Astra Gems

ShebangVentures - AstraGems
Mailings Only: Drawer 6009
Santa Rosa, CA 95406-0009
United States
ProtoArena@yahoo.com

Services

Global Imports

Formerly:

SHEBANG VENTURES

We represent products imported from over 100 countries. For trade-show, flea-marketeers, and vendors with store-fronts or not, we can be your "affordable" and always very reliable supplier of products to sell. Give a call or e-mail us with your needs. For years we have had an, "on regular business days only" basis, a 72 hour turn around policy in answering your inquiry. We truly are in a global marketplace. Don't loose sales because you're out of inventory.

Remember that no order is too large or too small for us to pay meticulous attention.

Gold is bought in all forms

Bullion, Coins, "...Scrap...'Old-Gold' Jewelry", Raw, and so forth - In any quantity.

Often we have been asked about the various colors of gold which is confusing to people. Gold generally comes in various shades of yellow - although some other "experts" may disagree.

Getting back to the question however, raw gold is produced by nature in a content of 24 Kt. Go to the FAQ button on this site for the Kt and Ct weights explanation. When mixed with other metals, the gold becomes an alloy. Depending on the color of metals, it will produce that color of gold.

Yellow gold is generally mixed with gold, copper or silver. White gold is generally mixed with gold, nickel, silver, zinc, palladium (a very expensive "noble" metal as is platinum and rhodium, etc.), or platinum. Green gold is generally mixed with gold, silver, copper, zinc. And Pink, Red or Rose, is gold and copper. See Black Hills gold popular some time back, in FAQ on this site.

When selling GOLD, remember, that as much as your local COIN-SHOP, or the advertisements on TV would have you believe that your "OLD GOLD JEWELRY is just collecting dust while moths are chomping away your gold..., 'and you had better send it to them for cash'", there is NO SUCH THING AS SCRAP GOLD. As far as I know, none of the the universal laws of natural physics have changed yet to where your "old gold" is rusting away or moths eating up your wealth.

Platinum often confused with, and alternately referred to as "white" gold, is a different animal. Go to our FAQ's page for detailed information about Platinum, Rhodium, Palladium.

Silver is traded in all forms

Silver, one of the "noble metals", is said to be "the shiniest and brightest metal". To my way of thinking and experience, silver shines bright only if a great deal of time is spent polishing that metal. Having performed that function uncountable times, I'm not so sure that it is worth doing that about every two weeks on my silver jewelry - besides, it tarnishes easily. The very expensive chemical laden "anti-tarnish" paper products that can be bought, just adds to the overall cost of owning silver jewelry. Silver is best kept and traded as a commodity for the exchange of durable goods and other items. Pretty much along the lines of what the people in the orient did such as the Chinese. They assigned a value to brass and copper by weight, and those metals' intrinsic worth and value became their mode of monetary exchange - as such they made their coins out of those metals on basis of its actual worth. On a historical note, the U.S. Constitution mandated that "...Congress shall make no money except out of gold and silver...". That continued until the Federal Reserve Bank was established, as a result, the look of money changed.

As to that, and be it as it may be, we purchase silver on the same basis as Gold * in the previous paragraph above - generally at the "current-rate-of-exchange".

* Coins, bullion, "scrap" , jewelry, raw, etc.

QUOTE: "The Lady doth protests too much, methinks." [ Queen Gertrude, Hamlet; III, ii ] CLICK

Please Click The Thumbnails For A Larger View Of The Pics

Gemstones Consignment Clearance 6.30ct
This is a "Consigned" to us product of approximately 6000 Carats of Gemstones. We did not pay for this "purchase" as we are selling it for an exporter in about 6 to 7 carat parcels per order more or less. The actual sampling above represents exactly 6.301 carat of the guaranteed actual gems that are in these parcels. Depending on the stone-size, each parcel will have at least 6 carat and often more than 7 carat. Every gem possible can be found in it. SH&Tracking in Cont US Included.
NOTE: Every-one of these FULLY CALIBRATED to industry standards stones were "precision cut" by experienced and professional gemstone cutters in THAILAND. These ARE NOT "discard" gem stones purchased from gem cutting schools and the like, that are bought up by some other well-known companies who then sell them in bulk along with fractures and un-calibrated. We don't...! We guarantee it. These are the quality gems used by jewelers and designers. If any gem-stone still sealed in the acrylic gem-jar is damaged... we will replace it... at our expense. No cost to you.
ABOUT "THE CLASSICS" QUOTE OUT OF "HAMLET". Directly below our "Silver" blurb above:
... I was browsing the WWW and some channels to see how much lower we were on our prices compared to other gem-stone retailers. It was painful for me to see the mental girations several Channel Hosts, stammering and stuttering while trying to find the "correct words", to "prove that their gem-stone deals are the best." We don't have to do that as OURS are the BESTat any price. Unlike those companies WHO DO NOT send out what they promise. We do! Each & Every Time!
- $99.98
- Not in stock
Please Help! Report Abuse Of Any Animal
You taking action right away
Could be its' only hope!
- $1.00
- Discontinued
Excellent Black Australian Boulder Opal Dublets

Although we have deep-dark-black opals, conventional "Black Opals" are generally a deep cobalt blue. Please see our "Gemstones" page on this site. SH&USPS Tracking Ins Cont USA included. Source of pricing: "The Opal Guide". - You will receive one of these doublets at random. E-Mail
Small 1to under 5 cts Good: $90 - $2,750 Fine: $2,750 - $6,600 X-Fine: $6,600 - $13,200
Medium 5 to under 10 cts Good: $1,050 - $3,000 Fine: $3,000 - $12,000 X-Fine: $12,000-$22,000
Large 10 to under 15 cts Good: $1,200 - $5,500 Fine: $5,500 - $16,400 X-Fine: $16,400-$50,000
- $499.99
- Not in stock
Really nice Australian Black Opal Triplets

These ravishingly beautiful Black Opal Triplets are offered at this low price because of a special purchase. All are a large 8 x 6mm and are better than extra fine quality. They have the best colors represented such as Red, Orange, Yellow, Cobalt Blue, and Green. The stated price below is for one of the gemstones. They are ready for a ring setting or perhaps earrings, etc. White spots are the light reflections from camera and the "fuzziness" is from light reflecting off the acrylic coating. All have full color opalescence with lots of fire. Generally Opals are not priced by Ctw but by the size of the stone and by quality. Opal Triplets = 3 layers: The bottom acrylic base, the opal itself, and the third layer clear acrylic protective coating for durability. SH&Ins, Track is includ cont USA.
The "Opal Price Guide" shows that these quality opals price-range up to $ 345.00 and higher.
- $149.13
- Not in stock
Fossil Ammonite ( Nautilus ) i.e. Ammolite

You are presently on the "Services" page. If interested in this 1 1/4" x 1 3/4" item, please go to our FAQs PAGE for a full description of what Ammolite is, than return here. SH&T Cont USA Incl.
- $93.00
- Not in stock
Genuine Heavy Iron Meteorite (2.510 grams)

The clear and unmistable beauty of this "Gemstone From Outer Space" is undeniable. Imagine... the incalculable distances this piece of raw-iron has traveled though our universe for eons ... the beginning of time, til now, and the sights it has seen... before coming to our Earth. If it could only talk...! The stories it could tell us. Now that it is here, make a unique piece of jewelry - a tie clasp, or try a wire-wrap for a pendant or anything that your creative self can conceive. SH&T incl. USA.
- $44.95
- Not in stock
Fire Agate Rough 13.926 Gr

This truly is Mother Nature producing good things at its finest. A 36 mm x 26 mm Gem Quality FF Gemstone, superb for wire wrapping, or... faceting to mount in ring or pendant. SH&Ins incl USA.
- $129.37
- Not in stock
Incredibly Beautiful "Ten Gem-Stone" Cobochons Parcels...
Cabochons are the oldest gem-stones in mans' history. Many precious colored gemstones are never faceted-but are always presented in cabochon form. In most areas in the world, especially in Europe, the cabochon is the gemstone which is used almost a hundred percent in all jewelry and other precious art items. Cabochon is a French word which in some way means unfaceted. Cabochons come as squares, rounds, elongated, and so forth. Overall, it is a more durable than faceted gemstone and cost a lot less to wire wrap or mount it. SH& PS Tracking Cont US Includ. Like all faceted gemstones, for protection, all cabochons are shipped to you in acrylic gem jars.
As shown in the picture above, each and everyone of these Gemstone Cabochons come to us in an original factory individual wrapping. This guarantees preservation of their beauty. These are not the run-of-the-mill cabochons you can buy in your local bead shop. Contained in this parcel you will find up to 2 - 3 carat rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and any other precious stone there is.
- $348.99
- Not in stock
BLACK AUSTRALIAN BOULDER OPAL

This is a very beautiful SOLID Australian Boulder Opal. It has real nice patterns on both sides of the stone. Either side can be considered "The Front". It is excellent for mounting in a pendant or wire-wrapping. Bright flashes throughout of Red, Blue, Green and purple. SH&T Cont USA Incl.
- $296.58
- Sold
Heavy 5/8 th Lbs By 3" x 2 1/2" Emerald Cut Paper Weight

No sooner did we receive this huge imported shipment of these most incredibly beautiful Green and Red paperweights [or decorative for any occasion] items, when most of them sold out to our loyal regular customers. In fact, the Reds are at present sold out. If that is the color you want to have, we have back-ordered and we will post when we receive them. SH&I Cont USofA Included.
- $64.00
- Sold
Genuine Italian Marble 55 mm Sphere Stand $4.--

From the git-go, this "Genuine Italian Marble Sphere Gem-Stone" is NOT like other stones being sold on the market. This is genuine marble without chrystaline fractures passed off as "marble". This is gem-quality material at 55 mm and approx 3/4 lbs. SH&USPS Tracking incl. Cont. USA
- $87.00
- Not in stock
Light Differential Induced - Color Change "Gemstone"

For the Discriminating Connoisseur who has everything [except one of these]. The true colors of this 1 and 1/8th lbs +- paperweight "gemstone" is at best, difficult to capture with a conventional camera and flash. This just about 4 inch in diameter "stone" however changes from blue tone by day, or in an incandescent light source, to a brilliant pink/reddish color at night under fluorescent light. Ship, handling, and INSURANCE is included within the continental US of A.. Shown uneven shades are caused by the camera flash. The stone colors are actually very evenly toned. Notice that ALL "COLOR CHANGE GEMSTONES COMMAND PREMIUM PRICES". One example of color change stones is the prohibitively expensive Russian Alexandrite at thousands of dollars a carat. Generally color change rules are "Emerald by day and Ruby by night" but which does not always hold true. For instance, a TRUE African Amethyst, a royal purple by day, under a fluorescing light source, will turn a beautiful Blue-Berry Blue color - Like Color Change Garnets. CLICK HERE.
- $842.00
- Sold