Another name for Apatite?

[Former_Member]

I love apatite. Clients love apatite...at least until I tell them the name. Then they back off like they've been bit. Silly, I know, but there you have it. I try to slip in that it's an "a" and has nothing to do with food, but they're long gone.

Is there ANOTHER name for apatite that I could use? Or a "not exactly untrue descriptive" name that I could use instead?

[Former_Member]

Well, light green apatite is sometimes called Asparagus Stone - I'd say that's even less appealing!!

Do people really care what it's called that much? What do they think is going to happen...? Weird.

[Former_Member]

Why don't you try using some of the older names for apatite? People used to use Fluorapatite, Chlorapatite, and Hydroxyl-Apatite, based on the chemical that makes up the crystal.

Fluorapatite is the most common, so maybe using that name would help with your sales.

www.stonesandfindings.com

[Former_Member]

Fluorapatite could work! On that angle, I wonder if I can get away with "a Mediterranean blue relative of Fluorite"...(since they share the "fluor")?

[Lapidarious]

http://Apatite is what it is. And as the proper mineral name shouldnt send folks scurrying. Perhaps because they know its soft and breakable they turn away.
You think the name itself is the turn off?
I guess in this day and age of trade names they all are conditioned to have it be a flurry of adjectives before they want it:
Blue Mystic London Fog Imperialite Tibetan Jasper

[Former_Member]

the 'fluor' means 'fluorinated calcium phospate', so I don't think it's a relative of fluorite.(which is calcium fluoride)

Still, if it's the name that's really putting people off then it's a good way to get around it. A quick Google search should help you with some great descriptive words to use.

Good luck! I hope the name change helps!

www.stonesandfindings.com

[Lapidarious]

Well, I disagree. Changing a name to suit the customer is silly.
It is what it is.
Its apatite. Spend time educating your customers to its beauty, its uniqueness as a gemstone, and its properties. Making up names for minerals is why we got into this mess of trade names as it is.
I want spinel, not balas ruby. And I am going to sell my spinels as spinels, not as balas rubies.

[wavejewelry]

I know what you mean. I have the same reaction from customers with sodalite. No, it has nothing to do with diet soda. People are funny.

[Former_Member]

I've noticed that myself, some people prefer 'rock crystal' to 'quartz'. It's odd sometimes, but whatever makes them happy really.

www.stonesandfindings.com

[Former_Member]

I like accuracy, too, Lapidarious, but I have an apatite pearl necklace that I sell every time I DON'T say what the blue stone is. When people press me, I say apatite and they FLEE! Some even say, "ew"!

Lapidarious, you have a naming gift! "Blue Mystic London Fog Imperialite Tibetan Jasper" is a mouthful, but I bet it would sell! Now you just need to go out, discover the new stone and name it that!

My research came up with Fluorapatite, Chlorapatite, and Hydroxyl-Apatite; I now know which the blue apatite is (thank you stonesandfindings!). I also discovered many things which would NOT help sales...like being the same mineral as tooth enamel and bone...or "apatite" translating to "cheat".

Apatite is a pretty stone with a lot of baggage!

[Lapidarious]

Wellspring, thats pretty odd unless apatite has lost its fanbase I cant explain it. I dont use it because it isnt very durable and if I was to set it I would want High High end material ( www.joyfulcrow.etsy.com )
I strongly disagree with the "Call it anything to keep the customer happy" line of reasoning. Its the very reason we have this name crap going on and there is so much deception in the trade.
I think educating the customer has a lot more benefits in the long run, and maybe even the short run.
If you want to sell something disguised as something else by using a different name, well if its really a name as the mineralogical examples stated its not deceptive. If it is a new term meant to elaborate on a perceived value well, thats just plain unethical. I am not inferring you are party to this, I am just saying this is an issue in the gem trade today as in years past. Nothing new for sure.
Keep the people happy?, or have them come back a few weeks later mad as hell the stone they bought from you isnt what you stated. Or worse.
The fib gets passed on.
Adding to the baggage.

[desertfiresupplies]

Lapidarious says
....Blue Mystic London Fog Imperialite Tibetan Jasper

---
lol, a gift for naming!

OP, I find it really strange an odd sounding gem name would turn off customers, but I agree that you really have to call it what it is (and if you use some possibly accurate but archaic name, you'll miss out on customers who are familiar with apatite)
Possibly some definition/description of the qualities and wonders of apatite in your product description would help make it more palatable to those unfamiliar with it.

[Former_Member]

Do you really think it is the name and word Apatite that puts your customers off?
Could it be just because they are un-familiar with the name, have never heard before? and that they do not think such a thing exists?
People tend to go to what is familiar and that they have heard about and are sometimes leary of something and a name they do not know.
The best thing would be to name the stone correctly (please do not make up fancy erroneous names!) and to talk about it's qualities, origine, provenence if you know it.

[Former_Member]

I don't think using a different name is the way to go. We have a responsibility to be as honest as possible with our buyers, telling them what the material truly is, not what we think they want to hear. Telling people what they want to hear is why there is so much misrepresented material on the market today.

Perhaps those that back off when they hear the word apatite are backing off because they know it's a brittle, fragile stone and they would like something more durable, not because the name evokes something else.

[bddesigns]

I think because apatite has such a clear, gorgeous blue color, customers expect it to be something "well known" as precious...and when they hear an unfamiliar name, they are turned off. That's just my take on this.

With that in mind, I am about ready to list an apatite ring made from a "chunk" of raw (not cut) apatite, so we'll see how it sells (with the name of the stone in the title)...LOL :)

[vintagecalif]

Please don't make up a name.

Apatite is what it is.

[vintagecalif]

http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/graphics/apatite-large_info.jpg

[Former_Member]

Rest easy. I had no intention of using a false name, just something a little more palatable (pardon the pun) that was accurate. Some stones have a techincal name and a common name; I just wondered if it had the latter. It doesn't, so okay.

As for the stone's characteristics, it's durablity depends on the size, the quality, and the usage. An apatite ring might be at risk, but a choker works just fine. I wear mine a lot and have not had any trouble with damage.

And yes, the customer distaste is definitely because of its homonym, not because of the stone's characteristics. How do I know? Because they say so! ("too fattening" was a recent comment!)

BTW, "fluorapatite" worked quire well. Sold two in one day!

Thanks for the advice! it was a great help!

[gloriosaysplendido]

Sooo weird...why do clients react so negatively to apatite and sodalite? I'd like to know...

Thanks!

[gloriosaysplendido]

Ok...so I went back and read over all your posts (which I should have done before posting), so, now I see the opinions of apatite ( I think it's a beautiful stone!)...but, what about sodalite?

I agree that the client should be educated about the postive points of each stone, gem, etc...this is a great way to sell...there are some stones I knew nothing about awhile ago and now that I know a lot about them, I love them.

[Former_Member]

I'm happy that the Fluorapatite worked for you!

I don't make up names for stones, but I do look for alternatives from time to time. I had no idea what 'rock crystal' was until I looked up its chemical structure.. I guess it depends where and who you learned it from.

www.stonesandfindings.com

[Lapidarious]

Exactly, it DOES depend. And when a customer learns from a source that creates or adjusts a name to suit their marketing ideas, they have gained no real knowledge and the source has done a disservice to both the customer and the trade.
But they have made their dollar and thus their self serving and short sighted view is satisfied.
Just another reason we have the mess we do.
A rose by any other name will smell as sweet.
But a piece of dog sh*t spray painted pink and sold as a rose to the unsuspecting has indeed a different odor entirely.