#gemstone appreciation

[cringecasket]

Oval cuts of topazes (Alabashka, Ural, Russia). Yellow topaz od 25.6 carats, blue topaz of 23.5 carats.

Cut topazes (Schneckenstein, GDR). Larger stones about 1 carat.

Ring of Bohemian King Premysl Otakar I decorated with a topaz cut en cabochon; funeral insignia (stone comes from the Schneckenstein, GDR).

Art Nouveau flacon from Brazilian topaz (Turnov, Bohemia, early 20th century). Height 35 mm.

[artsygenie]

Gems and Beads Galore

Today was a very productive day if I do say so myself. The last few days have been spent just trying to use up my inventory of beads and things (I have so many and I want all of them gone!) making some earrings, necklaces, and things. As I was making some, I didn't have the beads that I wanted to compliment them. So I googled when the gem faire was going to be in town. Low and behold, it was this weekend. I ended up planning to go and just get a few things.

Friday came and I was on the fence about going. I'm literally just chilling on my couch and my good friend elevatecrystals messages me asking if I was going to go. I told her that I was on the fence. She said the same, but was thinking of going. She then basically peer pressured me into meeting up with her there. So I said, why the hell not and got ready.

I drove up to the gem show location and normally the parking lot is packed. This time, it was very sparse and I started to freak out thinking, "Oh my goodness...it wasn't today!" There were parking lot attendants and so I pulled up and asked if this was admission for the gem show. They said yes and I thought, "thank goodness." I parked and walked towards the gem show location. Thankfully it wasn't as cold as I'd thought it would be. I texted my friend and she said she was just parking. Once I walk up, there's tons of people under the tents and in the buildings. Where they all parked, I have no idea. It was definitely hip happening.

We meet up and then browse the tent in front. Man did they have some gorgeous pieces. I always end up telling myself that I am not going to buy any crystals and things when I'm there, but every single time I come out with more than I had planned. Luckily, I went in with a budget in mind.

We didn't walk into the building when we stopped at another vendor area to browse. I found some turtles (not surprising) and then ended up getting a basket placed in front of me and just began to load things in. I ended up getting one that had some holes drilled in so I could turn it into a necklace. Then I ran into a little pile of double terminated citrine. I have been looking for some nice honey colored looking ones and this one was just gorgeous. It was more smoky/darker than honey, but it definitely caught my eye.

I mean check it out! It had phantoms, inclusions, and RAINBOWS. They were selling them by gram and I was nervous to see how much it was. I mean, it's a pretty big size. Elevate is just as in awe of it as I am and thanks to her, we weighed it and they priced it. It was a steal. So I ended up getting this one. As I have said a lot in my posts, I've been in a real creative funk overall in jewelry making and drawing. So the search for citrine to help me with creativity was on my list. I'm not necessarily one to believe in those things, but I've been drawn to citrine and amber for the last couple months so I was very happy with his find.

I ended up getting some fluorite earrings and bostwana agate earrings to make so I'm super excited to see how those will turn out. We walked around inside the first building and elevate got some things and I got some mini gemstone donuts to make some more necklaces. I try to select gemstones and beads that I like, but also try to keep in mind what everyone else would like. It's very hard sometimes to gauge what people like and don't. Something I still need to work on as well as marketing. Speaking of - tell your friends and family about my Etsy! Especially now that they're changing their fees for sellers up by 1.5%. I'm a bit nervous, but hoping that it won't be too bad..

Anyhoo, here are just a bunch of pics of pretty things we found.

Then at the very end of our 3 hour hunt for good stuff, we came across a guy who was selling tourmaline. We are such a sucker for tourmaline.

Check it out. This was the most expensive gemstone I have ever held. It was 56g and was $1K+. It was so gorgeous, but definitely not part of my budget.

What a fun time it was. I always end up going to the same vendors only because they have things that I know I want to get and it's good quality. Definitely bad influences on each other, but it was a great time gushing over rocks.

So here I am at 3:52AM just gushing over the rocks I saw today. Ive got that citrine right in front of me as I type this out. It's just so pretty and I am still in awe. I've got some really pretty things for you guys and will be posting them up on Etsy once I take all the photos and videos of it. It's so much work doing the listing, but in the end it's all worth it. Anyways, I'm going to go sleep now. Starting to get sleepy. Can't wait to show you what I've got in store! G'night all or is it good morning? Either way, have a great day!