Author: TylerH

Several new sodalite necklaces and pendants are now available. Custom pieces are available on request. Send requests to tyler@spectralstone.com

It’s great to see the Bengals headed to the Super Bowl! As a Cincinnati native currently living in Indianapolis, of course I took my boys to a couple games and some favorite restaurants like LaRosa’s Pizza and Skyline Chili, not to mention the Montgomery Inn for the world’s best ribs!

How to spot a fake

Many people are hesitant to buy jewelry online because it’s hard to be sure you are getting what you pay for, more so if you’re only reading a description and looking at pictures. I attend many art festivals and often people tell me they are glad to find someone they can buy from in the future online, since they have seen and touched the stones I have and are assured they aren’t misrepresentations. 

Here are a few tips I use when buying stone wholesale by the pound

• Comparison shopping is looking for a product from several different sources to compare one price to another, as well as the details concerning the quality. You probably already do this when shopping for groceries, appliances etc. and can do the same with jewelry

• Beware of ‘wholesale prices’. A licensed wholesaler will require that you present a retail merchants license, to abide by laws concerning tax collection. A merchant who offers wholesale pricing may be overstating their true value.

• Stones should never, ever contain bubbles. Plastics, polymers and glass have bubbles. Another popular fake is resin. Resin can easily be cast into any shape, color etc. and might even look too good to be true.

• Natural stones contain imperfections, aren’t perfectly aligned geometrically, and never present a utopian array of colors. Their true beauty is in being almost perfect. The old adage ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t’ applies here.

• When comparison shopping, you may get a good idea what a stone costs on average. This could vary depending on the type or material the stone is set in, but if you see something that usually sells for $35 to $50 on average for a sale price of $10 it is more than likely a fake or very low quality. 

I hope these tips help you in making your purchases. If you have any questions about the stones here or elsewhere, please feel free to email me at tyler@spectralstone.com

Some new crazy lace agate pendants this week. Crazy Lace Agate is called the Laughter Stone, or “Happy Lace,” bringing joy to all those in its presence