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s00perguy t1_j68i3y9 wrote

Reply to comment by CrustalTrudger in can gemstones be melted into a gradient? by Acceptable_Shift_247

Oh sweet Jesus that's some good sourcing.

Hey,while it isn't quite like mixing dyes and creating a gradient, you could grind the gemstones in question and create a resin suspension for a similar effect, assuming none of them react in any way with standard 2 part epoxy. You could grind them fine, mix them into their respective resins, mix them, and let it cure.

Or, if you're more concerned about carrying over the crystal structure of the original stones than getting a strictly smooth gradient, you could polish them to a uniform shape and bond them somehow. Suspending in epoxy is still an option for that.

Just some ideas, idk if that works on all fronts.

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LittleCreepy_ t1_j6anu54 wrote

Would that even work? Gems generaly produce a different colour powder than what we see from a single crystal. Could potentially ruin your gem.

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s00perguy t1_j6aqkqv wrote

For one, you can buy gem powder directly, and it's incredibly cheap, and you'll notice I mentioned a method for using contiguous gems later in the thread

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emptybottleofdoom t1_j6955oe wrote

Sounds expensive but possible? Lab grown gems, with resin suspension of the two gems, ground up, in a gradient from one to the other?

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s00perguy t1_j698f68 wrote

I mean, it was going to be expensive anyway. It's also not hard to find just gem powder now that I'm thinking about it, because people want big, contiguous gems. So finding a whole or many to make up or encrust a full wedding band? Incredibly expensive. Loading gem powder instead of a dye into resin? Not cheap, but moreso, and less of an artistic statement imho. If you want plain colored crushed crystal, glass/cubic zirconium is an ideal stand in. Like, you can make that idea for relatively cheap, set it in a band of a nice gold/silver, and it would look just as good, because you obviously lose some of the qualities that makes gems desireable in the first place, if the fact they're your birthstones don't really matter. But if you have multiple whole gems to really fill out the band, and the money to really splash out in the jeweler, it could be gorgeous.

So basically, as always, it comes down to what exactly you want, your budget, and how much appearance matters next to what the materials actually are.

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emptybottleofdoom t1_j698uff wrote

We kinda went from "how minerals work under heat" to debating jewelry, huh.

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s00perguy t1_j6993lq wrote

Eh, it'sdirectly related to the main post. Also I have been thinking in a crafts headspace for a few days while working on my most recent post.

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kcasper t1_j6bbm44 wrote

>Loading gem powder instead of a dye into resin? Not cheap

The only really expensive part here is acquiring the gem powder. The rest is pouring it in a mold, letting it cure, and then polishing it into a specific detail. Simple round rings are terribly easy to make. Longevity is an issue as you need to know the correct formula to keep the outer layer from flaking or peeling apart.

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Sevulturus t1_j69i2c3 wrote

Lots of people are doing something close when making bent wood rings. This one for example uses crushed turquoise, but grinding it finer and then laying out a gradient likely wouldn't be that tough.

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lezzerlee t1_j6ab0bf wrote

I would be worried about longevity of resin compared to a quality metal or harder stone, personally.

ETA resin is soft (relatively) & can discolor after time, especially with exposure to sunlight.

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