January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 12:17 pm

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:13 pm 
Offline
Established Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:14 pm
Posts: 31
Location: Redding, CA
Does anyone know what this massive rough on eBay really is and why it's so cheap?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/VVS-279-8CT-100-N ... Ciid%253A4

Thanks,

- Jake L.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:38 pm 
Offline
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm
Posts: 1747
Location: Florida, United States
It is citrine.
Are you the one selling it on eBay?

_________________
http://adamasfacet.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:08 pm 
Offline
Established Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:14 pm
Posts: 31
Location: Redding, CA
thomas.adamas wrote:
It is citrine.
Are you the one selling it on eBay?


No, I am not. But if it is citrine, why would anyone buy smaller stuff for 10 times the price?

- Jake L.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:15 pm 
Offline
Valued Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 8:31 pm
Posts: 276
The stuff he sells is lemon citrine, from what I have read on this forum it is made from lithium-rich quartz and is nothing like unradiated citrine in colour or clarity. There's a comparison of a piece I bought with some Congo citrine from NewEraGems:
Attachment:
IMG_20170204_123923.jpg
IMG_20170204_123923.jpg [ 22.4 KiB | Viewed 1003 times ]
Note how the lemon citrine on the left is grayer in tone around the edges? In addition the yellow tone seems to be the result of the tydall effect rather than adsorption.
I suspect that the larger you cut a stone from this material, the more the milky yellow tone will dominate.

Another thing to watch for is this seller and a related store seem to use some sort of lighting setup to enhance the colour of some stones, which is particularly noticeable in their amethyst and prasiolite pieces.
If you get a better deal on postage than I do (17.99USD!!), their lemon quartz and amethyst aren't too bad as bargain rough, provided you inspect it for flaws and ignore the purple and golden flash in favour of looking at the unlit sections.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:01 am 
Offline
Moderator
User avatar

Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:31 pm
Posts: 4015
Location: North Carolina
Lemon quartz is definitely very cheap, though natural Zambian citrine isnt exactly expensive either. There are two ladies with a table piled high with rough for 20 cents a gram at the Days Inn show. Both different materials with different treatment status but neither a great economical choice (though between the two I'll take untreated Zambian any day of the week).

_________________
Rough and cut classic and exotic synthetic gems:https://store.turtleshoard.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:51 pm 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:28 pm
Posts: 16
I have bought quite a bit of it from him, mainly in order to have on hand for practice and experimentation. Some of it is nice and clear, most has cracks & veils that you have to cut around. He is a standup guy and will refund a portion of shipping charges on multiple items. As mentioned, he does enhance each stone's appearance, with bright background lighting and other methods. Do not expect to find that undiscovered gem here as all his material has been examined and rejected by many trained eyes beforehand. An exception is the material in question, which is nice cheap quartz which cuts and polishes well.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Massive Rough on Ebay
PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:00 pm 
Offline
Gold Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 8:32 am
Posts: 1730
Location: Suwanee, GA US
Mizzu wrote:
I have bought quite a bit of it from him, mainly in order to have on hand for practice and experimentation. Some of it is nice and clear, most has cracks & veils that you have to cut around. He is a standup guy and will refund a portion of shipping charges on multiple items. As mentioned, he does enhance each stone's appearance, with bright background lighting and other methods. Do not expect to find that undiscovered gem here as all his material has been examined and rejected by many trained eyes beforehand. An exception is the material in question, which is nice cheap quartz which cuts and polishes well.

Ditto. Still buy stuff from him. You just have to know what you are seeing and how to interpret it. I look at recut material there. Like rutile quartz cabs... facet material. Some of the stuff is not named well. Natural black ethopian opal I suspect is smoked. But his new African black probably is the new black. Just look for hazying and cracks. That means it is not really faceting rough. Tumbling maybe though.

_________________
George Ellis
www.faceting.biz


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock