How to Cut a Fantasy Gemstone


Curious about cutting a fantasy gemstone? This beginner's guide will walk you through the steps and show you the tools and techniques you'll need.

12 Minute Read

You can learn more about fantasy cuts here.

The first part of the fantasy cutting process is to cut a finished stone. The second part is to carve it. Typically, freeforms are used. Although the stone is a freeform, the techniques are the same as faceting any other stone.

Cutting A Fantasy Gemstone Pavilion

Start with the pavilion.

Step 1

Determine where the table will be placed and grind a flat for dopping as shown below.

grind a flat - fantasy gemstone 2

Step 2

Dop the stone as shown here. I used a gel-type super glue with accelerator.

dopping - fantasy gemstone 3

Step 3

Establish the shape of the finished stone by cutting a series of girdle facets at 90º to give you the outline. Be sure to write down the indexes used: 96 21 27 72.

It’s nice to note that most fantasy gemstones are freeforms. This allows you to use all your rough and maximize yield. In this case, I used a 96-index gear. For demonstration purposes, I used both standard flat facets and a curved facet. The curve was cut by freewheeling the index gear and grinding it to a pleasantly shaped curve.

For your first attempt, stick to all flats. (Curves are…


Richard H. Winnick

Never Stop Learning

When you join the IGS community, you get trusted diamond & gemstone information when you need it.

Become a Member

Get Gemology Insights

Get started with the International Gem Society’s free guide to gemstone identification. Join our weekly newsletter & get a free copy of the Gem ID Checklist!