Anybody collect gemstones?

[IsaacT]

I have long wanted to buy some loose cut gemstones to just have(I like shiny stuff lol). I was wondering if anyone on here has collected or thought about collecting any gems.

Now, natural ones tend to be insanely pricey(from my perspective) so I'm thinking about buying some lab grown ones. Again, for me this would for enjoyment only not for investment.

Just curious if anyone has any input on this. Good places to start, stuff like that.

Thanks,
Isaac

 

[Deleted member 16589]

I have a Small Bag of semi Precious And synthetic ones From a friend who re purposes old jewelry Ill have to dig them out.

Best place to get them is at rock shops In tourist traps. Sometimes if you ask they have ones with minor chips tucked away.

 

[paul1598419]

I used to collect all sorts of rocks and minerals, including crystals. I almost bought a lapidary faceting wheel when I was much younger. I found there are lapidary enthusiasts that have all sorts of faceted gems..... many at very low prices. You might try to check this out in your area.

 

[Crazlaser]

I have a whole box of semi precious type in my garage I can take pics of you like, I've been trying to sell them forever, would take $70 for the whole box if anyone is interested.

 

[Grix]

I have a few stones, nothing too fancy though. I think the brilliant, sharp colors of the gemstones are similar to the reason why I like lasers

 

[Seoul_lasers]

I have several emeralds and pink rubies from Myanmar. These were purchased in around Rangoon some years ago by family. I hope whom ever was mining these was treated fairly. :yabbem: I have a feeling not.

Bloodstones/conflict stones.

 

[IsaacT]

I have a whole box of semi precious type in my garage I can take pics of you like, I've been trying to sell them forever, would take $70 for the whole box if anyone is interested.

Im interested and would love to see them! PM me with pics!

 

[Crazlaser]

Everything here for $70 plus whatever it costs to ship?

The geode fits together into a ball with a rubber band.

Here's some closeups

 

[paul1598419]

Yeah, you've got a lot of quartz in there. Some look like broken pieces of a geode. The amethyst crystals are not very deep in color which makes them much less valuable. I gave all my stuff to my daughter years ago, but had some very nice rose, blue and many quartz crystals. Also had a huge fluorite crystal of very deep violet. I've actually seen some of these faceted, but they are too soft for gem stones. Had an enormous calcite crystal that was birefringent. I bought another one about a year ago now just for the optical properties. Had a large piece of schist full of deep red garnets.

 

[Deleted member 16589]

Sorry for the necro post but There is a Facebook group called rock hounds. They do auctions every weekend. This weekend several members are selling facited gems. Ive seen them do it before. So may be a good place to look.

 

[RedCowboy]

I have some of these that have fire like a diamond, they look great just to play with for cheap.

Cubic Zirconia CZ Round White AAAAA Loose Stones Lots & 1 Pc 1mm - 20mm | eBay

 

[paul1598419]

@ lazerman121

I don't do any social media except this forum. I used to get faceted gem stones cheap from another rock hound who had a lapidary wheel. Almost bought one of my own back in the 1960s, but it was $400.00 back then and my guitar collection came first. Wouldn't mind getting some cheap, but better quality faceted stones, but it's hard to do online. Too much bait and switch.

 

[Benm]

I have several pieces as souvenirs, quartzes, pyrites, amethyst, desert roses and such, none of any monetary value i know off.

One thing i want to warn aganst are fake geodes though.

I've encountered these at various touristic markets in the middle east and asia, and while they look pretty nice there are completely fake. I'm not sure of where these come from, but they definitely are on the market.

They are convincing by initial looks, but fair quickly upon further instpection. I've seen things like big amethysts sold at bargain prices, but they were just pieces of clay with small stones lining the inside surface. These are so bad you can break them by hand, despite looking the part at a vendor stall.

 

[paul1598419]

I have never seen a fake geode. I'm quite certain it wouldn't fool me as I have had many in my life of collecting rocks and minerals. I could see one fooling someone who may have only seen pictures of them, or had so little contact that they didn't know what to look for. Good examples are always cut and polished at the flat surface of the half, as these always come as a rock of spheroid shape.

 

[Benm]

You'd be surprised as to what those sellers come up with.

As far as looks go they really are good. Once you pick them up you'll notice they are far too light to be real.

Since i was kinda curious on how they were made and managed to drive the price down to next to nothing, i bought a some in the middle east.

They turned out to be pretty crafy fakes: the main material is terra cotta, covered by somehting that appears to be gypsum, and then a layer of semi-precious gems on the inside, and a layer of dark rock-like material on the outside. They look wonderful really and i've kept some of them knowng full well they are completely fake just for their looks.

I suspected forgery just by their shape really, they were sold as sets of near perfect half-spheres, which are not that common in nature and certainly not for that price (managed to bargain them to well under $10 a pair since i was curious, yet already sure they were fake).

Then again not all fakes are that bad - my parents managed to pick up a brilliant cut piece of glass so large it doesn't even fit in my hand. No value to it since it is just soda-lime glass, but shine a laser or two into the thing and you have a show.

 

[paul1598419]

Actually, you might be surprised at the near perfect spheres I've seen geodes come as. It is not that uncommon. I'm certain the weight would give them away. Are you sure the crystals used for the fakes weren't colored glass? It wouldn't be that hard to fake those as well. They are always quartz, though. The hardness at the very least would give them away.