Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Romancing the Stone... where can you find good gemstones beads?


I've been on the hunt for good gemstones for my jewelry and it's not as easy as I thought it might be. I have gone to gem shows but honestly, the prices weren't very good. They did have some good quality stuff but it was really pricey. So..I went to the neighborhood bead store. Nope, they only had a gazillion crystals and manufactured beads and findings, no nice stones. I've ordered online, from Etsians, and some of the orders were very nice but some were not. It's so hard to buy stones when you can't actually look at them. And a lot of times when you get them, they are sooo small. (even with the mm size shown on the shop). I did find some good stones at a shop in West Palm, called, Beads Gone Wild. Very nice moonstones.. not cheap but they gave me a deal and let me break up a strand. So, I ask... where do you all get your good quality gemstones at reasonable prices?

Added a few new resources to the blog resource section on the left... check it out.

Oh, and the Schmoop says Hello!

10 comments:

  1. By "stones" do you mean loose, unset stones or do you mean gemstone beads?

    In either case, It's difficult to find good quality AND inexpensive. No matter where you look it's usually one or the other. When I go to gem shows I make sure to bring my tax ID so I can get into the wholesale section. When I am ordering online I usually try to save up and make one or two bulk purchases a year, so I can take advantage of the qty discount offered by most online suppliers.

    In my experience, Fire Mountain usually has the best price, although it's usually not the best quality. Fortunately they disclose quality info up front, for the most part. If quality is more important I usually order through Rio. It's more expensive, but I get what I pay for, both in quality and cut.

    Unfortunately for some stones I need to see them in person, so I only buy those at the gem shows. Any increase in price is more than offset by knowing that I can use what I'm getting!

    I've come to the conclusion that what *I* think is expensive has absolutely no bearing on what the real-world prices are, and that if I have my heart set on something that costs $2 a carat, I'm going to have to pay for it!

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  3. Alison, great feedback. Yes, I was speaking of gemstone bead particularly. Briolettes, drops and rounds etc.. I have not tried Rio, I'll check them out. I think you are correct, in that you get what you pay for. I just really want to keep my price point down right now since i don't have a lot of sales. I like your idea of saving up and buying in bulk. Thanks!

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  4. Hey, I also love Lima Beads and luxbeads on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6411210

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  5. Thanks MAB. I did purchase something from luxbeads, but I had problems. They were labradorite briolettes and the hole was drilled very close to the tip and several of them chipped. But, that was just one time, so.. I just might try them again. I'll check into Lima Beads!

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  6. PS, MAB, Allison... Love your stuff!

    And Schmoopie wants to know who that handsome kitty is in MAB's avatar!

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  7. Oh, that's my Franklin. He says hi! Give luxbeads another go, she's pretty wonderful.

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  8. It's surprising how many beads I find when on holidays. Keep an eye out when you're in another place. I got some really nice beads from a little store in Moab Utah on holidays once. Not somewhere I would have thought to look.

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  9. Ohh, good point. Heading to St. Augustine in a few months. Might find some there. Thanks for the tip silver Sister.

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  10. MAB, hi to Franklin. And I will give Lux another go. I totally understand sometimes, things just happen. Thanks again for the advice!

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