Cats Eyes... or called someting else

[Edward]

Here are some of the what i think are cats eyes. Whether they are old or new and from where i simply have no idea. Wemt through the thread *Cats eyes* but really found nothing to compare...which tells me these are nothing special.

Thanks for looking

[Ric]

Hello Edward, Welcome to The Marble Connection! You are correct that all are Cat's Eyes, except the big hand-made in the last photo. Many of the Cat's Eyes appear to be foreign, most likely from Asia. You might want to check some of the dark green ones in the first pic, out in the sun, for sparkling aventurine. Most of these are common, but as with most marbles, the more color the better, and it looks like you have some nicer ones in the last photo - I have always been fond of the ones with sky blue, white and dark red.

The big one looks like an Onion Skin but I'll let someone else talk to you about that one - it's not really in my wheel house.my thing.

[Steph]

Agree with Cat's Eyes.  Agree with Asian.  At least one most.   That orange one at the bottom of the first picture could be an American marble, maybe from the Heaton company.  

 

Many are early-ish from Japan.  

 

Early-ish = 1950's to 1960's.  


As a general rule the single-color four-vane cat's eyes with the clearest base glass have the best chance of being 1950's.  But I think of your turquoise ones as early-ish even though the bases are coming through as a little gray-tinted.


Some of your three-color cat's eyes with six-vanes look like they might have a white "cross-through" pair of vanes.   For example, the vane order being:  blue, blue, white, yellow, yellow, white.  Having a cross-through pair is desirable.  Having a non-white cross-through is a little more desirable, but all are nice. 


As the base glass gets darker or greener tinted, the cat's eyes become less distinguishable by age or decade -- just "newer Asian".  

[Edward]

Thank you both ...Tim & Steph

Steph that description helps me a ton and hopefully when i go through the rest of the marbles i have....batches of Green,red and light to dark blues.

There is a lot of work so as i go tru them i will be sorts according to your fine detailed description. Many many thanks to you both.

[Chad G.]

Last pic big one is definite Onionskin, "underlying coat of opaque white covered or striped with other opaque colors. A Josephs coat will be minus the skin & have little windows between the opaque colors where the interior of the marble will be visible, often times the windows or cracks between colors will be so thin you'll have to backlight a Josephs coat to see the windows between the colors. This first one here has large spaces between the colors to make an easier I.D. for you. As said some J. coats will have a very narrow space between the colors and not easily discernable like this one.

                                                        JOSEPHS COAT

                                                                  ONION SKIN

[Edward]

Chad

thank you for the description and now i know how to look at these, not that i have seen many around, but there are some on offer.

[Chad G.]

You're welcome Edward !!

  Both of the marbles I have pictured & the onionskin you have are handmade while all the cats eyes are machine made.

[Edward]

Hi Ric

I have looked through the marbles and what seems like a sparkle is minute bubbles as seen in pic. Aventurine is rather something else i guess.

thanks so much for all your help.

[Chad G.]

Yes those are bubbles, AV. in a cats eye will usually be right on the surface of the internal color, commonly green. AV. will appear almost like fine to chunky colored glitter, most commonly  silver, green,  blue, Bronze, black There are some more HTF colors but stay her for now as not to confuse. A few pics should get you going. When you do find AV. it will be very evident & you will not mistake it again. Sometimes on those cats you have to use a loupe, I have to almost every time because of my eyesight. The av. will be plainly evident to you, and very distinguishable from an air bubble.

                                             SILVER & BLUE

                                                                             GREEN SILVER & BRONZE                                                     

                                                              BLUE

                               BRONZE

        SOME CATS EYES WITH CHUNKY GREEN AV.

                             AN ALLEY AGATE SHIMMERING SPRUCE COVERED IN GREEN AV.

                                                 AN ALLEY WITH BLACK $ GREEN AV.

[Edward]

Chad

I am deeply greatful for your valuable time in the pics as well as the fine detail in helping to see/experience that aventurine.

Have a super weekend

Edward

[Chad G.]

No problem Edward, 

I hope you get some killer Av. mibs, very beautiful., even though a production marble in most cases, nonetheless the av. makes them real lookers.