Swissmarble

Thanks for all your answers Yes, China was also Jeroen's guess. I didn't know they made marbles there during that time. And yes, the pontil definately looks different. The marble has pink and some purple spots in it among other colors. Ron

Hi I picked up this marble lately. From the photos the seller sent to me I was pretty sure it was an onionskin. But when I had it in my hands, I started to doubt. Onionskins are usually fully covered, but this one has just spots. Also the pontils look different, it is more a small pit than a rough spot. I discussed with Jeroen from the Netherlands and he thinks it is a confetti cloud. It would be interesting to hear some other oppinions. The size is 1 1/2 inches. Thank you very much for your help. Ron

Hi, thanks for all your answers Yes, I bought in on Ebay Australia, exactly. After some of your answers I wrote an email to the seller and told him about my doubts after all your feedbacks. I just got an answer from him: <<Hello I got some information today I will email soon. I was assured that the marble is ancient. I was also informed they had marbles in China from Han dynasty onwards will send details shortly. just keep in mind if you are asking any antique dealers for their opinion they tend to always say items are not real unless they are there pieces. it is a strange world I find with people who deal with antiques. You can return piece if you choose to though. I was informed that if the marble is studied under microscope or magnifier there will be evidence of dirt and debris inside the glass surface this is evidence of age and this is quite hard to fake.>> The "moons" you see on the marble are neither hits nor subsurface moons. They seem to be part of the surface. If you hold the marble with your eyes closed you don't feel any pits or something, just a more or less smooth surface. I even worked on one of my clearies with some stones, the result looked totally different from this marble. I also put it in a glass of water like one of you suggested, but I couldn't discover anything special that way. Well, perhaps one day I will find out what it is. Thanks for all your comments, I really appreciate it Ron

Hi folks I need your help again. I bought this marble a few weeks ago from an antique dealer in Australia who obviously has a very good reputation. He described this marble as following: Large Sung mottled red glass marble, minor surface pitting, otherwise intact. Origin: Sung dinasty, 960 - 1279 A.D. Dimension 28mm (= 1 1/8 inches). It is indeed a lovely marble, it is out of dark red glass and the orange mottled flecks are not hit marks or other damages, they obviously were added somehow during the manufacturing process (there is no glass missing or a shallow pit there). I have never seen or never heard of another marble like this one. What puzzles me is that it has no visible pontil(s) and that it is almost perfectly round. Otherwise it came with a certificate of authenticity and the glass definately looks and feels old. Does anyone has seen or heard of such a marble ? Or does anyone has an idea whom I could ask ? Thank you very much for your help. Ron

Hi Mike I bought it on Ebay-Germany once. Was first disappointed because the "hole" was not on the pictures. But then I was quite pleased with it because it really looks different. The size is just a hair under one inch. Thanks. Ron

Hi Dutch Thanks for the link. Yes, after checking the pictures I would say it's a ground pointil. Ron

Hi Dutch pssssst, can you please enlighten me how a "ground pointil" look? I know there are polished pointils (I can imagine how these look), faceted pointils (no idea) and probably other pointils, but I don't know the difference..... again. Ron

by the way, why has this thread been moved to the "general marble & glass forum" ? I don't mind, just wondering, because I thougth it was in the right place in the "identification forum" Ron

Hi Dutch Thanks for your input. But I am pretty sure it's not a contemporary marble: it has two pointils, it has some roll marks and glass and colors "look" old. Any more ideas ? Thanks. Ron

Hi While I am at it, here is a strange marble I found in my collection. It is definately a handmade an it is obviously a Josephs Coat. But the strange thing is, that part of the marble (about 1/3) is totally clear. Looks like some kind of end of day, but as far as I know a typical end of day marble would have no colors at one end, wouldn't it ? This marble looks as if the maker made this marble like that on purpose. What do you think ? Thanks for your help. Ron

Hi Greg Is it so that there were more buyers/collectors years ago ? It's difficult to tell for me because I live in Switzerland and there are and were no collectors at all. Ebay is more or less my only source and I have the feeling that prices are higher now than a few years ago, at least for the really good marbles. I don't know about marble shows etc. What is your experience in the USA ? And what is the age of THE average collector ? My guess is around 60 (by the way, I am 41). Thanks Ron

Hi David Most of the marbles are in better condition than you probably assume after my description to you. I bought most (about 90%) of the marbles from "Marblealan" and other reliable sellers and most of them were described somewhere between mint and near mint from these people. As somebody else already said it is almost impossible to find a handmade in absolutely flawless condition. Even with some small pinpricks or a small moon a handmade is still mint in my oppinion. But well, we will probably never agree on that subject. But what really surprised me was that about 80 of the marbles offered in the auction were rather common swirls and onionskins under one inch. So this will double the price for the others to about $ 750.00 a piece which is ridiculous. There are about 10 marbles in my collection which are really in or above that price range. That's why I really doubt that somebody was willing to pay that much. But it is an interisting discussion. Have a nice day. Ron

Hi David Most of the marbles are in better condition than you probably assume after my description to you. I bought most (about 90%) of the marbles from "Marblealan" and other reliable sellers and most of them were described somewhere between mint and near mint from these people. As somebody else already said it is almost impossible to find a handmade in absolutely flawless condition. Even with some small pinpricks or a small moon a handmade is still mint in my oppinion. But well, we will probably never agree on that subject. But what really surprised me was that about 80 of the marbles offered in the auction were rather common swirls and onionskins under one inch. So this will double the price for the others to about $ 750.00 a piece which is ridiculous. There are about 10 marbles in my collection which are really in or above that price range. That's why I really doubt that somebody was willing to pay that much. But it is an interisting discussion. Have a nice day. Ron

Hi Greg I wish I could give you a more exciting answer, but 90% of the marbles in my collection come from Ebay. Rather boring, isn't it ? I purchased some of the "end of days" and some swirls at a local Antique Fair, but that's it. Ron

Hi Just a short update about the auction. In contrary what I said earlier today I ended the auction now. It has been bid up to $ 75'000.00. I don't think somebody is really willing to pay that much for these marbles, because with that money you can buy a far better collection. I assume it was more "testing out" the reserve (which was still a lot higher as you know). But I was also afraid that some angry collector bids up to the reserve with a fake account and then the trouble would start with ebay fees and paypal transactions. That's just not worth it. Now I hope everything calms down again Ron

and last but not least, a blizzard mica with red core (also not part of the auction) feel free to use the pictures, I claim no copyright for them. Ron

Josephs Coat or Onionskin ? Also not part of the auction:

red/yellow Josephs Coat (Beachball ?). This marble is not part of the auction, but while I was at it, I thought I post a picture of that one too:

end of day nr 6:

end of day nr 5

end of day nr 4:

end of day marble nr 3:

end of day marble nr. 2

Hi As Steph has to close the "wow"-thread I couldn't post detailled pictures of the marbles and pointils as I promised to some of you. Now I finally had time to make some pictures and I am now try to post them here. I hope this is ok or should I have posted them in the "Gallery" ? If yes, could you please move them ? One last word about my auction on ebay. I will not stop the auction early. I got several nice mails and some hate mails about this. But I still have the feeling that most people enjoy watching this auction and the pictures and at least the marble community has something to discuss, be it positive or negative. The auction has been looked up over 1300 times and has about 250 viewers right now. So, enough, now for the pictures: Enjoy and thanks, if you have questions, please ask. Ron

sorry, I posted the message twice by mistake --->