Question I’m interested in finding some nice sapphire stones. From what part of the world, I don’t know. What are the best rough sapphire stones? Songea, Tunduru, Umba, Australian, Montana … it’s all very confusing. Answer That is a big…

Question Recently, someone gave me some amethyst and chalcedony to facet and cab. I’ve never cut gemstones for other people. On average, what’s the faceting yield of a rough stone? Thank you in advance. Kind regards from Istanbul, Oya…

Question I’m probably missing something. I’ve gone through your book, “Faceting The Easy Way.” Preforming a Barion cut to a 42° angle to start seems to me to waste a lot of material. Sounds fine if you’re working with quartz, etc., but…

Question I’ve been pleased with the modern faceting gem designs in your book, “Faceting The Easy Way.” As a beginning gem cutter, I’ve able to facet some nice looking stones. So far, I’ve worked only on relatively inexpensive quartz but…

Question The gem industry is most perplexing and unusual. Are there any ethical gemstone pricing formulas? There are almost no government regulations for appraisals, and although millions of products are bought and sold every day, very few…

Question I recently purchased a chunk of Wyoming spectrolite (or labradorite). Any tips for orienting for slabbing and for cutting and polishing would be appreciated.  Thanks in Advance,  Carl 1 Lucky Texan Answer Although you’ll…

Question I love star gemstones and want to know more about them. I don’t cut, but if I thought it was something I could learn (and afford) without too much trouble, I’d like to start. Are star gemstones difficult to cut? How long does it…

Question I’ve been interested in the jewelry business all my life but never pursued it seriously until now. The possibilities of working with gold, silver, and gems to create jewelry fascinate me. But as a profession, this is a new area for me….

Question I’ve acquired a beautiful old emerald ring. At about 2 carats, this must have been an expensive stone at one time. Unfortunately, at some point someone damaged this gem rather badly. Now, it’s a ring with a cracked emerald. I’m not even…

Question Are there any tricks to finding the curved striae or lines in synthetic ruby and sapphire? Sometimes I have trouble finding them. Thanks in advance, Charlie Answer On several occasions, I’ve noticed I could find the zoning lines…

Question Do you have any recommendations for faceting green tourmaline and rubellite gemstones into emerald cuts? Answer Make sure you keep the end facets on the pavilion as steep as possible. 70° is good. Even if the tourmaline stone doesn’t…

Question I want to learn the art of faceting. Where do I start? What facet designs do you recommend for a beginner? Answer Most people start practicing facet designs with a standard round brilliant. Cut a few of these to get a feel for the…

Question I know the distinction between gems and minerals has a lot to do with human judgment. Gems are typically minerals that we value as beautiful. But what’s the difference between “gemstone rough” and “mineral samples?” I’ve seen…

Question Which laboratory method creates the best synthetic corundum for faceting? Ron Hulbert Answer It all depends on why you want to facet the best synthetic corundum in the first place. There are many ways of making synthetic…

Question I see gem cutting acronyms like L/W, C/H, and P/H in faceting diagrams. I’ve also seen TCP and PCP in some manuals. What do these terms mean? Randy Answer L/W is the “length to width” ratio. This is an important bit of…

Question I’m learning to make jewelry and I hope someone can help me. I do well with soldering but have a heck of a time ring sizing. I really struggle to get the two sides to meet, especially when I need to fit a new piece of metal between them….

Question People are always referring to refractive index having an effect on gemstone brightness. I’ve been cutting for years, been through the GIA gemologist program, and talked to a number of obviously smart gem cutters about this. Still, I’m…

Question I’m an amateur jeweler, working mostly for the fun of it. I recently got a parcel of opal doublets. They’re nice looking pieces but some are wider at the top than at the bottom. I can’t make a bezel as I usually do with a cabochon…

Question I’ve received some gemstone rough from my brother. They include some fairly exotic gemstones. Do any fellow gem lovers have any practical information for faceting actinolite, amblygonite, celestite, dioptase, epidote, leucite, and/or…

Question I’ve found that many gemstones have their optic sign listed in reference works as both B+ and B- (biaxial positive and biaxial negative). How is optic sign determined and why does this happen? What does it actually mean when the stone’s…

Question Has anyone measured the light return from actual faceted gemstones? This seems like it would be a straightforward study, but there would be a subjective element to the study, too. For example, poorly cut stones with very bright outer…

Question Your article on gemstones and refraction liquids has a refractive index list for fluids frequently used in gemstone testing. But many of these are expensive and/or poisonous. Do you have a refractive index list of common household…

Question I’m about to cut a sapphire but I have a question about something I haven’t seen before. I think they could be silk inclusions but I’m not sure. This 11-carat sapphire is from the Umba River valley of Tanzania. The c-axis is baby blue,…

Question I need some advice on how to value dark colored gemstones. I have some chrome tourmalines that are windowed to let the light show through. The color is excellent, but there is little brilliance. I also have a nice ruby that has a lot of…

Question I’m reading the International Gem Society (IGS) polariscope guide and I noticed the quartz wedge in the accessories section. I have never seen one before. Although I’m a gemologist, I’m ashamed to tell you I don’t know how to make or use…

Question I’ve learned something from cutting tourmaline gemstones. Sometimes they just shatter. What I can’t figure out is what makes some tourmalines so unstable. I use a cold dopping process. I do my best to carefully remove material in a way…

Question Any words of wisdom on repairing platinum jewelry? I’m retired and do some metalwork for the local jewelers. Mostly, I do small gold jobs for them when they are too busy to keep up. (I enjoy it, and it keeps my mind and hands occupied)….

Question I found a great source for used gold. Right now I can get mixed karats and some solder well below spot. I want to take advantage of this deal but I’m not sure what to do with it. I know I shouldn’t cast with this kind of metal. Is…

Question Does anyone have any advice on how to re-oil emeralds? I recently had the misfortune of dopping an oiled emerald. The oil seeped out of the stone after being heated. I would really like to re-oil this gem. It looked great with the oil…

Question I’m getting a handle on the standard cuts from “Faceting The Easy Way.” I think I’m ready to move on to a Barion cut. I’d really like to try a Barion emerald cut. Before I do this, I need some advice. I’ve noticed something that…

Question I have a question for the metalsmiths out there. How do I get the spring back into a sterling silver money clip? I made this clip and was adding some embellishments. I added gold letters to the back and cut out a portion of the front. I…

Question Does anyone have any experience with making doublets?  More specifically, can anyone recommend a doublet glue? I recently tried to utilize a spare piece of hydrothermal synthetic emerald by Morion. It was too shallow to permit a full…

Question I just read your article on the minimum cutting technique and thought it was excellent. I do have some questions. What would you recommend for shaping and preforming gemstone rough for maximum yield? Did you use a cabbing unit with a 100…

Question I have a question I hope you can answer for me. Recently, I was cutting a stone and watching it contact the lap of my Graves Mark IV faceting machine. As I moved the stone, I noticed that contact was not consistent across the width of…

Question I’ve been faceting colored gemstones for five years. This hobby is even more fun now than when I started. Now I want to try my hand at diamonds. I have a few questions first. Is learning diamond cutting possible for a private hobbyist?…

Question I’m very interested in wax casting my own jewelry pieces. What equipment do I need to get started? Frankly, I would like to spend as little as possible on my setup. Then again, I don’t want to buy junk. Can anyone recommend a good set of…

Question I’m in the market for a gem cutting machine but am a real novice. I’ve seen a lot of discussion online but I’d like some recommendations from International Gem Society (IGS) members. In my faceting class, we used a Facetron gem cutting…

Question I’m having a problem polishing synthetic corundum. I hope you can help. I’m cutting synthetic corundum, small 4 x 4 x 4 tri. The problem is I’m leaving pits in the stone after polishing. I’ve tried almost everything, from tri-laps,…

Question I was wondering, which is the best faceting wax? Black, green, or brown? Are specific waxes better for specific types of gemstones or cutting? Thank you, David Creviston Answer I have used all three. I think the best faceting wax…

Question I know that mystic topaz and aqua aura quartz are created using an electrodeposition sputtering process. Gold or other metals are “sputtered” as a coating on gemstones. My question is: how? Can someone please explain how vapor…

Question I’ve been working on a fair amount of sapphire lately. I’m finding that polishing sapphire wears out laps fast. I’ve received many recommendations: cast iron, ceramic, tin/lead, Fast and Last Laps, BATT, etc. (I learned to facet with…

Question I’m a neophyte gem cutter and I have a real fundamental question about gemstone orientation. How do you decide which way to orient a stone when it is cut? Gemstone Orientation: Basic Factors You sit and stare at the gemstone for a…

Question I recently got some used ceramic laps for polishing gemstones. I haven’t been able to get them to work without scratching. I’ve tried 50 and 100k diamond polish, with olive oil and extender fluid. I know I’m doing something wrong but I…

Question I recently saw a rock lamp and thought I’d try my hand at making one. It’s a rock with a 1.5″ diameter hole drilled into it about 1″ deep. A small glass oil lamp sits in it. There is also a circle cut around the hole about 1/8″ wide and…

Question I purchased a used GIA Duplex II refractometer. The hemicylinder was scratched. I had a Graduate Gemologist take a look at it for me. The report was that it’s usable but a little fuzzy. When I look into my lens, I see a black bar that…

Question Although my general gemstone polishing technique has been improving, I’m having difficulty polishing girdles. Is it absolutely necessary to polish girdles? I’m just a beginner, but is it poor form for a professional gem cutter to leave…

Question I’m having trouble with fuzzy refractometer lines. And that’s when I can see lines at all. Sometimes the lines disappear when I put on the magnifier. The problem is worse when I’m trying to measure the refractive index (RI) of a small…

Question I’m looking for general information on polishing gemstones. I just can’t seem to get a decent polish. I’m a beginning faceter and I’m using the Facetron. I’ve been working with a tin lap with 50k diamond powder with Graves extender…

Question I’m looking for some diamond rough for sale. I’ve heard that the equipment I need to cut diamonds is somewhat different than what’s used to cut colored gemstones. My question is: what exactly will it take to cut diamonds? I’m not a…