In short, whenever you are in the Great Outdoors, you should be keeping your eyes open for good tumbling rocks.  However, we have been asked many times if we can supply tumbling rocks for those just starting out in the hobby.

So in response to this demand, we are now very pleased to announce that we offer mixed colour rocks for you to try your hand at tumbling. Offered in 2 convenient sizes suitable for the most popular 3 pound barrels:

These rocks are randomly selected from a mixed unidentified lot but will include a variety of quartz type rocks with colours ranging from white, green, pink, orange, grey, etc as shown in the photo above.

Every order from the 1st July until the closing date is an entry into the draw so dont miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

Click here to see more about the CabKing 6V3

CLOSING DATE:  15th December 2010.

The winner will be notified and announced on the 15th December so we can deliver this great prize in time for Christmas 2010.

FINE PRINT / CONDITIONS:

• This giveaway draw is open to our Australian customers only due to freight restrictions.
• The prize is located at Glen Innes (2370, NSW) – the winner will be responsible for freight costs to their location or may choose to pick up directly from our warehouse.
• Entries will automatically be included with each order/invoice – you do not have to do anything to enter the giveaway.
• The winner will be announced on the Aussie Sapphire website, Aussie Lapidary Forum and the Aussie Sapphire Blog.
• The winner will be notified directly by email or phone.
• The draw will close 5:00pm, December 15th 2010 and a winner drawn randomly from the entries.
• Prize can not be exchanged or redeemed for cash.

We’ve just moved over to the new dedicated ip so it may appear as though our website has disappeared until the DNS updates across the web.  If you are in a hurry to access the site, you can flush your DNS to force your computer to look up the revised ip by following these instructions.  Otherwise, your ISP should clear the DNS cache within a few hours and we’ll be visible again without you having to do anything.

We’re working in the office, so you have queries or want to make an order, just give us a call on 1800 50 21 40.

cheers
Leah Lane (Aussie Sapphire)

We will be available to take orders by phone if you call 1800 50 21 40 if you have an urgent requirement.

The new website will not be significantly different in appearance but is being upgraded to the latest version software featuring improved security – we have also taken the opportunity to improve usability for our customers by making a few small tweaks here and there.

thank you from Aussie Sapphire

Check out the Gem Display category for 30% off gem display cases and refills.

Plenty of other great specials here including some restocked books – some of our most popular titles have been discounted.

Bulk buy discounts for tumbling grit (Black Silicon Carbide) and polish.  Silicon Carbide is now available is 5kg pails and 25kg bags – both packed in strong plastic buckets with sealed lids and handles for convenient handling and secure storage.

We’re working on our next USA sea freight container now with some exciting new products to be included.  If you are looking for anything in particular, please let us know so we can include it for you.  This is a great opportunity to source the more bulky items which are expensive to get in by air freight.  If you dont mind some lead time, you can benefit from our cheaper sea freight rates.

cheers for now from Aussie Sapphire

For beginners to rock tumbling, our Starter Kits are a great way to get the most suitable grits/polish so you can get up and running quickly.

Previously we packaged these in plastic bags but these can be fiddly and messy to handle when you are spooning out of the bag.  Therefore, we are now moving to plastic screw-top jars for easy and convenient storage – with lids in our distinctive Aussie Sapphire blue and informative labels on each jar so you know exactly what to do.

So far only Kit A has new photos but we’ll be doing new ones as we transfer over.

What about value for money?

Even better than before with a bonus 250 gram pack of plastic pellets now included.  If you are using a 3 pound barrel rotary tumbler such as the Lortone 3A or 33B, our starter kits should do about 3 to 4 batches of rock.  Remember, the Lortone 4-step kit includes less silicon carbide grit, does not include plastic pellets and uses aluminium oxide (grit size unknown) as the pre-polish and polish steps.  We believe that cerium oxide is a better choice for the kind of rocks most people start out with.  Lortone tumblers are fantastic but we reckon we can do a better deal on Grit and Polish.

Stay tuned for news on tumbling rock – heaps of people have asked us whether we can supply rocks to go with their brand new tumbler.  Up till now, we have not been able to help but we think we have finally cracked this one.  We’ll announce the details here when we get these listed online.

Bye for now from Aussie Sapphire

Talked about our new industrial/commercial tumblers in the last post but we have some new smaller items that may be of interest:

• New tweezers, pliers and scoops in the Jewellery Making category.
• Two styles of Ring Cutters for safe removal of rings from swollen fingers.
• Estwing Rock Picks – pointed end or chisel end with optional leather sheath
• New stock of Inland Lapidary saws, spare parts and accessories
• Some new stock of red and orange synthetic corundum – hopefully more coming.
• New stock of Lortone tumblers
• Dopping Supplies – green or brown dopping wax plus new stock of Gem-Tite dopping glue.

Plus we have more stock on the way…

Look out for new bandsaws and glass grinders for those looking for something a bit stronger than the Inland Lapidary machines.  We also have new stock of diamond wheels on the way including polishing flex wheels – #8k, #14k and #50k.

We have a new book order in transit from the USA – hopefully should be here any day – some old favourites which had been out of stock plus a few new ones.

And probably lots of other stuff I have forgotten about until it turns up.  So keep checking the website because there is sure to be something new there for you.

We are working on the new catalogue – it is a big job so we expect it will take a couple of months but will announce it here when available.  Remember though, the website always has up to date prices and stock levels – if you have any queries at all, we’re just a phone call or email away.

cheers for now from Aussie Sapphire

If you need a rotary tumbler with more capacity than the standard offerings, check out these options from Lortone:

The Lortone C300-12 features three 12-pound barrels driven by a strong 1/3hp Baldor motor.

This one is excellent if you need a tumbler that will handle more than one stage of processing simultaneously.  Ideal for mass finishing, metal deburring and polishing or just large volume rock tumbling.  The 3 barrels means triple capacity compared to our QT12 tumbler.

If you are looking for maximum strength and capacity, the Lortone C40 tumbler may be the one for you:

A massive 40 pound capacity – the hexagonal steel barrel features a removable rubber liner, handle and easy to remove lid.  A great tumbler for single process metal polishing (perfect for reloaders polishing brass cartridges in bulk) or other mass finishing applications.

Remember, we can set you up with the appropriate plastic or ceramic media as well as other media and consumables (eg. walnut shell for brass).

If you have any queries about these or our other tumbler options, please contact us any time at www.aussiesapphire.com.au

Lots more new products on the way – stay tuned…

Hard to believe we are now running up to Easter when we’ve only just got over the Christmas rush.  It’s been nice and busy over the past few months and we’ve got lots more good stuff in store over the coming year so thought we’d better outline a few highlights for you in this newsletter.

Firstly, time is running out for our Customer Survey – return the survey with a valid email address for your chance to win a $50 gift voucher.  Be quick – the prize will be drawn 5:00 pm 31st March 2010.  We’ve had some great feedback already but we’d love to hear from you!

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

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As we now have containers of supplies arriving on a regular basis and need to order many products months in advance, good stocktaking is essential to good customer service.   Call or email to arrange your exclusive shopping visit – would make a great outing for your Gem Club ?  (Please note we do require advance notice of visits so we can give you our undivided attention).

New and Best-Selling Products

Auscut-303 Diamond Saw Blades for Lapidary - these have been a while coming but after testing, we are thrilled with their performance.   These premium continuous rim blades are exclusive to Aussie Sapphire – we are so sure of their quality, we will fully refund anyone who finds Auscut doesn’t perform as well or better than a comparable 303 type such as Barranca or MK.

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In the Auscut range is the new 7″ x .050″ x 1″ Diamond blade to suit almost all tile saws.  We’ve had many enquiries from customers wanting to use the cheaper tile cutting saws for lapidary work – great idea except that the commonly available blades are too thick for lapidary work and the larger shaft on the saws mean standard lapidary blades wont fit..

It took us a while but as the development work on the Auscut Saw Blades allowed us to make some custom ones specially designed for tile saws.   If you would love a Trim Saw but just cant find the cash, you now have the option to mount a Lapidary blade on the cheaper Tile Saws.    These Auscut-303 blades have a 7″ (180mm) diameter, thickness of 0.05″ (<1.5mm) suitable for most lapidary work and an arbor of 25.4mm (standard inch shaft).

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Auscut Laps: We have been producing our own Diamond lap now for some years and continuing to improve our quality.  Out in the market, the difference in Diamond quality, cost and bonding procedures is vast – my old saying “Diamond aint Diamond” still applies.  We have supplied many lapidary clubs with our Auscut laps and they keep coming back – try them today and wont be disappointed.

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Loupes: We have several new options in this section – one of our most popular is another Aussie Sapphire exclusive – the 10x LED loupe with white and uv lighting incorporated.  A great quality little unit and a must have for your gem toolkit.  Remember, most of our loupes come with a free Aussie Sapphire lanyard.

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Gearloose products:  We have continued to receive great feedback from hundreds of customers now polishing on the Darkside and BATT Laps and are proud to be the exclusive Australian dealer for these great laps along with other innovative products from Gearloose.    We also now have BATTstiks in Cerium, Aluminium and Chrome Oxide as well as DIAStiks in 3k, 60k and 100k diamond – an easy, no mess way of applying lapidary polish.

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Aussie Sapphire is the exclusive Australian Dealer for these and other fantastic products – if your supplier hasn’t got them, ask them why?

POSTING NOTICE

Everyone have a great Easter break.  We certainly look forward to trying our best to look after your Lapidary Needs through this year and beyond.