Cocobolo 22k Jr. Statesman for my lady

[Daniel]

It seems I seldom get to ad anything to this forum so this one is making up for lost time.
My first Jr. statesman and man what a gorgeous kit. the price will take your breath away for a bit but for any of you that don't have one, I recommend you try it at least once.
this one is for TLOML for mothers day. it ws late but well worth the wait.

not only that but this is the back side of the Cap.
Thanks to ben for the Opal inlay information. Opal is my wifes Birthstone.

 

[DCBluesman]

Veru nice, Daniel. I'm sure she was thrilled!

 

[JimGo]

That looks pretty sweet Daniel! Great gifts!

 

[driften]

Great job! I think when the new Jr Statesman come out I will try some.

 

[PenWorks]

Beautifull pen Daniel, the opal was a nice touch.

 

[Daniel]

I was rushing earlier trying to get pics, edit them and get the post up. but have a bit more time now.
I am tickled to pieces with this pen and so is my wife. she used my Gent pen a few weeks ago and fell in live with it, but said it was to big for her hand. I said I had just the fix. and this was it. the Opal was an added feature during the whole ordering and getting it done process.
as for opal inlay. according to the Mineral expert in my life, Ben. the value of an opal inlay is about $100 / gram. I think the one above woudl be right in the neighborhood of one gram but Ben could guestimate that better than I. Of course I didn't pay that much for it.
here is the quick tutorial.
search E-bay for "Opal Rough" or get lucky like I did and have a gem show two blocks away. anyway you are looking for the littel bottles or piles of pebble size stones. not the really nice ones. I payed nearly $10 for just a tiny vial and then paid anouther $25 for a small bottle at the gem show
these will all get crushed up. I used my half ton arbor press withthe opal in a plastic bag. what you want is all powder to BB size pieces. it will look like you took all the fire out of the opal but you didn't.
in this case I used my dremel tool to actually cut the hole for the opal after I turned the pen to it's final shape. yes I live dangerously. I would recommend you leave it just a touch over what you want it to finally be. then select a couple good sive chunks to fill the main void. pour a littel powdered Opal over that adn tap it in to fill in any gaps. apply a drop of CA and let dry. repeat eh powder if needed. you will actually have opal sticking way above the surface at this time.
I then used a small grinding stone with my dremel to grind the Opal down to the surface, finishing up getting it flush with 120 grit sandpaper. Return the blanks to the lathe and finish in your prefered manner. the CA brings the fire right back to the opal. that's the short version and just for a mental note. an Opal inlay ads at least $100 to the value of a pen. I'll post a pic of the next opal I want to use but it will be worth a whole lot more than $100.

 

[Daniel]

this is an Opal I hope to be using in a pen soon.

 

[swm6500]

Very nice pen Daniel. I am sure she loves that pen.

 

[Darley]

Daniel very nice pen, like the Opal inlay, I'm prety sure you know where the Opal come from .

Serge

 

[rtjw]

Beautiful pen and a great extra to the pen.

 

[atvrules1]

Very nice pen Daniel, very nice. Unfortunately my wife is now mad at me 'cause she didn't get an opal pen. Come to think of it, her birthstone is diamond......hmmmm, don't have too many of those lying around. What to do, what to do. I guess I better go to the shop.......

 

[Daniel]

Serge,
You got it, this Opal does happen to be Australian, whats funny about that is I am only A few hours from Virgin Valley anouther location for Opal. Hope to go actually dig some of my own this summer.

 

[WoodChucker]

Daniel, beautiful pen and I'm sure she'll love it! If I made something that nice for my other half she would want to know what I did wrong. []

 

[Ben]

Originally posted by Daniel
<br />
as for opal inlay. according to the Mineral expert in my life, Ben. the value of an opal inlay is about $100 / gram. I think the one above woudl be right in the neighborhood of one gram but Ben could guestimate that better than I. Of course I didn't pay that much for it.

Gem grade Opal can go anywher from $60 to $250+ per gram in it's rough state. This is for "Gem Quality" mind you. Now I know the ones Dan & I picked up at the local gem and mineral show are pretty, but I don't think that they are quite worth that much. That is not to say that there isn't opal out there worth that much, but the $25 jars we got from Cooper Peddy, Australia probably aren't going to have too many of them in em'.

Now as far as weight, here's a simple breakdown: 5 carats = 1 gram. Having seen this awesome pen earlier today, I'd guess that approx. a half of a gram was used to fill this void. I do think however, that if a really good inlay of anytrhing was done on a pen that it would increase the value of the pen & with a really good inlay of something like opal, I think it could raise the value of a pen EASILY by $100 if not more. It is a prescious gemstone for cryin' out loud! Not to mention it has every color of the rainbow in it!

Anyway enough of my babbling for now, I need time to think about the fact that I JUST GOT MY 2ND STAR w/ THIS POST!!!!!! (I'm doing a little dance as we speak.) Take care,


Ben
bchavez@unr.edu

 

[Darley]

Originally posted by Daniel
<br />Serge,
You got it, this Opal does happen to be Australian, whats funny about that is I am only A few hours from Virgin Valley anouther location for Opal. Hope to go actually dig some of my own this summer.

You done a good deal with your litle jar, I'm sure that your wife like the pen, now you have to buy a shovel and a pick for your foresicking week end [] Happy hunting.

Serge

 

[Fleabit]

Great looking pen and a very nice touch with the opal inlay.

 

[Fred in NC]

Diamond? I have used BEZEL mounted CZ in a couple of my pens. Unfortunately, they are gone, or I would post a pic.

I found a pair of post earrings with the stones set in a bezel mount. The mount is like a little cup, with a very thin border around the stone. The outside diameter of the cup was exactly 1/8". I cut the post off, and ground the bottom of the cup a little. A 1/8" hole, clean the edges and put a bit of finish on the edges. Then set it with CA. All you can see is a ring with the stone inside.

These come in birthstones also. I found the earrings at an Eckerds drugstore, but I have seen the same mount in other places. Remember, this mount does not have prongs at all.

 

[jdavis]

What a hit and super pen. Bet she was a happy camper.

 

[pastorbill1952]

Excellent and the opal is stunning change.

 

[alamocdc]

Very nice pen, Daniel! The Opal inlay being her birthstone was a nice touch.

 

[Tom McMillan]

Very sharp pen Daniel----nice work!!![]