Fossil Bamboo agate? Pyrite? Bumpy-surface hematite? Yeah, Bill Gangi’s got all those weird stones and more at Gangi Gems, booth no. 122 at the AGTA GemFair Tucson, which opened yesterday. Gangi is always my first stop at the show for his funky inventory, and I know many others—including some of industry’s most celebrated jewelry designers—also hit his booth first. This year the Franklin Square, N.Y.–based stone dealer and cutter was offering boulder opals, meteorite, and agate geodes, among other goodies. Here’s the skinny on those three types of rocks for sale.
To see more new jewels live from the show floor, follow me on Instagram @JenniferHeebner.
Boulder Opal
About: Freeform cabochons from 1 to 2 inches
Treatment: None
Mined: Australia
Cut: In-house
Keystone price per piece: $200 to $1,200
Agate Geodes
About: Freeform pieces of about 1 inch
Treatment: None
Mined: Sonora, Mexico
Cut: In-house (“We split them open like a coconut and polish the edges,” Gangi explains)
Keystone price per piece: $30 to $60 a pair
Meteorite
About: Natural blastoids from iron meteorite that exploded in the air, and acid-etched meteorite slices that shows the unique crystal structure (called widmanstatten lines)
Treatment: None (save for the acid etching on the slices to make the patterning pop)
Mined: Blastoids are from Siberia, Russia, ca. 1943, and the slices are from Sweden, ca. 1906
Cut: In-house
Keystone price per gram: $4
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