Gem Collector Prices

[jayc]

A

greed Jeff would be good on GC but would they actually give him anything worth selling at a reasonable price?

Some items on Gumporia not as good quality as Claires Accessories

 

[historymystery]

Some items on Gumporia not as good quality as Claires Accessories

You can see much better ones on GemSelect or even Etsy. And much cheaper.

 

[Ant7t]

As I write, I am watching a video about lapidary. Agate Dad, if you're interested, but he has been playing with Fordite. GC have sold that, I know. It's glorified paint drippings. And there's GC et al, who say they never sell fake or non-natural. Ford paint became a gemstone, when?

 

[AndyW]

As I write, I am watching a video about lapidary. Agate Dad, if you're interested, but he has been playing with Fordite. GC have sold that, I know. It's glorified paint drippings. And there's GC et al, who say they never sell fake or non-natural. Ford paint became a gemstone, when?

Firstly, I watch Agate Dad too .

Secondly, Fordite is only a gemstone because someone wanted to make money out of the paint residue left from the collapsed car industry in Detroit. Some bits are pretty, for sure, and can make unusual jewellery pieces but it's as much a gemstone as Bakelite, Yttrium Garnets or Swarovski crystals, none of which you can make at home but Fordite you can. Stated as "rarer than diamonds" by some (which semi-precious gemstone isn't?!), it's a historical curiosity but that's about it.

GC did have a small selection a few years ago. Bought one (before I was more assiduous about checking the internet for facts) but sent it straight back, feeling an idiot for paying so much for layered paint. Much more suited to Jewellery Maker or Hobby Maker than Gem Collector.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I'm mixed on Fordite - it's not technically a gemstone, but 'proper' Fordite has some history to it, and it's no longer available. There is some newer 'Fordite' on the market that isn't 'proper' Fordite because it's come from a completely different process that is still used today - therefore, it has no historical value.

I personally don't think that Pearls and Amber (or anything else that is organic) should be referred to as Gemstones either because they're not stones.

We could even go a step further and say that resin-filled Rubies and reconstituted Turquoise, that is compressed fragments of multiple stones, should not be considered 'real' gemstones either. To me, a filled Ruby has as much meaning and value as a piece of glass. They're junk.

I think things like Fordite and Roman Glass have a place - but it should be law that they're forced to declare exactly what they are more precisely. Non-gemstones should not be called 'gemstones'.