We source with care
New Stone Age Cabochons is a cabochon supply company offering unique and rare gemstones to metalsmiths, crafters and collectors. We are a family owned and operated business run by the husband and wife team of Rose and Graeme. We take pride in souring our stones with care.
Rose and Graeme sourcing amber in Mexico from Pablo's family
Beginnings
Our business started by sourcing cabochons directly from lapidary artists in Mexico. Half of Rose's family is Mexican and with her family's connections, she started building relationships with lapidary workers across Mexico. By working directly with the lapidary artists cutting the stones, she could be certain that the working conditions were good and that the prices they were receiving for their labor was fair and non-exploitative. Additionally, she could contribute to the design process to help develop and create a unique and quality product. To this day, the majority of our stones are both sourced and cut in Mexico and we are still working with the same lapidary artists that we started with in 2015. The stones we source from Mexico include our amber, opals, obsidian, fossilized sand dollars, quartz, amethyst, petrified wood, a large assortment of jaspers and agates and many more.
Beginnings
Our business started by sourcing cabochons directly from lapidary artists in Mexico. Half of Rose's family is Mexican and with her family's connections, she started building relationships with lapidary workers across Mexico. By working directly with the lapidary artists cutting the stones, she could be certain that the working conditions were good and that the prices they were receiving for their labor was fair and non-exploitative. Additionally, she could contribute to the design process to help develop and create a unique and quality product. To this day, the majority of our stones are both sourced and cut in Mexico and we are still working with the same lapidary artists that we started with in 2015. The stones we source from Mexico include our amber, opals, obsidian, fossilized sand dollars, quartz, amethyst, petrified wood, a large assortment of jaspers and agates and many more.
An image of our opal supplier, Hector, in his workshop
Growing our business
As the demand for our product started to grow, we started asking how we could use this direct sourcing model to offer more stones from other parts of the world. Using the same principles, we started reaching out to lapidary workshops in Indonesia, Peru, Hong Kong and India to see if we could expand our selection.
What is our screening process?
For all of our Mexican lapidary partners, we have visited the lapidary workshops where they have been cut. As we expand our supply and grow our lapidary partnerships around the world, we are replicating that same model of direct trade with other lapidary workshops outside of Mexico. Unfortunately, we have yet to visit every workshop that we work with and in the meantime have created a framework for screening new prospective lapidary partners.
Step 1: Learn as much as we can about the workshop. This means asking many direct questions and doing as much research as we can. Some of the questions we ask our prospective lapidary partners are:
Q: Do you cut the stones? If you personally do not, who does? How many people do you employ and in what capacity? What kinds of tools do you use? How much do you cut?
Our ideal partner is a small lapidary workshop where we deal directly with the individual doing the lapidary work. If a workshop is larger, we want to know how many people are involved and in what capacity. Although we are not ideologically opposed to working with larger workshops, the possibility of exploitative relationships is greater the larger the workshop gets.
Q: How long have you been operating and in what capacity?
We want to know about the track record of the workshop. We follow this up with as much research as we can do remotely to ensure that we can corroborate the information our prospective partner is telling us. If there are reasons to suspect that we are being lied to or misinformed, this is grounds for terminating the relationship.
Q: How do you source your materials and what information can you provide us about about your sourcing?
Frankly, this the most challenging aspect of our screening process simply because we are two steps removed from the material sourcing. In nearly all cases, our lapidary partners source the material that they cut. This enables them to pay prices that are competitive as well as maintain quality control over the rough material that they are buying. Ideally, we would be involved in all aspects of our cabochons from mine to metalsmith, but the logistics of doing this successfully are beyond the scope of our company currently. That all being said, we have visited several of the mines where many of the stones that we sell come from!
Step 2: Do a sample order
After passing our screening process, now we have to ensure the quality of the product. If the product passes our quality standards, we continue with a larger order.
Step 3: Be vigilant!
We continue to do research and keep asking questions to ensure that we are comfortable working with any particular lapidary workshop. If new information arises about the product or the workshop that is negative, we consider dropping the supplier.
Step 4: Visit the workshop in person
It is our goal to visit every workshop that we work with both to build a stronger relationship and to see the workshop with our own eyes. It is our goal to be able to shake the hands with all of the individuals who cut our cabochons.
What about mining practices?
For many of the stones we sell, including our amber, opals, obsidian, fossilized sand dollars, jaspers and agates we have connections to the mines where they are sourced. In several cases we have visited the mines where they originate. That being said, if you have specific questions about mining practices for any particular stone, let us know and we can share the information we have about whichever material you are interested in.
Growing our business
As the demand for our product started to grow, we started asking how we could use this direct sourcing model to offer more stones from other parts of the world. Using the same principles, we started reaching out to lapidary workshops in Indonesia, Peru, Hong Kong and India to see if we could expand our selection.
What is our screening process?
For all of our Mexican lapidary partners, we have visited the lapidary workshops where they have been cut. As we expand our supply and grow our lapidary partnerships around the world, we are replicating that same model of direct trade with other lapidary workshops outside of Mexico. Unfortunately, we have yet to visit every workshop that we work with and in the meantime have created a framework for screening new prospective lapidary partners.
Step 1: Learn as much as we can about the workshop. This means asking many direct questions and doing as much research as we can. Some of the questions we ask our prospective lapidary partners are:
Q: Do you cut the stones? If you personally do not, who does? How many people do you employ and in what capacity? What kinds of tools do you use? How much do you cut?
Our ideal partner is a small lapidary workshop where we deal directly with the individual doing the lapidary work. If a workshop is larger, we want to know how many people are involved and in what capacity. Although we are not ideologically opposed to working with larger workshops, the possibility of exploitative relationships is greater the larger the workshop gets.
Q: How long have you been operating and in what capacity?
We want to know about the track record of the workshop. We follow this up with as much research as we can do remotely to ensure that we can corroborate the information our prospective partner is telling us. If there are reasons to suspect that we are being lied to or misinformed, this is grounds for terminating the relationship.
Q: How do you source your materials and what information can you provide us about about your sourcing?
Frankly, this the most challenging aspect of our screening process simply because we are two steps removed from the material sourcing. In nearly all cases, our lapidary partners source the material that they cut. This enables them to pay prices that are competitive as well as maintain quality control over the rough material that they are buying. Ideally, we would be involved in all aspects of our cabochons from mine to metalsmith, but the logistics of doing this successfully are beyond the scope of our company currently. That all being said, we have visited several of the mines where many of the stones that we sell come from!
Step 2: Do a sample order
After passing our screening process, now we have to ensure the quality of the product. If the product passes our quality standards, we continue with a larger order.
Step 3: Be vigilant!
We continue to do research and keep asking questions to ensure that we are comfortable working with any particular lapidary workshop. If new information arises about the product or the workshop that is negative, we consider dropping the supplier.
Step 4: Visit the workshop in person
It is our goal to visit every workshop that we work with both to build a stronger relationship and to see the workshop with our own eyes. It is our goal to be able to shake the hands with all of the individuals who cut our cabochons.
What about mining practices?
For many of the stones we sell, including our amber, opals, obsidian, fossilized sand dollars, jaspers and agates we have connections to the mines where they are sourced. In several cases we have visited the mines where they originate. That being said, if you have specific questions about mining practices for any particular stone, let us know and we can share the information we have about whichever material you are interested in.
Rose at the amber mine in southern Mexico
Rose and Graeme with Pablo and his family (our amber suppliers)
Thank you for choosing to work with us! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any more questions! To learn more about our business and also to learn how to contact us, check out our FAQ section!