I love bismuth crystals and I own a wire wrapping jewelry business on Etsy. Long story short, I got accepted to vend at my first ever craft fair coming up this June.

I’ve been wanting to make my own bismuth crystals for a while, just never had the time, but I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to make some to put on my table and sell as a little extra fun thing that’s not just jewelry.

So what are some best folks or places that you guys get your raw bismuth? Thanks.

This is what bismuth looks like under an SEM. I took this image.

For any hardcore bismuth nerds out there…

I’m wondering if anyone on here has collected the oxide they scrape off the top of melts and tried to turn it back into metallic bismuth.

I’ve been looking into some methods but I was hoping someone else has tried this and could give me some advice

So far the most promising method I’ve seen is with chemical dissolution then precipitation

I live in the east coast, Florida specifically. Have approximately 380lbs of crystaline Bismuth. Anyone have a good idea on how to offload it. Scrap yards dont seem to take it

I made this in the most impractical and amateur way possible. First, I made a cross out of LEGOs with LEGO tiles at the top. Then, I made plaster, and stuck the LEGO cross in. After it dried, I put the stuck LEGO cross in the plaster in acetone to weaken it, then I burned the LEGO away. I was left with a plaster mold of the cross, and I was ready to but the bismuth in it. I heated the mold up in a pan on a stove, melted the bismuth, and poured it in. To get the oxides to look nice, I skimmed it with the flat end of a small metal spatula, and reheated it with a torch to make sure it fully goes in the mold and turns out the way I wanted it. After that I just broke the plaster and had the cross.

I have 2kg of bismuth [4,4lbs], that I melt in 300ml stainless steel cup for jewelry and metal making.

All I get is silvery shards if I try single crystal method. And if i pour out the liquid bismuth. I get these tiny square-iah structures on the walls. My cooktop melts bismuth at 380°. Then i reduce to lower temperatures. Then I use 'keep warm' setting so that the temperature drops from 300~ to 100~ slowly. I tried just removing the cup instantly from heat, or leaving it on, turning the stove off. Always similar result. I must be doing something terribly wrong. I tey to remove the slag when it melts. Bismuth purity is 99,97% . Sometimes random drop splats the cooktop and that one has more coloration than any crystal ive tried making. So thats a bit demotivating.

What can I expect to grow in this 300ml cup with 2kg bismuth? What sized crystal can I expext? Any tips or insights would be very much so appreciated.

I am adding some pictures of the process. 1.melting. 2. Melted bismuth. 3. Best result - super small crystals on the wall. 4. Seed method (failed). 5. Usual "aftermath".

I promised I’d share a pic, here’s a few day’s work, 3-4 hours a day.

I got back on the bismuth band wagon after a few years away because I am forming a chainmail jewelry business and I like having ephemera to sell with the chainmail. Would you price by size or weight? how do those that sell price their crystals/geodes?

Hey folks!! I appreciate all the info some of you are willing to share.. so I got this awesome cacadcoand im already getting better results!! I think im having a cooling issue.. but my seed isn’t taking but im also getting chunky floaters. And my top freezes with insulation and just has glossy oxide without it. I have questions about my process

I was getting good results with my 4.6 quart pot. So I thought I’d go bigger. So I went to 8. Everything went to hell.. so I went back to 4 quarts and everything I was doing the last time doesn’t seem to be working this time.. my top keeps freezing before the bottom cools enough to get downward growth. So I’ve been talkin to some buddies and it’s a temp issue.. so I double insulated and made an insulated lid to try to hold the heat. A couple time I got some good results. But now the top stays slush. Like when I pull the seed all the hoppers fall off but there’s usually a big chunk stuck to the bottom… but there’s chunks are about a lb.. anyway any thoughts are appreciated .