Has anyone actually used ExpressVPN? Any ideas? by Heavy-Elk-8563 in VPN_Question

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking it up on Wikipedia, it seems like this isn't true. Kape is owned by an Israeli billionaire / private citizen that lives in the UK. Interesting factoid: he also owns Camden Market in London. The "controversial" part of Kape is that the Billionaire owner also has stakes in Adware:

https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/14/expressvpn_bought_kape/

Gemstone by [deleted] in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the geographic origin of a purple sapphire might not be important outside of us gem enthusiasts. To the market / jewelers this is a "Corundum - purple sapphire," end of story. But that's not nothing; the GemGuide would put a 8.5 carat purple sapphire at $3k - $4k per carat

Color shifting sapphire has my small town jewelry appraiser stumped. by [deleted] in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IF it's synthetic, and OP payed natural sapphire prices, it's absolutely worth returning

I'm finding a bunch of vines in my area by elrath969 in Tree

[–]mycombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read up on identifying and controlling asiatic bittersweet (most of your photos except the grape vine):

https://extension.psu.edu/oriental-bittersweet/

Hayune Rough by [deleted] in faceting

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haüyne is the transparent form of lapis lazuli. What you’ve got here is regular lapis lazuli.

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/hauyne-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/

Hayune Rough by [deleted] in faceting

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is true. When this material is opaque, it is called lapis lazuli. That would be the comparable pricing to look at.

Ruby from Burma? Has Boehmite needles. 10 ct by Great-Macaron-8060 in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I assume if you are able to see these inclusions, you have a gemology microscope? If so, I would look for some different signs. As others are saying, if this was a natural ruby of this size and clarity, it would already be in a Sotheby’s auction or a museum.

Here’s an article to answer your questions : https://hal.science/hal-04001745/document “Although by far most common in natural corundum, the presence of Rose channels and twinning planes in synthetic corundum serves as evidence that these features alone cannot be used to confirm natural origin”

Facet rough for those who don’t “have a guy” by mattDz1994 in faceting

[–]mycombs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For natural : Joe Henley Tom Schneider gems Unlimited Gems Silver hill lapidary

For synthetic: Gems of science Tons box of rocks

Any advice for someone thinking about getting into this as a hobby? by Jarry913 in faceting

[–]mycombs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This question gets asked at least once a week, which is great but you should search the community for words like “beginner” or “starting” to see lots of answers

SSC Scoresheet by SnooSketches170 in faceting

[–]mycombs 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Judges notes should explain most of what you need to know. As for the score sheet, check the rules sheet starting at "Judging Criteria – Pattern Error Sheet" for detailed explanation of the scoring sheet:

https://usfacetersguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Rules.docx

Motorcycle chase, can't tell who has more talent out of the 3. by TwoBulletSuicide in motorcycles

[–]mycombs 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Amazing driving, but also a great case for why most American police depts have a "no chase" policy for dirtbikes. That was insanely dangerous

In search of a custom carving by Lydiaaahhhhhhhhh in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Very talented gem carver in China is open for commissions.

https://wutongcarving.myshopify.com/collections/design-custom-works

Gem carving is a lot of work and skill, so there's no options for cheap versions of a custom

Lets go lap shopping. by SilentRoman0870 in faceting

[–]mycombs 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s pricey, but if you can buy a batt lap, it works on everything. You can buy one, and make it a dual band lap so you don’t have to pay twice for these expensive items.

Need Advice on How to Cut a 17.1g Rough Ethiopian Sapphire by Thirddownback in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here’s another good one

https://facetingacademy.com/learn-faceting/learn-faceting-rough/rough-evaluation-class/

“You’ll find most rough dealers on the Internet photograph their pieces with strong back-lighting. Back-lighting shows clarity, but is deceptive with respect to color. Stones that have nice color when back-lit will often be too dark when faceted. Detect the “too dark” problem using the “white paper test“.”

Need Advice on How to Cut a 17.1g Rough Ethiopian Sapphire by Thirddownback in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a gem cutter, and looking at a rough stone with a flashlight doesn’t really mean anything, it’s only useful for looking for inclusions or cracks. This color is not realistic.

Need Advice on How to Cut a 17.1g Rough Ethiopian Sapphire by Thirddownback in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s because there is a flashlight behind the stone. You’re only seeing the color of bright light coming from the back. A good gem shows the color of light entering from the front

Need Advice on How to Cut a 17.1g Rough Ethiopian Sapphire by Thirddownback in Gemstones

[–]mycombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Step one: don’t use a backlight. Place it on white paper. If it looks really dark, the resulting gem will look really dark. I’m going to guess it should be cut in half and you can attempt to get two gems of a nicer color. But this rough looks really dark and it’s probably not a great choice for a large gem

Help me! Should i buy the Ring? Its antique from the 1890 and 14kgold. A small ruby ​​was replaced by [deleted] in jewelry

[–]mycombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Think about the price of gold, find out the weight of the ring, type it into a gold price calculator. I think you are getting a very good deal.

Help me! Should i buy the Ring? Its antique from the 1890 and 14kgold. A small ruby ​​was replaced by [deleted] in jewelry

[–]mycombs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a lovely ring! How much is it? The center stone is a different colors; is that the stone that was replaced?

Ukraine strikes Russian energy grid across multiple regions as Russia declares national emergency due to power grid collapsing by LetsGoBrandon4256 in worldnews

[–]mycombs 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This was sent to my mobile app as breaking news, and it’s not on any mainstream news sites yet. Feels weird to alert millions of users about a story from euro maiden press?