how to gt quarz

[silky43]

i am looking for somewhere I can get a selection of cut quartz in a variety of colours. the gemstones do not have to be big but I would rather they be cut.
any suggestions I would be very grateful for

p.s. as cheap as possible

 

[chrono]

I'm not really sure...eBay? Secondhand at LoupeTroup and DiamondBistro? Is your intent just to play around with some loose gems? GemSelect has some cheap stuff too.

 

[LoversKites]

I'm not sure how you define cheap.

Gemwow.com have some inexpensive and decent stuff; mostly rough but some faceted pieces.

Litnon.com have more expensive quartz with better cuts (like 40-100 dollars)

Uli Zeisberg of Osirisgems.com is a custom cutter and does an incredible job. I purchased a citrine of about 3 carats from him for $65+$10 international shipping... I highly recommend him. It will take a few weeks at least for him to finish a job for you if he doesn't have anything ready, though.

Most vendors won't stock quartz or only large quartzes... because the material is generally inexpensive, it's hardly lucrative.

Good luck

 

[silky43]

thanks @chrono I will look into it

 

[silky43]

I'm not sure how you define cheap.

Gemwow.com have some inexpensive and decent stuff; mostly rough but some faceted pieces.

Litnon.com have more expensive quartz with better cuts (like 40-100 dollars)

Uli Zeisberg of Osirisgems.com is a custom cutter and does an incredible job. I purchased a citrine of about 3 carats from him for $65+$10 international shipping... I highly recommend him. It will take a few weeks at least for him to finish a job for you if he doesn't have anything ready, though.

Most vendors won't stock quartz or only large quartzes... because the material is generally inexpensive, it's hardly lucrative.

Good luck

thanks

 

[deskjockey]

If you look at litnon.com, they have a bunch of white quartz done in rose cuts that are $10.

 

[InToTheMystic]

I was scouring through this etsy store https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/vlvp?ref=l2-shopheader-name to find a whole heap of different small quartzes because I wanted to do a Diamonds By The Yard style long chain with lots of different (mild pastel) colours in it, but wanted to keep the price down.

Aaaaand then I found that they had already made exactly what I wanted to make, so I got that instead to save time and money!

I can't see that listing on the site anymore, but they obviously have the raw materials for it. The stones were cut surprisingly better than I expected (minimal windowing and even a few step cuts thrown in) but I expect they're probably treated. Didn't really bother me for an inexpensive project, and I'm getting a lot of wear out of the necklace as it goes with pretty much anything.

If all you're after is small, cheap quartz with indeterminate origins (mine had a few topaz in there as well), I'd recommend them. These are the photos from the listing but it looks exactly like what I received.

 

[pregcurious]

InToTheMystic, I love this. Could you tell us who made the necklace sand the size range of the stones?

 

[silky43]

thanks everyone

 

[InToTheMystic]

InToTheMystic, I love this. Could you tell us who made the necklace sand the size range of the stones?

I got it from this etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/vlvp They don't appear to have that specific listing anymore though, but they have some variations on the one I bought.

This one is longer at 48 inches (mine is 36 inches): https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/110549346/sterling-silver-necklace-48-inches-with?ref=related-0

And this one is the same length as mine and looks to have larger stones than the longer chain does: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/110549702/sterling-silver-necklace-36-inches-with?ref=related-1

Both of these have carnelian in them, which mine doesn't (orange isn't a colour I tend to wear, with the exception of amber).

With the one that I bought, the stones are all different sizes and range from about 0.9cm x 0.9cm to some just over 2cm in length. It is quite delicate despite the sizes though, and the bezels around them are quite slender. The chain is silver and had a bit of tarnish when it arrived, but it cleaned right up with a silver polishing cloth. I like the fact that they made it with a clasp, so you can wear it as a single long length or doubled over as a bit more of a two strand choker. I find it a good versatile necklace to travel with - lots of options to wear it with, and not so expensive that you'll cry in your pillow if it gets lost. Its fun to play with when you're bored at work as well

The cuts are a mixture of chequerboard, some step cuts, some scissor cuts, some standard oval cuts and a couple of portugese cuts on the citrines. I was surprised that there were very few windows, and the ones that are there have tended to be on the prasiolite so are barely noticeable anyway.

I've bought a couple of loose stones from that shop as well (a 20ct ametrine and a large 5ct peridot) and they were...ok. The peridot had a dark inclusion in it that wasn't in the description but looking back at the picture it was kind of noticeable there. Oh well, they were cheap, surprisingly well cut, and I like the colours. I have no doubt they're probably treated a fair bit, but they're hardly high end stones so I wasn't fussed.

Hope that helps!

 

[pregcurious]

You can also try Fire Mountain Gems:
http://www.firemountaingems.com/shop/faceted-gems?T=T1B&navsrc=2