Has anyone purchased from clear cut gems?

[T L]

My apologies to Millefeuille. I thought she was unhappy with her gem, as I skimmed through what she wrote, and noted that she said it was very dark. Therefore, that explained my comments on the checkerboard faceting. I wasn't insulting her stone, and I'm glad she's very happy with it. I hope she posts photos of her finished ring. Sorry again about that.

I need to get reading glasses.

Thanks again to the lapidaries that commented on this thread. Very interesting perspectives.

 

[Alnitak]

I'll weigh in as another gem cutter. I personally don't like checkerboard crowns, but used correctly they are the best way to deal with darker rough. I suspect that Gene is correct; since the cut is mostly used on dark material, it creates the impression that the cut darkens material.

One thing I like to do when forced to use a checkerboard or similar style crown is to use huge reflector facets on the pavilion to pump the light back up through the gem. The interaction between the faceted crown and the large pavilion facets give the gem some life and color and keep it from being black and dead.

Jeff

 

[royalstarrynight]

I want to thank all the vendors for coming in to comment about cuts and what works best on what types of stones. I find it quite enlightening!