Hi All;
I’ve got a client who’s been complaining bitterly about the cost of
replacement colored stones from Stuller. Now I know Stuller’s prices
aren’t the greatest when you only buy one or two of a given stone,
but I’m dependant on the convenience and the consistency, and what’s
more, I mark up these materials, though not a lot, to cover my time
and shipping. Ok, he’s a cheapskate. He asked me, “couldn’t you
get your guys to go poke around the Internet and find me better
deals?” My reply, “I’ll have my guys come over and mow your lawn
for you, but it will still cost you $40 an hour, so I think you
better go fish”. Well, I’m now holding a huge backlog of his stuff
waiting for him to come up with stones, and I’m ready to offer to
help him carry it down to his car. Meantime, I figure, if he wants
to take his chances, I can give him some numbers to call. How about
it? Anybody got sources for “economical” calibrated stones like
amethyst, garnet, sapphire, etc? I figure, if he comes up with
junk, I’ll just explain that I can’t work with it and he can either
find another sucker, er, trade shop, to take up where I left off.
Jeez, you’d think he’d know my lowball repair prices and top shelf
work would make it even out. Really, I’m just too busy for this
nonsense. Some are just un-trainable.
David L. Huffman
David,
I recommend Kaiser Gems in Los Angeles for all calibrated gems, but
mostly they are great for all but sapphire, ruby, and emerald. Their
cutting is amazing, and the prices are very competitive! I don’t have
the number in front of me, but it should be listed. They are AGTA
suppliers.
Mary LInford
Blue Star Wax Carving
I've got a client who's been complaining bitterly about the cost
of replacement colored stones from Stuller. Now I know Stuller's
prices aren't the greatest when you only buy one or two of a given
stone, but I'm dependant on the convenience and the consistency,
You probably can’t beat them for convenience and the consistency,
but here’s a couple of folks I like for good service and decent
prices:
FU gemstone Imports, Seattle (206) 382-1800 all around gem house
Kaiser Gems, LA - great calibrated and special shapes, checkerboard
cuts Green Rock Intl- GREAT prices but have to buy in quanity. Joe
Kast- the best quality and always a treat in the box as well!
Have to look those last three up in your JCK directory, the phone
numbers are not by my computer. Tell them Foxfire sent you.
michael
We keep calibrated stones ruby, sapphire, emerald, demantoid,
amethyst etc from 1mm up.
We cannot always guarantee overnight delivery because I’m on the
road, but the prices are much better than stuller and we stock a
higher quality if needed.
I have a cutter to recommend. He has cut very high end sapphire for
us, and smaller inexpensive stones. He is a humble man, does great
work, and turns stones in 1-2 weeks. His name is Ron Boyd in
Albuqurque NM. Please write me for contact
Sincerely,
Ed Cleveland
303-882-8855
I use Dikra in New York for all gems- low end and high end. They
are fantastic! David and Sharon will stick to your budget and even
their low end stuff is excellent. They will do memo on occasion
also, which is nice. Their info is dikragem.net (212)869-6332.
They have a big operation, but still take time with the little
designer like myself.
I have done business with them for years and have always been happy.
They are a wholesaler though, so you need a tax ID number. Along
with gemstone they have very unusual rocks cut into cabs of unique
shapes and drops too. You’ll love them.
Hope this helps-
Stephanie Swanson
Hi Stephanie,
I just saw your post about Dikra Gems - I had ordered a catalog from
them a while ago and liked the range of shapes and stones available,
but I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to order. I’m accustomed
to buying gemstones either from suppliers like IJS and Rio, or at
local gem shows, so the idea of buying stones in “lots” is a bit
intimidating to me. Do you have to keep the whole lot, or can you
send back the stones you don’t want? Any experience you (and
others) could share would be most helpful.
Thanks in advance,
Jessee Smith
www.silverspotstudio.com
Cincinnati, Ohio