Please don't assume the worst. I didn't mean anything bad. That's all I can say.
If I had a marble like that I would definitely consider Mike's method. It would be good to have something reversible in case you ever changed your mind.
Hello Alex!
Nice to meet you!
Would love to hear more about what marbles you can find over there. Italy is known for beautiful glass but not so much for marbles.
Sorry. Just mentioned it. Didn't mean anything bad by it. If I didn't mention it someone else probably would have.
Here's a link to Mike talking about his method:
http://marbleconnection.com/topic/19143-open-core-latticno-would-you-polish-it/?p=165686
I kinda sorta remember him talking about filling in things with significant damage, but I can't swear to it.
For pure, personal display purposes you could try to build it back up with a water soluble polymer.
It would be seriously frowned upon to sell such a marble after the repair.
Really pretty.
I don't think I'm seeing oxblood. At least part of the reddish color looks translucent and that part wouldn't be oxblood.
Hopefully someone who knows swirls will be by soon.
*eeek!* Have you opened it yet?
Is that a common bag?
Yes, those are St. Mary's Alleys. Is it the plastic which makes you say they were packaged after the Alley plant became Marble King? That would make sense.
The first one looks like it might be one of the U-joint NLR's (I think that's how Bob Block described them).
Do the four ribbons connect up in one big oval like a racetrack?
Edit: I meant hourglass rather than oval.
Tiny bit of brown tint on the glass?
First of all, it's looking NLR-y to me. At least the top one, and since the bottom looks like a relative of the top, I'll extend that to the bottom.