Several have asked the past few days about how they should buy when attending a show like the Tucson Gem Show, or even the smaller gem, gemstone or mineral shows being held in their hometowns or close by areas. Probably the simplest answers are in the form of questions - "Why are you buying ?" and "What are you planning on doing with the items you purchase ?"
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Buying bulk is of course the cheapest method, if you have a need for many of the same items.
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Actually there are two ways to buy in bulk. The first as shown above is "strings" usually called "shanks" of the same gemstones or pearls. These are usually bought by size, weight or number of the same items in the shank. Sometimes you can find same size, same weight, same stone but various colors. Faceted gemstones will usualy come in size and weight, or sometimes in mixtures of the same stone. The advantage here is when you get home, everything is already sorted and named for you, in most cases.
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The other bulk method is grab bags. In most cases these are 'you get what you see' but have no idea as to sizes, weights or quality. Both gemstones for stringing and faceted gemstones can be bought this way. The fun here begins when you get back home, sorting by color, size, weight, cutting and finally by gemstone type, especially when dealing with faceted stones.
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And for those that have the capability and skill to cut, polish and drill their own stones, buying by the "slab" is definitely the way to go.
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Then for those that have a specific project or customer in mind, you can buy the individual stones. Of course you pay a bit more but you don't end up with left overs.
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And then for those that have the big expense accounts, purchasing finished jewelry pieces with gemstones already mounted.
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Whicever way you decide to purchase your materials, rough, cut and polished, bulk, individually or finished piece, you can have a lot of fun and learn a whole lot about the world of Gemology and Jewelry by attending one of these shows.
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