answers are yes, then price and value becomes whatever the market will bear. Know your margins and set your price. make a profit...it's OK to make money from your labors.
So, back to the op, what's it worth? First we need to identify that it is infact opal...here's something to consider: it shares a strong resemblance to larimar, which does sometimes have crystal structure. $2+ a gram is not uncommon for that material.
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 24, 2015 5:12:23 GMT -5
its possible its a larimar, I was told it was opal but I found out that some stuff was wrongly labeled. The structure (fibrous) looks a lot closer to it (the structure looks like short interlocking fibers. I might take the back side down to 280 grit again to expose the structure... maybe put a high polish on the structure to show the the good in both sides. I might get some time to work on it tomarrow. heres a few more pics.. you can still see the crystal structure a little bit... maybe the front will get better the more I polish it. I will be making a profit on this based on what I paid for this material along with a few other things but depending on what the stone cost it, I may / may not be able to get the price if this is per gram as you say, but at least it will be a profit for what I paid.    |
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Post by radio on Feb 24, 2015 7:32:22 GMT -5
I have serious doubts about it being Larimar. When coarse grinding on a diamond wheel, it will almost always chip, flake and shatter much like Charoite. It will be interesting to see the finished cab and what it turns out to be identifies as
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2015 8:44:03 GMT -5
Your work is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.if your trying to get $30-$40 per cab your going to have to step up your material game.i just can't see your self collected stuff fetching that price point.not trying to be an A-hole just saying.there are literally millions of people out there trying to do the same thing as you.and then factor in China!!if your not one of the few that is doing things that are off the charts,you simply fall into the sea of millions.
The most important thing is to have fun, this is after all a hobby(for most).but I will also add that you are progressing well,just don't get ahead of yourself and purge the fun from your hobby.
Dave
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 24, 2015 9:17:25 GMT -5
I find myself agreeing with a lot of the other folks here. Blue opal or agate is not all that rare unless the blue saturation is very intense. Some of the African agates show this intense blue and are priced upwards of $10 per pound or sometimes even sold by the gram. The lighter blues or gray-blues without banding, being much more common, seldom bring over $5 per pound and mostly around $3-4. The blue of your example, on my monitor seems fairly subdued.
Regarding cab pricing. I quit selling cabs simply because it's mostly a losing proposition unless you are really really good at cabbing. If you go to Silverhawk's site, you'll see great cabbing combined with very pricy, well patterned rough which equals high selling prices and good sales. He appears to me, to only mess with AAA+ quality rough which is very important to pricing. I myself, find that when I figure the cost of choosing the best section to cab from a slab, sawing costs of expensive rough, and the time I spend cabbing, it simply does not compute. I think I was actually receiving a negative value for my time *L*. If I was making anything, it was realistically probably like $1 per hour so now I cab only for my own collection or to give away to friends.
I personally think the main way to make money at this hobby is in the conversion of good rough to slabs for sale but even there, if you break a blade or do not get good blade life and count the time you spend working on the dang saws or baby sitting the dang thing while you cut, I'm not sure, if you are totally honest with yourself, that you make much profit......Mel
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Feb 24, 2015 13:03:41 GMT -5
Your work is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.if your trying to get $30-$40 per cab your going to have to step up your material game.i just can't see your self collected stuff fetching that price point.not trying to be an A-hole just saying.there are literally millions of people out there trying to do the same thing as you.and then factor in China!!if your not one of the few that is doing things that are off the charts,you simply fall into the sea of millions. The most important thing is to have fun, this is after all a hobby(for most).but I will also add that you are progressing well,just don't get ahead of yourself and purge the fun from your hobby. Dave Once your famous or well known your work goes up in price. Or you own a jewelry shop/school and have a lot of 'faithful' buyers. Social media is the newest outlet. Competitive route. Most of the people that make money in this biz are well known, have great prices and quality. And work hard. Basically you are an artist and it helps to be viewed that way. Dave steeped out from no where and I have not seen anything he has made that is short of spectacular. Raw talent I guess. |
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 24, 2015 13:25:58 GMT -5
Yeah i'm not in this for the money, although if someone is insistent on paying me $35 instead of $25, I hold no objections  . They mostly want it because of the specific color (tone of blue and everything) Also the 280 nova wheel starts to put a polish on the rocks talking the scratches out.. my 2nd course wheel is 220. I'm not sure why there is such a large gap because my 220 wheel looks more like a 150 looking at the scratches it makes. I'll probably finish the stone up to 3000+ polish and see what it does. |
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 24, 2015 16:08:16 GMT -5
3000g is almost a pre-polish. I don't really think of "polish" until 14k.
I'm glad someone likes the stone. IMO, that color, pattern, shape, dome gradient ... etc is slightly over-priced at $25. Its not opal, and your description of "fibrous" does not sound attractive. It is kind of cut for wrapping. With the point it will look a bit funny drilled as a pendant, and without a girdle it would be hard to set as a cab.
I see people selling stones like that on fb lapidary groups for $14 to $22 - but with more than 3000g sanding.
The important thing is if you have fun making it and if someone likes it.
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 24, 2015 23:13:25 GMT -5
3000g is almost a pre-polish. I don't really think of "polish" until 14k. I'm glad someone likes the stone. IMO, that color, pattern, shape, dome gradient ... etc is slightly over-priced at $25. Its not opal, and your description of "fibrous" does not sound attractive. It is kind of cut for wrapping. With the point it will look a bit funny drilled as a pendant, and without a girdle it would be hard to set as a cab. I see people selling stones like that on fb lapidary groups for $14 to $22 - but with more than 3000g sanding. The important thing is if you have fun making it and if someone likes it. Yeah, I don't know what my final polish is... 3000 grit is my last wheel before I put it on my buffing wheel using tumbling final polish... Its probably close to 10-14k polish.... Although I don't like to see my face in what I make... that is over polished fr most of my stones. as for stones that are just $14 or so I just can't do it.. my material costs are a lot higher than everyone elses (due to location). I would get paid maybe $3 for my time... If people want to buy something from me they are paying for my time... otherwise i'll be wearing the stones I make (or giving them out to friends when I get to that point) |
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 26, 2015 17:44:58 GMT -5
Is it possible this could be a single color Onyx?
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Post by radio on Feb 26, 2015 19:04:37 GMT -5
The only way I have found to make a decent living in this field is cut and polish your own cabs from slabs or rough, then set them in Sterling or Gold. When you add a precious metal to the equation, the asking price goes up considerably, as does the profit margin. If one is a decent hand at smithing and lapidary, customers will appreciate the quality of your work and also see the value of the piece making them want to own it. Of course the hobby/business is overflowing with those who do barely acceptable work and still insist on calling themselves an "Artist" and their shop a "Studio", so now they try to demand the prices well established tradespeople ask and usually get for their work. This field, as with almost all others, one must "Pay their dues" by putting in time and effort as well as constantly striving to make each piece better than the last. The Native American jewelry field is a good example. There are many, for lack of a better word, sweat shops in the South West that employ Native Americans to crank out as many "Authentic" pieces as possible to satisfy the tourist demand. I can't count how many pieces of this I see in my shop that are shoddily constructed and needs repair due to bad solder joins, stones falling out or the Silver breaking because the gauge was too light for the intended use, especially cuff bracelets! These people are great jewelry makers, but the profit driven employer doesn't allow them to take the time on each piece they would if they were self employed, so the quality suffers. I have been making and selling silver jewelry for over 20 years and still am too humble to call myself an "Artist". I work at a bench in my shop, not a "Studio", so every time a customer tells me I am a true Artist, I tell them the cost of the piece just doubled I suppose the moral of the story would be, keep your feet on the ground and your head out of the clouds, do quality work at a reasonable price and sooner or later, the customers will find their way to you Sorry for the rant  |
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But, are you sure it's an opal? 
stly 
. They mostly want it because of the specific color (tone of blue and everything)
