Today I met a man from Idar-Oberstein ....

[Gailey]

And he had a very large brief case filled with very small boxes .......

 

[FrekeChild]

Are you holding pictures for ransom here?!?!

ETA: I'm hoping thats the case...

 

[LD]

Date: 3/16/2009 6:26:42 PM
Author:Gailey
And he had a very large brief case filled with very small boxes .......

My kinda man!

 

[Harriet]

AND?...

 

[peachster]

AND???????

 

[coatimundi_org]

C''mon! What gives??

 

[AmberGretchen]

The suspense is killing me...

 

[Gailey]

Sorry ladies, my phone rang!!

Now don''t all bite me because I don''t have pictures OK.

I got an e-mail on Saturday from a local jeweller to tell me that a lapidarist was visiting from Idar-Oberstein in Germany and would I like to stop by? Well, I mean - it was that or the ironing, what could I say!!

Well I have never seen such a phenomenal collection of stones all in one place. Talk about kid in a candy shop. Mr Heinz is a 3rd generation lapidarist and is probably in his 70''s and a charming gentleman. He had gems of all shapes, sizes, colours and type. Lots of pairs and a few cuts that I had not seen before, such as an onion cut that resembled the domes on top of russian orthodox churches. He also had some really neat hearts that looked a bit like cartoon hearts in shape, difficult to describe but the point at the bottom sort of skewed a bit - really neat.

He had beautiful mali garnets, sea foam beryl, spessartite, rhodolite, aquamarine, heliodor, sapphires, emeralds (the clearest I have ever seen), beautiful dark blue/green tourmaline, tsavorite, rubellite, tanzanite, morganite, kunzite, amethyst, the list just goes on.

Actually, I don''t recall him mentioning spinel or rubies. He had an amazing oval fire opal in a beautiful Captain Scarlet red. When I looked at it head on, it looked a bit sleepy, but the second it moved, the incredible flashes that went off inside were amazing, I can see why they call them fire opals. It was hypnotic. He had the bright orange fire opals as well, but this red one just blew me away. Never thought I''d be captivated by a fire opal. It was a large stone and over C$4,000, so I''m afraid I had to leave it there.

But I did make some more modest purchases. I''m determined to set one or two of my stones this year, otherwise I might have been more reckless.

I''m sorry I don''t have photos for you yet, but I couldn''t just purchase them and take them away. Mr Heinz was travelling under some special customs declaration. Basically, what that means is that he doesn''t have to pay duty on his inventory as he travels with them, but he has to return to Germany with the complete inventory. When he gets home, he then exports the gems. So I just paid a small deposit today.

He''s heading for California tomorrow. I guess I should have found out where in California he was heading to. If anyone is interested, I will call the store tomorrow morning and find out.

Now question is, do you want to know now what I bought or would you rather wait and see the photos in a couple of weeks?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Sounded like a fun time! Ironing can wait....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Harriet]

NOW!

 

[innerkitten]

So what did you get?

 

[Gailey]

Date: 3/16/2009 8:24:47 PM
Author: Harriet
NOW!

AW Harriet, you''re the only one who wants to know now, everyone else must want to wait for the surprise! I can''t spoil it now can I ......

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 3/16/2009 8:16:47 PM
Author: Gailey



He's heading for California tomorrow. I guess I should have found out where in California he was heading to. If anyone is interested, I will call the store tomorrow morning and find out.

oh yes please!

Can't wait to see pics!

(and yah! What did you get??)

 

[oldmancoyote]

Actually, both. Description now, and photos later. Or is that greedy?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Sure Gailey, pass the name onto Admin. I am studying but might have a moment....

cheers--Sharon

 

[movie zombie]

i''d like to know where in california this man will be.....

mz

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Where in CA is he going????

 

[Gailey]

Date: 3/16/2009 8:44:48 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

Sure Gailey, pass the name onto Admin. I am studying but might have a moment....

cheers--Sharon

Done! He will be there until lunchtime.

 

[Harriet]

WHAT DID YOU BUY?

 

[Gailey]

OK, as you all asked so nicely!

1 x pair of morganite pears 12 x 7 mm 4.58 tcw
1 x pair of amethyst cushions 6 x 6 mm 1.83 tcw
1 x amethyst antique cushion (flashes red like you wouldn''t believe!!) 13 x 11 mm 6.76 ct

A drop in the ocean by comparison with what was there and I am really lusting after the fire opal. Hopefully it won''t sell and will come back in the Fall.

I will ask Mr Heinz how he feels about having his visits posted on a public forum. If he objects, I will e-mail the details to admin tomorrow. I''m just a bit nervous as I don''t want to attract the wrong type of attention for him.

 

[Gailey]

OK, I phrased that very badly! I certainly didn''t mean that all of you were the wrong sort of attention, but you catch my drift!

 

[BWise]

I second that!

Date: 3/16/2009 8:43:13 PM
Author: oldmancoyote
Actually, both. Description now, and photos later. Or is that greedy?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I''ve wanted an morganite for ages--big old cushion would do!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Gailey]

Date: 3/16/2009 9:34:34 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

I''ve wanted an morganite for ages--big old cushion would do!

cheers--Sharon

Yep, definitely loads of morganite. I had my eye on a square cushion probably about 8mm², but I managed to resist because it wasn''t quite the right shade for me (thank God!). He had a beautiful pair of morganiite briolettes in a beautiful shade too.

I was amazed how pretty kunzite is in reality. I''ve only ever seen pictures of it before and I''ve always been ambivalent, but it really is pretty. He had a large oval that must have been at least an inch and a half long.

Oh, not to tempt you but the resident jeweller had a wonderful prehnite necklet, round with a demantoid halo - very striking! I am right in thinking you are the gal with the prehnite ring aren''t you? Apparently, he bought a parcel of some 30 stones.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 3/16/2009 10:04:21 PM
Author: Gailey

Date: 3/16/2009 9:34:34 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

I''ve wanted an morganite for ages--big old cushion would do!

cheers--Sharon

Yep, definitely loads of morganite. I had my eye on a square cushion probably about 8mm², but I managed to resist because it wasn''t quite the right shade for me (thank God!). He had a beautiful pair of morganiite briolettes in a beautiful shade too.

I was amazed how pretty kunzite is in reality. I''ve only ever seen pictures of it before and I''ve always been ambivalent, but it really is pretty. He had a large oval that must have been at least an inch and a half long.

Oh, not to tempt you but the resident jeweller had a wonderful prehnite necklet, round with a demantoid halo - very striking! I am right in thinking you are the gal with the prehnite ring aren''t you? Apparently, he bought a parcel of some 30 stones.

HI:

Yup. I love my ring.....

I am fussy on morganite color also, much of it is too pale for my taste. I fell in love with Very Wang''s twisted ring style years ago, but have never found a stone to my liking.

cheers--Sharon

 

[innerkitten]

Any chance he''s coming through San Francisco? I can''t wait to see your photos. BTW I asked my husband if he knew the flower pot men ( is that what you called them) , but he''d said they weren''t on when he was a kid. What year were they on? He''s from Brighton and Telford.

 

[Gailey]

Date: 3/16/2009 10:18:35 PM
Author: innerkitten
Any chance he''s coming through San Francisco? I can''t wait to see your photos. BTW I asked my husband if he knew the flower pot men ( is that what you called them) , but he''d said they weren''t on when he was a kid. What year were they on? He''s from Brighton and Telford.

Ah, a boy from the Midlands! Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men and Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed were on in the mid sixties. You can find them on Youtube if he fancies a trip down memory lane.

I will enquire about SF tomorrow.

From a gal from the Midlands!

 

[Gailey]

Date: 3/16/2009 10:12:58 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 3/16/2009 10:04:21 PM
Author: Gailey

Date: 3/16/2009 9:34:34 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

I''ve wanted an morganite for ages--big old cushion would do!

cheers--Sharon

Yep, definitely loads of morganite. I had my eye on a square cushion probably about 8mm², but I managed to resist because it wasn''t quite the right shade for me (thank God!). He had a beautiful pair of morganiite briolettes in a beautiful shade too.

I was amazed how pretty kunzite is in reality. I''ve only ever seen pictures of it before and I''ve always been ambivalent, but it really is pretty. He had a large oval that must have been at least an inch and a half long.

Oh, not to tempt you but the resident jeweller had a wonderful prehnite necklet, round with a demantoid halo - very striking! I am right in thinking you are the gal with the prehnite ring aren''t you? Apparently, he bought a parcel of some 30 stones.

HI:

Yup. I love my ring.....

I am fussy on morganite color also, much of it is too pale for my taste. I fell in love with Very Wang''s twisted ring style years ago, but have never found a stone to my liking.

cheers--Sharon

Roger Dery of Spectral Gems has a Morganite asscher to die for. Had I been in the market for a paper weight, I would have snapped his hand off. BTW that asscher is the same colour as my pears.

 

[FrekeChild]

Ooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

I can''t wait to see pics!!!!!

 

[mochi]

Oh Gailey!! What a fun day! I can''t wait for you to post alot of pictures!!