Crystal Ball stands

[Tarotphelia]

Do you have any older or unusual crystal ball holders? Or even any nice modern ones? Or ones you make yourself ? Or ones that you've repurposed that started life as something else ?

 

For the older ones it can be hard to date them . I thinking this pewter mermaid by SPI is more than 5 years old . It's apparently not made anymore . I don't know how old the other stand is or what one would call the figures on it . Some type of mythological sea person? I think it could be Victorian and probably made from spelter metal .

 

[Arabella]

Yes, I do.

Mine is wooden. The wood was collected while on holiday many years ago and sat in the shed collecting dust until my husband made the stand for me. He turned it on a wood lathe. As the Tigers eye sphere was also a gift from him, I thought it appropriate until the right crystal sphere comes to me. I'd like a bigger crystal ball than the Tigers eye but for now, I love it and the gesture of him making it for me.

[Saturn Celeste]

Both of you have lovely stands!  I have one from Amazon that was given as a gift that is just a ring.

[DanielJUK]

They are all so gorgeous! thanks for sharing yours Tarotphelia and Arabella  <3

[Tarotphelia]

Yes, I do.

Mine is wooden. The wood was collected while on holiday many years ago and sat in the shed collecting dust until my husband made the stand for me. He turned it on a wood lathe. As the Tigers eye sphere was also a gift from him, I thought it appropriate until the right crystal sphere comes to me. I'd like a bigger crystal ball than the Tigers eye but for now, I love it and the gesture of him making it for me.

 

That's lovely - and the wood is a perfect match for the tiger eye . Wood is so much warmer than metal and it's great you have someone who can make these things for you . There aren't usually a great variety of wooden stands available to purchase . But sometimes if you look for wooden candleholders you can find some nice handmade ones that will do for a sphere .

[Tarotphelia]

Both of you have lovely stands!  I have one from Amazon that was given as a gift that is just a ring.

 

Thank you . Sometimes all you need is just a ring . I think a person on a budget might be able to use jar lids if they are high enough . (The lid depth, not the person .  :P ) A nice pattern fabric could be decoupaged over the lid and that might  be interesting . Or even just some ribbon around it would work .

 

They are all so gorgeous! thanks for sharing yours Tarotphelia and Arabella  <3

 

You're welcome . I want to eventually add more photos of old ones I find online here and there .

[Arabella]

Id love to see what you can find. I'll stay tuned.  :D

[Saturn Celeste]

Both of you have lovely stands!  I have one from Amazon that was given as a gift that is just a ring.

 

Thank you . Sometimes all you need is just a ring . I think a person on a budget might be able to use jar lids if they are high enough . (The lid depth, not the person .  :P ) A nice pattern fabric could be decoupaged over the lid and that might  be interesting . Or even just some ribbon around it would work .

Oh WOW what  great idea!  I love the idea about ribbon!  And being high enough.  >:D

[Wanderer]

 

As part of my geological teaching collection, I have an ashtray made of alabaster. It has a round hollow in the centre, which happens to have the same radius of curvature as my new calcite crystal ball. This is not a coincidence.  :D

[Luna]

If you feel you cannot find a crystal ball holder, one idea is to look for taper candle holders.  They often make great crystal ball holders.  I use to burn candles (tapered candles) all the time until one lighted candle fell over and nearly caught my table on fire!  I got rid of my tapers but just couldnt' part with my holders.  Many of which were given to me as gifts and some were antiques of my family members.  I realized my crystal balls could fit on them securely and so viola!  A new use for these candle holders.  :D 

 

Lovely crystal balls and holders shared here!  thanks for sharing them.

[Tarotphelia]

If you feel you cannot find a crystal ball holder, one idea is to look for taper candle holders.  They often make great crystal ball holders.  I use to burn candles (tapered candles) all the time until one lighted candle fell over and nearly caught my table on fire!  I got rid of my tapers but just couldnt' part with my holders.  Many of which were given to me as gifts and some were antiques of my family members.  I realized my crystal balls could fit on them securely and so viola!  A new use for these candle holders.  :D 

 

Lovely crystal balls and holders shared here!  thanks for sharing them.

 

That's terrible you had that taper accident . I don't know if you had tried this or not , but you are supposed to hold the taper and light it , then drip some hot wax into the holder . Then push the taper down into it so it will be secure . But maybe that isn't 100% every time .

 

You are right - candle holders and candlesticks can make lovely stands . Godinger in particular has made some nice silverplate designs that can be had for not much money , used :

[Tarotphelia]

 

As part of my geological teaching collection, I have an ashtray made of alabaster. It has a round hollow in the centre, which happens to have the same radius of curvature as my new calcite crystal ball. This is not a coincidence.  :D

 

That's perfect ! I never thought of vintage ashtrays , but it works . Sometimes it seems like a sphere has a preference for where it wants to be .

[Tarotphelia]

Id love to see what you can find. I'll stay tuned.  :D

 

I apologise for my absence . The real world keeps intruding .  X/

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

Bobeches would help with using candle sticks. They are glass and go around the candle bottom to catch drips. Mine are all clear but here is a pretty green image of one.

 

My sphere holder looks like three dragons to me.

Both sphere and holder were an inheritance, from a friend who tried crystal ball and tarot about 35 years ago. She wasn't patient enough to make a go of it though :)

[Arabella]

Happy to announce a new arrival  ;D

I finally found a clear quartz sphere (or did it find me?) so of course I need a new stand. This is a simple turned wooden ring that hubby made. The wood is an off cut from the wood he has made my two crystal altars from so it's a perfect match and the energy coming off this thing is amazing. So grateful to have crafty genes in our families so we can infuse our own vibes into our surroundings.

[TheFeeLion]

I bought some crystals from a lady a while ago who said she uses modelling clay to make stands when she needs one. She takes a lump of clay big enough and presses the crystal into the clay while it's still soft. That way she can easily make stands even for clusters! :) I haven't tried it myself yet but I've been meaning to do it for a while now :D

[Barleywine]

Mine is carved from a single piece of wood. The ball is reconstituted quartz that I bought back when I thought "bigger is better." At least it isn't glass.

[53rdspirit]

I place my spheres, be they glass, gemstone, or what-have-you, on anything and everything! Excuse the dust!

Edited March 8, 2020 by 53rdspirit
Added one that I missed!

[katrinka]

5 hours ago, Barleywine said:

At least it isn't glass

I kind of hate to break it to you, but "reconstituted quartz" IS a variety of glass. 
And that's fine. Glass is perfectly effective for gazing, and you get a flawless clear depth. The idea that natural stone is better is just a sales gimmick.
We don't need crystal for every little thing. We were just talking about how it's gotten out of hand here 

 

[katrinka]

As for stands, most of mine are on those lacquered wood Chinese stands. One is on a little pewter stand with butterflies. 
But when I use them, I don't use a stand. I drape a black cloth over my hand and put the ball on that.

[Barleywine]

3 minutes ago, katrinka said:

I kind of hate to break it to you, but "reconstituted quartz" IS a variety of glass. 
And that's fine. Glass is perfectly effective for gazing, and you get a flawless clear depth. The idea that natural stone is better is just a sales gimmick.
We don't need crystal for every little thing. We were just talking about how it's gotten out of hand here 

 

Hmm, my understanding is that reconstituted quartz is natural quartz crystal melted down and fused to make a clear product. Is there silica (the basis for glass) in quartz?

[katrinka]

16 minutes ago, Barleywine said:

Hmm, my understanding is that reconstituted quartz is natural quartz crystal melted down and fused to make a clear product. Is there silica (the basis for glass) in quartz?

Yes. Quite a bit.
Remember the brouhaha over the quartz countertops? 
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/business/popular-quartz-countertops-pose-a-risk-to-workers.html
 

[Barleywine]

Forget I asked that, of course it does. For me, the clarity was the important thing. I wanted to emulate a magic mirror or limpid bowl of water while also getting a little "depth perception" in the bargain. Inclusions would only be a distraction.

[katrinka]

On 3/6/2020 at 7:08 PM, Barleywine said:

I wanted to emulate a magic mirror or limpid bowl of water while also getting a little "depth perception" in the bargain. Inclusions would only be a distraction.

I agree. 
It's difficult to find a perfectly clear stone sphere. About the best that can be hoped for is minimal inclusions that can't be seen with the lights dimmed. 
Glass solves that problem.

[Guest]

Like @Luna said I do use some adapted candle holders. The cobra candlesticks can rota which is sometimes helpful. The Franklin Mint Bast stand is the one I use most.