Postings in this category are specifically for members of my apprenticeship program, and are not open to the public.
This question came via eMail today: As diamond laps are very expensive and their diamond surface is a thin layering, have you heard of major producers of these laps offering any kind of reduced price to resurfacing worn laps. I use the Crystallite steels and it just seems like they would be one that would […]
Diamond Faceting Laps Question Read More »
This is a natural Sapphire recut of a native gem that was pretty bad in terms of geometry and color presentation. There was a chip at the girdle, lopsided geometry (check where that culet is), bad meets, bad polish, and abraded facet junctions from the typical mishandling often found with native stones: Original was 8
Insane-color Natural Sapphire Recut! Read More »
Someone recently asked me: “Do you use a polariscope to determine (locate) the C axis before you dop the stone?” The short answer is “Not always”. The longer answer is there are three reasons to orient according to optic axis: Structural (as when cleavage relative to OA is known, in a materials like Topaz or
Facet Rough Orientation with Polariscope Read More »
Here are a couple of parcels of Zambian facet rough I acquired today from a new source (dealer). The gentleman was efficient and pleasant to deal with, and prices were reasonable. The next resident Faceting Academy is apparently going to be cutting some nice Aquamarine facet rough, among other things.
Zambian Facet Rough Read More »
Interesting lot of Emerald from Afghanistan that we’re considering…
Juicy Emerald Faceting Rough Read More »
For Faceting Academy attendees (and other apprentices), remember that YOU WILL NEED SMALL DOPS. We (you) are going to be cutting some VERY small stones as part of your training. This is the fastest way to learn all of the relevant skills, from evaluation to orientation, dopping, transfer, cutting, polishing – and most importantly SEEING
Remember the SMALL DOPS Read More »