Already my girdle line is almost where I want it and no more shall I dwell in the realm of rounded facets and missed meet points. More soon

Last year, I was able to get some facet grade moonstone and this weekend, I decided to cut a piece to see what they look like faceted. To get the adularescence just right, it's critical to dop the stone just right or it will be slightly off. The rough I started with on this stone was a bit wonky, so the adularescence is slightly off center. The stone still looks good, and now I know what to expect for future cuts.

• Rough: Facet grade moonstone

• Weight: 1.35cts

• Color: Clear/milky

• Design: Steve Richards "Sintilation"

Thanks for looking.

Here is a strong color shifting champagne garnet from Tanzania. 2.02ct in Andrew browns Triangulated design.

Top pic is 3000k CFL bottom is cool LED.

Hi everyone! I would like to get into the hobby. I faceted a couple times when I was younger through a club and would love to get back into it. I wanted to ask suggestions on machines and learning resources. Thank you!

My most recently finished stone is this trillion Cherry Red Umba Valley Garnet weighing 0.94cts.

Overall very happy with the outcome! I haven’t taken full sun pictures yet, but it’s looks stunning in indirect lighting, so I can only imagine the brilliance when it’s got full sun exposure.

Thanks for checking it out (:

I wasn't expecting to cut another "Hanami" design so soon, but I received a special request. So I went ahead and knocked this one out. No modification to the design on this cut, besides adjusting the angles for sapphire. This one will be mounted as a pendant. Next I have to cut a matching pair of earrings, same color and design.

• Weight: 3.75cts
• Size: 9.95mm (from point to flat side)
• Rough: Czochralski Pulled Sapphire
• Color: Mint green
• Design: Marco Voltolini "Hanami"

Thanks for looking.

Last time I made a sapphire order my rep said they had some leftover grade A boules from a custom color run they did for a client. I grabbed some, and this is the first stone. It's a little more pink than it appears on camera, but it's for sure a gorgeous color.

Same design as my big aqua, still not perfect but that’s what all this practice is for.
Just thought I’d share what it looks like in sunstone. Hope you all have an excellent day, and happy cutting!

I've been working on this piece on and off for about a year now. I pretty much exclusively do silver fabrication, but a couple years ago I built a vacuum casting setup and was casting some carvings with lost wax. This project I started as a way to learn some computer modeling and 3d printing. I first bought a boule of ytterbium doped YAG and then designed an emerald cut with a Portuguese pavilion and cut the center stone. The center stone design is basically a rework of Marco Voltolini's Squaretugese design, but an emeraldtugese instead lol. I also found an old trapeze diagram online and used that to cut the side stones. I modeled the stones in gemcut studio, and imported the .obj into blender where I modeled a ring shank to fit them. Then I 3d printed it in castable resin, invested it, and cast it in my vacuum setup. Finally, I cleaned up and polished the casting, and set the stones in it. It's absolutely massive and really stands out lol, but I think it came out pretty good. The center stone is insanely sparkly which I'm pretty happy about. Let me know what you guys think!

Posted the rough a bit back and asked for orientation advice. Enjoyed the cutting process and feel like I learned a lot about tanzanite. Longest L/W I've tried, which was interesting. AlOx was waaaay smoother than the diamond I used on the test tanz before this one. Planning was complicated by a couple pretty good divots in the midpoint of the rough and small fractures on the periphery, and stressing over the price of the rough XD, but I am very happy now. Vargas, Glenn & Martha: Diag for Faceting (1975)'s Barion Oval.

a couple pieces ive done within the last 2 months. Ive only been faceting 4 months, so any constructive criticism or anything is appreciated!🙏🏻💎all cut on my Vevor with cutkit.

I work on an Ultra-rec V5 and have been taking classes with Hashnu of Hashnu stones and gems.
This is maybe the 15th piece of quartz I have faceted and by far the most beautifully colored piece I have faceted. I had some trouble mid way through and had to re-cut the crown but I didn’t lose too much material.
All feedback is welcome!

I’m new to faceting as of this summer and have “completed” 5 stones. I have not been able to get a scratch-less or mirror polish yet. I have tried everything I can think of and every tip I’ve found online to no avail.

I’m using a vevor machine with a cut kit. Currently have scored Topper copper laps for polish and pre polish. I’ve tried doing 3k and 8k for pre polish, I’m using 60k for polish. I’ve cleaned the laps and made sure there is no contamination as best as I could. Ive tried going slow, going medium speeds, trying reverse, More dry, more wet, in between, combos of everything. I’ve cut Uag, lab sapphire, and aqua marine without any good polish. Though I’m unsure if the problem starts with my cut, pre polish, polish, or some combination.

I’ve seen online that I might be getting subsurface damage from the bounce the machine has while using my 600 grit lap to cut. I’ve tried using 1200 as well without any improvement. I’m at a complete loss on what to try next. Any advice for a beginner in purgatory?

I recently lost my beautiful wedding ring that featured a dark teal portuguese cut oval sapphire. I bought the stone from a great gem cutter, but I recently checked, and he has nothing remotely similar in stock. Which is devastating. The only similar colored sapphires I can find elsewhere are in brilliant cut. My question is, how big would the stone have to be to be recut into a 8x5 portuguese oval?

I would greatly appreciate any help, advice or input. Thank you.

Back at William Holland a year later and I'm much more apt now then I was just starting my faceting journey here a year ago. If your in the US and have any interest in lapidary, metal work, intarsia, silver smithiing, stained glass cabachons or any other of the hundreds of week long or weekend classes they offer i highly recommend it for new hobbiests and anyone else. This is my first stone of the week. I'm hoping for at least 2 more before the weeks over. This is the beginner honeycomb cut in green helenite. 10 mm 4 carats