Labeling

Being new to all of these slabs we have the same issue. We just put all of ours into individual clear sandwich baggies with a loose label inside. The good thing is the more we go through them the better we are getting at recognizing them without the labels. Some are definitely tricky though when you have different but very similar materials.

Al

I use a pencil to label all my slabs. A little tough to see on dark material, but it works for me.

I use a pencil, too, though it can rub off over time (leaving me to have to decipher from whatever remains). I've tried the sharpie on bags and tape, too, but it also can disappear over time (plus I don't trust the acids given off by plastic - the acids will etch just about everything, but particularly dangerous for sensitive materials containing things like calcite, marcasite/pyrite, etc.). I've recently come across some bags of material that I'm still trying to decipher the locale from the small dots of sharpie on the bag.

Silver metallic paint pens work great, but most only come in wider nibs, making them more suitable for slabs than cabs or small pieces. They are oil-based, so don't dry as quickly as the alcohol/sharpie markers. Sharpie now makes a fine-tip oil paint marker, but I haven't tried it.

For cabs, I'd personally appreciate them being permanently marked with an ID (scratched on the back near the girdle with a diamond stylus), but I wonder how many buyers would be turned off by that? If it were neatly done, I don't think it would be off-putting (after all, they laser-engrave the girdles of diamonds with serial numbers and logos these days). Wish there was some standard recognized as acceptable.

Aside from an ID, I would also like cabs permanently signed with a maker's signature or mark. Some cabbers, carvers and faceters get to the level where their work commands a high premium. Yet the identity of the person who crafted them is permanently lost (or, if their work is sufficiently unique, open to the work of imitators being misrepresented as being from their hand) once it goes out the shop door. Some cameo carvers sign their work right on the front, so why do not serious cabbers not sign theirs? I'm too old and lazy to aspire to a serious following for my limited output made mostly for me (and, no stories about Grandma Moses, please), but as a buyer and collector, I'd love to be able to flip over a cab and see some tiny indication of who made it - just as much as I value that maker's stamp on well-made silver or gold settings or the signature on a painting or base of a statue. Relying on memory or notes has its limits.

I keep everything in some sort of plastic bag.  They sell tiny ones  100/$1 at Walmart (many sizes), then I move up to sandwich, quarts and gallons.  I use paper file folder labels and don't write on the bags because it disappears sometimes.

I've had some awful luck with sharpie ruining material and I've bought slabs with labels on them that have left "permanent" marks (must be sanded out) so never sharipe or a label on a finished piece.

I go so far as to put everything in alphabetical order (ya I'm a little weird) but I can find anything I'm looking for in a jiffy.  I also have a spreadsheet with the names of all my materials listed and who I got them from and how much I paid for them (I tend to buy large lots it seems).  I knew from the beginning if I didn't keep it straight I'd have a big mess on my hands in no time.  I'll post some pics and PM you.

Several corrosive substances leach from the plasticizers as most flexible bags age, but the most notorious is the hydrochloric acid emitted by PVC-containing plastic bags (and other containers). This includes those little zip-closure bags marketed to I've had it do awful things to minerals and metals stored for months. Absolutely disastrous for things like pyrite, where it starts a reaction that is unstoppable once you notice it happening.

Fortunately, there are alternatives for those who want see-through bags: mylar, polyethylene and polypropylene bags are available that do not have this problem.

Same issue with many glues, fillers, storage boxes, etc. Acid-producing deterioration occurs much more rapidly with exposure to UV, but even when UV blocker chemicals are added to "UV Resistant" and similar plastic formulas (they all eventually break down), it still will occur. Safer to go with one of the non-reactive plastics mentioned that don't emit acids at all.

Lastly, there are some rocks that will emit acids or other bad things when stored in tight containers (especially when moisture gets in with them). Keep those things separate - I've seen some of those markedly change minerals I've had over a few months. I just keep those in open trays (as this area is low humidity) and don't mix them with other types.

I label slabs with pencil. When I remember to. Doh! I am trying to get more organized, though. I just redid my mudroom where my slabs are. They are neatly arranged by type in stackable bins. Now, I finally know what I have and where! What a concept!

You may not worry, but this has been a well known issue with PVC (and the plasticizers in non-archival PE) going back 40-50 years. I learned about it long ago when acids from PVC windows in a coin album caused metal disease in the stored coins. I've also seen it happen in those small, cheap "PE" bags imported from who-knows-where, and have seen deterioration in commercial PE bags from domestic brands (might not be the PE itself, but these things are seldom pure PE and can include surface/release coatings, dyes and/or inks, proprietary plasticizers, UV inhibitors, etc.). I've also had specimens ruined by epoxies.

Damage from a PVC holder in a silver coin...

This can be halted with some toxic chemicals, but the damage goes deep and can start up again (as in this photo after removed once). Started out Extremely Fine, but now not worth the cost of saving.