minerken
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466 
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Post by minerken on Sept 15, 2019 11:24:17 GMT -5
So a good friend of mine sent me some turquoise to kind of sort of evaluate. Now turquoise is not in my wheel house but I feel confident that I can at least least authenticate it. It was sold to a client of his, actually gifted I think, and come in a small case marked Blue Diamond Mine 387.5 carats. It took only a glance for me to conclude that this was natural turquoise not stabalized ,enhanced or treated in any way and a very pleasing color. I am not familiar with all the mine varieties of Turquoise so Blue diamond was new to me. A quick search on ebay turned up a few results and after comparing it I think that it is probably typical for that mine. Brian is not looking to buy it the client wants him to do some wrapping and or smithing for resale. He would like to come up with a fair and reasonable trade value for his work i.e. she wants to trade a piece or so for his time etc. After comparing it to ebay samples I came up with a retail value of around $5/c but I am just not familiar enough to feel confident in that valuation. Here are a couple pics I took and are pretty good representations of color matrix etc. Disregarding his efforts and material costs ( that will be up to him) can anyone or everyone give us an idea of what you would consider a trade value ie $/carat for this material. 
Biggest at 57mm x 20 + mm
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,688
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Post by NRG on Sept 15, 2019 15:25:50 GMT -5
These pieces are unbacked? As in all Turquoise? No epoxy back?
$25/gram seems insane. You can buy good quality facetable aquamarine for half that.
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Post by rmf on Sept 15, 2019 15:51:06 GMT -5
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Post by rmf on Sept 15, 2019 16:05:09 GMT -5
minerken check you e-mail I sent you something.
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Post by rmf on Sept 15, 2019 16:06:00 GMT -5
Sorry I do have an education your has an r not you Spelling D-
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minerken
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466
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Post by minerken on Sept 15, 2019 16:18:08 GMT -5
minerken check you e-mail I sent you something. Thanks good info will archive for future reference for sure |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,049
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Post by gemfeller on Sept 15, 2019 16:48:33 GMT -5
I think it's dangerous to pronounce turquoise untreated just by eyeballing it. The Zachery Process is simply undetectable without destructive testing. No one can say exactly how much turquoise is treated these days but the amount is so great I just assume all I sell is treated.
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minerken
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466
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Post by minerken on Sept 15, 2019 17:25:02 GMT -5
I think it's dangerous to pronounce turquoise untreated just by eyeballing it. The Zachery Process is simply undetectable without destructive testing. No one can say exactly how much turquoise is treated these days but the amount is so great I just assume all I sell is treated. You are probably right I may have been too presumptuous. So that begs another question if you assume all is treated how do you set a price i.e. do you just charge the same treated or not? Does natural turquoise have a higher value or not. This is exactly why Turquoise is not in my "wheel house" I don't want to deal with something that deceptive. |
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Post by Peruano on Sept 15, 2019 17:43:49 GMT -5
Treated/stabilized is far different from dyed. Untreated turquoise is more likely to be soft or at least vulnerable to wastage. It would have to be something really special for me to prefer untreated turquoise, but like the man says, its not my specialty. $5/ct is not outside the ballpark for cabs that don't need major rework
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Post by fernwood on Sept 15, 2019 18:28:58 GMT -5
A member here, Phil Hontz is Admin for the Facebook Turquoise by the Pound page. He is very knowledgeable about Turquoise prices from various mines.
From what I see listed for sale on the FB page, the $5.00-$6.00 per carat is in line. I will PM Phil about this thread.
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minerken
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466
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Post by minerken on Sept 15, 2019 19:34:59 GMT -5
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Post by rmf on Sept 16, 2019 7:40:11 GMT -5
This is a great pdf on Zachary process. The down side is it just reinforces my desire to get a hand held XRF. My wife won't let me have the $40K or so they cost.  |
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callmerob
starting to spend too much on rocks
I really like a dirt road
Member since September 2019
Posts: 143
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Post by callmerob on Sept 19, 2019 2:38:31 GMT -5
No expert here, but $3-$5/carat for finished cabs with no backing seems about right to me.
Provenance means a lot. Blue Diamond mine? Double-check the color and the matrix.
And speaking of color, on my computer it looks almost a teal blue-green. And very gemmy. Varicite? Variquoise? Maybe the folks at Durango Silver can tell by looking at your photos. They have a vested interest in price and authenticity. Maybe they recognize the color and matrix. I bet they'd respond to your email.
Avatar is Blue Moon mine, Tonopah, NV. It is noticeably different color and matrix from Royston mine not far away. Host rock is distinct too.
Gemmy high-grade turquoise should need no stabilization with Starbond or anything else.
Edit: Turquoise can be priced as a commodity like wheat or soybeans or aluminum.
Prices fluctuate via market pressure. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's not.
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 20, 2019 20:52:31 GMT -5
I know nothing about turquoise. My wife had a small baggie of rough from China. I didn't know if it was treated or not. I read a description of the material from a mine it might have come from and mentioned the material is now treated. My wife got hers 15 years ago.
I made one cab from the piece and a smaller one from the remnant. The large one seemed very solid and the remnant more porous. I dopped with superglue and when I removed the dop from the larger cab there was only a little superglue remaining. When I removed the dop from the smaller cab there was a clear skin that peeled. Maybe the stabilizing agent was only absorbed into the more porous material.
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