FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Peter Megaw]

Sign me up Tony...might prefer a good Zinn though with blackcherries, blackberries and a hint of leather in the nose...

[lluis]

Good evening, Mr. Petrov, List

Well, it depends of what means damaged.
A floater would not be damaged if not brushed, chipped and so....
A matrix piece could be damaged in the borders, where it has been trimmed.
Apart of that, well, I see them with a 10x or a 12x. If I can not see, for me they are not damaged.....
If the piece, apart of its breaking lines are nor damaged, for me is not *human* damaged

Manicheist?
Maybe. But I need to place a line and work accordingly

With best wishes

Lluís

[Peter Megaw]

Perhaps worth noting that in the diamond industry they define flawless as lacking flaws visible under 10X magnification...

[Ed Huskinson]

I do the same thing Tony, usually with Finlaggan. S'like drinking campfire smoke. Guess it's an acquired taste. Sometimes I'm in the mood for Amaretto. Royal Salute is good too. Don't even get me started on the Merlots.

Point is that, yes, it is nice to sit in one's mineral room (however well- or not-so-well-appointed) and bask in the wonders of the mineral kingdom.

We all do it, regardless of the costs of our acquisitions. I like my stuff, and that's the end-point of this game for me, and for most of us as well, I think.

Thanks for sharing,

Ed

[Gail]

Greg Toomey, great to see you on the forum again.

Quick note, congrats to Jordi for photo of the day on Mindat.

[Greg Toomey]

Thanks Gail!

As long as the topic is not too technical, and I feel as if I have something to add or share, I'm here!

Greg

[Matt_Zukowski]

Have you guys considered a nice Belgian Ale?

[Gail]

I like a Baileys over ice myself.

[Ed Huskinson]

Ooooohhhhh Bailey's!!! I forgot about Bailey's. Of course, I only sip that when I'm looking at my galena from the Mogul Mine, Tipperary, Ireland.

Wine goes with all minerals, and scotch goes with ciarngorm, right?

Thanks Gail. So where are you guys now? Halfway there with 25, 26 cases ready?

Just curious.

Ed

[Ed Huskinson]

Ooops. Cairngorm, yeah, that's it, not however I misspelled it.

[Jon Mommers]

For me, there is nothing better than a Cab Sav or Merlot, while looking at minerals with a friend, Glen Fiddich if alone and Dragons Blood on a frosty morning in the field before serious rock breaking
(Dragons Blood is a homemade Chilli cordial mixed with grappa)
In a big group, liquor muscat, around a table or camp fire.

[Gail]

pppssssst Ed? Go look at our preparations for the East Coast Gem and Mineral show on FMF's forum, you can see our progress ( https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=657 ). We are on our second case of Smithsonites today, so moving along nicely.
Been making bases and printing photos all day.
Moving along......

we have no shortage of cases to put in, rather we suffer from too many choices for themes!

[jimB]

How about this Jordi...if the collector wants to use a loupe to find the ding the price becomes X 10 if the piece passes a 10X inspection, X 5 for a 5x inspection etc. The diamond folks have been doing this for years why not minerals?

[jimB]

I'll apply the 3 P's rule. Perfect Prefered X Price. It is prefered to buy a perfect specimen and then you gagg on the price and reconsider. Shop harder! Remember if you can't live with it don't buy it. The ding, chip, Wilbur, scratch, cleavage bruise etc isnt going to go away. At least it won't do away by usual means. Try to buy the best specimen you can find for a price you are willing to pay. In some species this is nearly impossible. If a locality hasn't produced in a few generations ( Cornwall, Many European localitys, many eastern USA localities etc. and you are lucky to find a specimen that will fit into your scheme you pretty much have a choice of this one one or none. Quality sort of takes a back seat or at least the issue becomes fuzzy, emotionally speaking. A few years ago the Elmwood mine calcites were every where and you could insist on a PEREFECT one reasonably priced. Not today however. Do the best you can with the money you have to spend. Remember no one gets them all and the we allow for good fortune ( hard work) to increase our chance of landing a killer for a nominal price. GOOD HUNTING!

[garchin]

{ALL specimens are damaged. No exceptions.}

Cool oneliner Alfredo!. I like it and it could even be true.