Speaking of clear quartz and doublets, I’d like to find a source for
flat clear quartz - natural and / or synthetic. I’ve Googled it, but
not come up with what I was looking for (or maybe I just didn’t
realize it ).
If anyone knows a source for this, please wrote in!
thanks!
Ivy S. Fasko
Contemporary Handcrafted Jewelry
http://www.ivysfasko.com
Ivy -
You might try Stuart Schmitt at the Sweet Surrender crystal mine in
Mt. Ida Arkansas. Stuart is a real likeable guy, retired navy fighter
pilot, who became a quartz crystal miner in his second life. I know
he sells large clear tips for slicing into doublet tops; but don’t
know whether he sells them pre sliced and ready to use. Here’s the
web site: http://www.arcrystalmine.com - gives his phone number too.
Cheers,
Hans Durstling
Moncton, Canada
Hi Ivy!
If I am not mistaken you looking for rock crystal, the clear
quartz?? What size are you searching for?
I have a piece 58mm x 26mm. Was quite a task looking for one…!!!
regards,
Hema
Thanks to all who wrote to me suggesting possible sources for flat
clear (optical) quartz.
I don’t have a particular size in mind, except as to thickness,
which I suppose could be from 1.5 to perhaps 3 mm. I am just
speculating here, as I don’t really know what I need yet as I’m just
gathering info and supplies to allow creation of doublets or triplets
of fragile stone or natural materials for jewelry making.
Has anyone here made doublet/triplets? What thicknesses have you
used?
Thanks!
Ivy S. Fasko
Contemporary Handcrafted Jewelry
http://www.ivysfasko.com
Hi Ivy,
I’ve made many many triplets and doublets, for opal, ammolite,
labradorite and other stones. A how-to I wrote quite a while back
for the Eclectic Lapidary online magazine is still available here:
As far as thickness of the quartz cap goes I don’t follow any set
rule but use whatever thickness I have available that seems to suit
and then grind it down until it looks right for that particular
stone. Too thick looks unreal and obvious. Too thin gets risky in
polishing. But that varies depending on the stone. A small stone
would take a much thinner covering.
Cheers,
Hans Durstling
Moncton, Canada
Hi Ivy,
I buy my clear quartz in rods and cut it to the proper thickness for
making triplets. I cut it about 1.5 mm, then flatten the cut side on
a flat lap.
I buy it from http://www.creativegems.com
Creative Gems
P.O. Box 518
Seagoville, Tx 75159
Toll Free 1-888-287-3445
Fax 972-427-9907
A rod is $6.00, 6+ inches long, and about.5 inch to.75 inch in
width. I have had great customer service, including over night
shipping when I was in a triplet making class in Grady and Phyllis are
wonderful people and I’m sure you will be happy with their product
and service. They also have (or used to have) precut and pre-shaped
caps in different sizes for triplets if you don’t want to have to cut
them, but I prefer the rods, much more versatile.
Love and God Bless
randy
http://www.rocksmyth.com
Instead of quartz you may like to consider synthetic sapphire which
is also clear (white). It is extensively used in industry - far more
than sheet quartz and should therefore be more easily obtained.
Significant amounts are used in the semiconductor industry and it is
used for such things as the scanner windows at supermarket checkouts
which may be about the thickness you want. It is, obviously, a bit
harder than quartz but works quite easily using diamond tools and
grits. There are several companies making it in various forms in the
US and, some time ago, I contacted one of them - I can’t for the life
of me remember the company name - and received a box of ‘scrap’ which
included thin round and square rod (which is what I really wanted)
and various sizes of tube and flats up to a piece about 3" square -
all sent for free. I understand that anything which is not quite up
to spec gets scrapped and fed back into the furnace for remelting.
Its amazing what you can get if you ask nicely!!
Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK