Help - Looking for Cameo Blanks
Ralph Gibson
I would like to carve a simple Swan Cameo for my wife, but am having trouble
locating cameo blanks in either Agate or Shell. I don't have a lapidary
setup, so making my own isn't really an option. And the need for carving my
own is I can't locate a source for a large Swan Cameo. Say 25mm x 40mm or
so. I located a smaller version, 13mm x 20mm and bought that for my wife,
but it's too small for the setting that I'm planning to make.
So far I've searched the web, Rio Grande, Stuller, Swest, Gesswein, and
hunted through lots of Lapidary Journels with no luck.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide and have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Ralph
--
Ralph Gibson
Gibson's Jewelry
http://www.gibsonsjewelry.com
Abrasha
Peter W. Rowe
Hmm. I think you should give him a discount.
That site, though it has wonderful work, doesn't happen to list either blanks
(which he may find very hard to find) or swans. Now certainly, they might be
willing to do a swan, but since they're set up for ultrasonic carving, rather
than hand carving, this would mean he'd have to pay to have the initial dies
made too...
cheers
Peter
Abrasha
>
> >>
> >>You owe me a $250 Search Fee.
> >>
> >>Abrasha
> >>http://www.abrasha.com
>
> Hmm. I think you should give him a discount.
Why? I don't think so.
>
> That site, though it has wonderful work, doesn't happen to list either blanks
> (which he may find very hard to find) or swans.
So?!? He can ask questions to get to that, don't you think, or do you think I
should have asked that question for him also?
> Now certainly, they might be
> willing to do a swan, but since they're set up for ultrasonic carving, rather
> than hand carving, this would mean he'd have to pay to have the initial dies
> made too...
So?!? What is your point?
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
Peter W. Rowe
<abr...@abrasha.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hmm. I think you should give him a discount.
>>
>>Why? I don't think so.
>>
Well, assuming that you're not expecting to actually collect that fee (though
it would be nice, of course), I then conclude that either your post was
intended to suggest that people should make better uses of search engines, or
that you were making that statement in a somewhat lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek
manner. My reply suggesting a discount continued that latter mood, and was
based on the thought that though your search findings are a good next step, you
didn't find him exactly what he wanted sitting there on a silver platter. So
the search result you suggest may only be a partial answer to his question, or
may not be one at all. Thus, the discount... :-)
>>
>>So?!? He can ask questions to get to that, don't you think, or do you think I
>>should have asked that question for him also?
>>
Of course he can ask the question, and I fully expect that he should do so, and
it's his job, not yours. I may be fond, now and then, of playing devils
advocate to your suggestions, but i'm not actually on the other side of the
issue.
>>> Now certainly, they might be
>>> willing to do a swan, but since they're set up for ultrasonic carving, rather
>>> than hand carving, this would mean he'd have to pay to have the initial dies
>>> made too...
>>
>>So?!? What is your point?
>>
Just that I suspect they don't have the actual swan design the fellow was
looking for, given the technology they apparently use to produce their stones.
Of course, he might be able to get them to sell him a blank uncarved one, in
which case your site would have been a success for him. (And in which case, of
course, the aformentioned discount should not apply) :-)
Peter
Ralph Gibson
"Peter W. Rowe" <pwrowe@ixDOTnetcomDOTcom> wrote in message
news:6rla40l9g1720nqgu...@4ax.com...
Hello and many thanks to both Peter and Abrasha for their information and
pointers. When I saw Abrasha's post I was very excited. But I had already
located that company and Le Collier GmbH, both in Idar-Oberstein, Germany
some weeks ago . And while they don't sell Cameo blanks, or the Swan that I
was looking for, they do have some wonderful Cameos. And Le Collier has a
very nice color brochure of those that they offer for sale which they were
kind enough to send me.
And rather than pay someone to custom carve a Swan Cameo for me, I'd rather
purchase the lapidary equipment that I would need to cut the Agate blank
myself. I actually was very much into the lapidary hobby about 30 years
ago, but I prefer working in wax and metal now. But maybe it's time to see
if Star Diamond is still around for some lapidary gear. Since this is a
gift for my wife, I might be able to pick up some new toys, I mean tools.
And Abrasha, I have seen your recommendations on using search engines in the
past, and certainly wanted to be sure that I'd done my due diligence before
coming to the group with my request. I would have been very embarrased if
you spotted a site quickly, that I managed to miss for several weeks. So
far I've searched through Yahoo, Hot Bot, Google, Lycos, Rio Grande Tech
Support, and a number of Cameo producing companies in Italy and Germany.
Where it appears lots of quality Cameos are cut and shipped out of, but all
with no success. Though some of the companies in Italy did have great
background on the history of Cameo Carving, so it wasn't a total waste of
time. I'm now down to searching through my back issues of Lapidary Journel
to see if something pops up.
And I have been trying, also without success, to locate a Lapidary or Cameo
centric news group on the web. Unfortunately the only Cameo related
newsgroup I could find was a porn site. I didn't bother checking to see if
they have any helpful suggestions for me.
But thanks again for the help and if I find a site, I'll forward that
information to the group. Never can tell, it may come in handy some time.
Debbie B
page)
http://www.cameo-glass.co.uk/contemporary/pilgrimcameo/
Hope this helps
--
Debbie (New Mexico)
Life is too short
"Ralph Gibson" <r-gi...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:prqa40tsctgm3ukvn...@4ax.com...
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.593 / Virus Database: 376 - Release Date: 2/20/2004
Abrasha
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
Ralph Gibson
news:560b40p1gljeuhnd7...@4ax.com...
Hello Abrasha and all,
Since I wasn't having any luck searching for "Cameo Blank", "Cameo
Supplies", etc. I tried a different tack. I decided to search Yahoo for
"Dying Agate" since most Cameo Agate material is dyed to enhance the colors
of the Cameo. And sure enough, a company called Herbert Crummenauer located
in Idar-Oberstein, Germany
(http://www.crummenauer-cameostones.de/start_e.html) popped up. Looks like
they carry both two color and three color Cameo blanks. If you are
interested in Cameo's you might want to take a look at their web site. Very
nice. Now I just need to be patient while waiting for a catalog to show up.
And again many thanks to Abrasha and Debbie for their help with my search.
I'll take a look at Ganoksin to see if they list an alternate source for the
blanks, or other links that may come in useful. But the site that Debbie
pointed out only appears to carry glass Cameo blanks, and I'm really looking
for Agate. But I appreciate the help just the same.
Chris Hackett
http://www.walterlowndes.com/web5.htm
Chris