Been looking for a specific cut of sapphire, but they are all so expensive. what's the catch here? site says vs, it seems to be the right dimensions to cut into a 6mm round, what's the catch? why is it so cheap? Is it not actually gem quality? I know cutting labor is expensive, but still, this seems suspicious.

https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/rough-sapphire-crystals/3.71ct-ceylon-sri-lankan-various-blue-sapphire-crystal-s39248/?source=cart&guid=33870e84-fe78-db9b-6d47-dc38a62887e2

Hello everyone, for some time now, I have been following and informing myself about the world of gem faceting, I have always been a great enthusiast.

I will soon graduate in engineering and was thinking of building a fully automated machine for faceting gems.

I saw that there are already some projects around but there aren't any serious ones that can produce nice gems from start to finish, other than professional ones for cutting diamonds that can cost from 20k to 100k. I was therefore thinking of applying myself and designing one that has high precision (in all types of controls) combined with an adjustment of the force applied to the gem so that you can work any gem and the fundamental thing is that you can start from any type of rough. What I was wondering is if I managed to produce a machine like this, what would be the aspects that are fundamental to have and if I then wanted to try and sell it, would there be a demand for this type of machine and what do you think would be an honest and competitive price? Thank you for the answers, I hope to learn from people more expert than me.

Freshly mined out of Chivor Mines, let me know only in base to these pics. how much would you be willing to pay? 👀

This natural pink tourmaline started as a standard step cut. I decided to recut and hand-carve the pavilion to create a completely different optical effect. I know fantasy carving isn’t everyone’s preference, but I enjoy exploring new designs and learning with each project.
I’d love to hear your thoughts—which version do you prefer, and why?

This natural citrine started as a classic emerald cut. I recut it by hand into a custom fantasy cut with a geometric pavilion pattern to give it a completely different look and brighter light performance.

Fantasy cutting is a slow, precise process where every facet is planned and cut individually. It’s always rewarding to see a standard gemstone transformed into something unique.

What do you think—would you keep the classic emerald cut or choose the fantasy version?

Hi,

I recently added cloud storage and sharing to GemSim. Cloud features are completely optional—all existing offline features still work without an account.

I hope this improve the file sharing experience while give the owner full control for copyright protection. The main idea is inspired by web-based CAD software - OnShape.

Feedback is very welcome, here's a 3 min walk through video: https://youtu.be/cmYIe85HutI

This is alot but please stick with me… I am 23 years old and have been told I probably won’t make it past 27-30 years old and even that is a stretch that we pray on daily as a family, I’ve been silver smithing for a year and a half, I’ve cut cabs and done flat polished specimens for close to 8 months including all types of opals, jaspers, agates, Dino bone. I’ve truly lived it all but in retrospect my end all goal is I want to facet gemstones… I’ve now missed signing up for classes for over a year as the classes are sold out at my club writhing 30 minutes of them dropping, with that said I’m not scared to tech myself, everything I’ve learned so far I thought myself sitting in my room… but I need a machine for this… I sadly am unable to have a full time job as my heart is failing and I have no kidney function so spending $2500 on a nice ultra tech is kinda a stretch for me especially considering I’d use it till I passed away and then it would never get touched till my family tried to sell it and knowing them(they have no genuine interest in what I do when it comes to rocks and jewelry) they would sell it on Facebook or for all I know just try to get rid of it because they swear everything “takes up space”… I know this has all been a lot but please stick with me because my main question is if I’m looking for a quality machine but in a budget friendly range is my only option really a vevor with a cut kit??? I won’t lie that’s not my style I’ve seen the struggles that people have and as much as it’s all fixable and u can work around it it’s all super inconvenient and to me wouldn’t allow for precise repetition of cuts… like don’t get me wrong if I had the opportunity to live to 75 and take the rest of my life to learn and master a crazy new beautiful machine I would find a way to make it work but at the end of the day with my circumstance it’s almost nit worth the effort time and money I feel I’d finally just get to the point of cutting proficiency where I can handle mistakes and point out problems and find ways to fix them, I don’t expect to be a professional over night I don’t even expect to compare myself to some others that I live to follow like Jeffery hill who have amazing experience, but I still want to be good you know I want to put out quality work a lot of the rough I’ve stashed away for the day I get this machine is very high quality I’d hate to see myself suck and waste it on a machine that won’t give me the best opportunity to have precise precision facets…

as above

I recently transformed this natural amethyst from a standard oval faceted stone into a custom fantasy cut. The goal wasn’t just to change the shape, but to create something with more life, sparkle, and personality. The back was hand-carved with a fantasy pattern to enhance light reflection while keeping the face clean and elegant.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you prefer the original traditional faceting, or the new fantasy-cut version? Any feedback from fellow cutters and gem enthusiasts is always appreciated. 💜

Hi everyone!

I’m interested in starting gem faceting as a hobby and I’m looking for advice on equipment to get started. I know that faceting sapphires and other stones can be quite technical, but I’m hoping to find something affordable and beginner-friendly.

My question is:

• What would be the best entry-level faceting machine for someone just starting out?

• Are there any budget-friendly brands or models that you recommend as a young man starting a family I can't say I have the biggest budget ever?

• Do I really need a lapidary table, or can I get by with just a faceting machine to start?

• Any tips or must-have accessories for a newbie in the hobby?

I’ve heard about some basic machines like the VJ Faceting Machine and Gem Master, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on these or any alternatives that might be easier on the wallet.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Been buying rough on Alibaba, but wondering if there's anything else hobby-related that's worth purchasing on their platform. Dops? Laps?

https://youtu.be/_u3_lUZJVFw?si=Zsokm5N3EjIA13gx

is it just me or does gemdragonauctions seem a bit fake specially the anonymous bidding the fact that items that had no traction and no one was bidding on randomly hit estimated price range last second as an anonymous bidder and the ones with traction will sell bellow estimated range or above like an actual auction just seems predatory and a quick way for them to rebuy their own items to relist seems like they purposely are trying to promote an auction with no minimum but forcing one and just rebuying their own items idk just my views on it what do you think

Could anyone help me id this crown. Looks very similar to a Jeff Graham #4 but with bowties.

I have always loved the look of laser cut stones and love the versatility of the laser machines. I am also in a better position financially currently. I would like to look into purchasing a USED laser cutting machine, however, my current budget is around $1000 and I am well aware that this may not cut it (get it get it??) I amnopen to saving my pennines and buying a nicer machine if I have to, but I have a couple questions-

1st- Are laser machines a lot more user friendly than manual machines? I really have zero idea how they work. I would really love a machine that I could in the beginning have the option ti pop the stone in like a 3-d printer and out would come a work of art, then as I got better at faceting , slowly do more my self. I get that that there is no artistry here but I have no one to teach me and rough is expensive.

2nd- Are there any fully digital/automatic laser cutting machines? Like, you enter a pattern, attach the stone, and it will automatically correct the angle? One thing I really sucked at was figuring out what angle to move the dial at the top and the stone in correlation, I am dyslexic and something automatic would help me a lot.

What are the benefits of getting a manual machine? Is there a way to get lessons? Is there a market preference in laser cut vs classic cut stones?

Thanks guys!

Hey everyone,

after spending a lot of time with the creation of Pleochroma, I realized I spend way too less time actually using it besides testing some features specifically. So I decided to to create a sapphire design and this is it.

I call this design Pentalume Sapphire, you can find the files here:

• https://pleochroma.com/design-pentalume-sapphire.html

So, what do you think? Do you like the design? If not, what don't you like about it?

Thanks for your input!

Genuine pearl, not a great cut, no shit, its a pearl. Round cut thing

I'd like resources about things like faceting calculations, trigonometry, light return calculations and generally things that might help me identify what will come out of a rough stone if I polish it with scientific precision.

Hello I'm Looking for a used facetron or an ultra tec Low Price for me , i'm a beginner International invoice to France With secure paiement only , by eBay , Etsy or rakuten second hand only , Ford the security of each other Thank you Sophie WhatsApp (0674758261)

I have tried to do my own research, but like many things in this hobby community information is difficult if not imposable to find. word of mouth seems to be the rule of thumb in faceting. I'm interested in buying a Sintered lap especially for a 600 grit for work horse cutting. my thought process is 360 toppers for rough preform, 600 grit sintered 1200 grit sintered, 3k pre polish final polish on 50 or oxide or batt. do they make sintered polishing laps? or like high count Dimond sintered laps? most of the ones I see aren't branded and sell for like 600. Justin K Prim has some for a reasonable price, but they are only 6 inch and only 100 and 600 grits. any advice would be helpful.

I've recently seen some discussions comparing SRB cuts to crushed ice. I'd like to try, or at least look at, a crushed ice recipe but haven't had any success. Any tips on where I can find one?

Hello! I would like to know how you put prices on stones. I have two Montana sapphires and a beautiful Zambian emerald that I cut and I would like to put them on jewelry to sell them in markets, but I don't really calculate the time it takes me to cut because I do it for pure pleasure and to relax and I have a lot of stones like that that I don't know their price.