How do you play/store your loose stone?

[pwsg07]

I collect loose stones and I do not set them. I keep my stones in the clear plastic bags and put them all in a box. When I play my moonstone, I dropped it on the floor and it cracked. I am looking for equipment that I can play with my stone safely. Would you share your ideas of how you store or play your loose stones?

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

I have a billiard table which I cover with a sheet. Safe, and soft, and I didn't play much billiard anymore anyways.

 

[Bron357]

I have an "aquarium" of Lalique fish figurines and I've put all my gems on the bottom. It looks magic when the sun shines in the window. PS most a real gemstones but some are crystals from broken jewellery.

 

[Burmesedaze]

I have an "aquarium" of Lalique fish figurines and I've put all my gems on the bottom. It looks magic when the sun shines in the window. PS most a real gemstones but some are crystals from broken jewellery.

Stunning! Such a happy rainbow display.

 

[Desertrose]

My gem storage is no where near as glamorous as Burmezedaze, but it does work for me!

I keep gems in labeled round gem jars, and use the half-tray size, glass-lid trays. As my collection has grown I've bought more. I organize them by gem type. I put sticky labels on the bottom with gem info - weight, size, origin, etc.

Here is my typical setup at my desk - researching on the computer, gem tray open, tools handy and my favorite gem book: Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann. It seems he has every gem in that book, even the really rare ones...



That quarter is there because some vendors seem to take photos with a quarter for size comparison!

Here's another shot of the gem tray boxes, I really like the glass lids so I can quickly see which tray to reach for:



The lidded trays were only about $8 each online, plus a few bucks more for the inserts with all the gem jars. They are also easy to fit into a safe

That's the tourmaline box on the left, notice how those paraiba glow, even through two layers of boxes!

 

[Arcadian]

If I ever showed an image of my desk folks would be horrified I have several boxes of gems, I don't really play with them much at the moment (very little time anymore) but I have my boxes for setting, and one box for playing. I should probably set something...lol

 

[chrono]

I store them in the white plastic square gem boxes with the clear glass (?) tops. Their permanent home is the bank deposit box but when they vacation at home, I handle with my hands but make sure that I am sitting down with my items on a padded table.

 

[Sungura]

So glad you started this thread pwsg07. I need a system. So happy to see what PSErs are doing. Hope more will post too

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I have a very small collection compared to most around here, but my loose stones stay in their plastic box (or gem paper) until I can set them. I try really, really hard to not buy too many more stones before setting what I already have. ETA: If/when I do play - which I really try hard not to - I sit in the middle of a freshly made bed and make sure the dog and my son are in another room.

 

[pwsg07]

Thank everyone for your ideas. I decided to follow Desertrose's idea. It is easy for me to organize. I want to get some antique style gem storage boxes I have seen on the books but I haven't see anyone selling them.

 

[jordyonbass]

Originally I bought a display case with 30 inserts for the opals I have been cutting, that got filled pretty quickly so I bought one with 60 inserts and now have 2 cases. Yes I know, I have to buy some black inserts for the opals

I used to just keep them loose in the inserts but I can lose stuff easily so having all stones in a single case is ideal for me, I do get nervous about having them all so easily stolen in one snatch 'n' grab as I am starting to build a valuable collection. It's tough installing a safe when you only rent your home!

 

[pwsg07]

I just got some four-pronged holding tweezers. But I have some chalcedony cabochons that are too large for the tweezers. Does these tweezers come in larger sizes? Or any other way to hold the stones?

Some cabochons are too big to fit in the gem jars. What size of the gem jars should I get without breaking the stones?

I need to find my stones a home. I just looked at some stones I got ten years ago. They have nick or feathers. Maybe I am too careless with the stones.