[Jewelry making - Article 00454] - Re: [Orchid] Good quality stones at a good price?

[Lee Einer]

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Hi, Dee-

    Are you looking to buy rough for cutting or are you looking for cut
    cabs? 

    The reason I ask is that the ethiopian material (this is the stuff
    that looks like little mudballs, right) is a crapshoot. I have not
    cut the material personally, but that is because from what I have
    been able to find out a few of the mudballs have nice opally bits
    inside but most turn out to be just mudballs when you cut 'em open. I
    hate buying mud by the gram ;-) 

    So I guess what I am saying is that I would consider the Ethiopian
    material to be worthwhile only if it is way cheap, if it is already
    cut or if it is broken open so you can tell the pretty rocks from the
    mudballs. 

    FWIW, the ethiopian rough I have seen was not pinkish and claylike,
    but rather a very dark brown. The pinkish stuff sounds more like the
    Mexican material in which the opal is in a pinkish rhyolite matrix. 

    The russian material sounds like astrophyllite. A stakhanovite is an
    overachieving Russian worker. 

    http://www.greatrough.com/rough_astrophyllite.shtml 

Lee
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