) is just under 20 cts, has probably been treated like crazy and something that 99.9% of lapidaries would send back as there’s a couple of issues: 
) but I did have a quick suggestion. When you mention the cutting equipment ie the 600 nova grit wheel or polishing machine etc, before Justin's youtube video, all that jargon would have flown right over my head. Aaand I probably would have glossed over the whole paragraph and missed so much information! 
theredspinel|1458292528|4007267 said:No tips from me (obviously
I'm pretty sure other people might be a little like that, so my suggestion is maybe link to Justin's (from black opal world) video where he really succinctly shows the machines used in lapidary and in the process you see him finish off a black opal cab (what a treat!
I'd link it right now if I could find it
LOL
jordyonbass|1458296389|4007293 said:theredspinel|1458292528|4007267 said:No tips from me (obviously
I'm pretty sure other people might be a little like that, so my suggestion is maybe link to Justin's (from black opal world) video where he really succinctly shows the machines used in lapidary and in the process you see him finish off a black opal cab (what a treat!
I'd link it right now if I could find it
Good point!! The grit number designation is kind of hard to explain as I understood the meaning of it all from my father.
The TECHNICAL explanation is: for a 600 grit sanding wheel or sandpaper for that matter (same principle), the particles from the wheel will go through a sieve with 1200 holes per linear inch. I've known this for a long time so please excuse my lack of detail!
The easy way to remember is the higher the number, the finer the grinding particles in the wheel and the more shiny the stone will be. The lower the number, the larger the particles and the more they tend to try take out more rough.
mastercutgems|1458318429|4007432 said:I so look forward to watching your journey in this craft...
It has been a fun one for me as well.
As for the pink sapphire; yea it looks like it has been cooked to death but you never know it may make a very lovely gem... You are heading in the same path I would take by taking advantage of the flatish base to make the bottom of the cab. Then keep a high dome on it and let it roll... Corundum will eat the heck out of your wheels especially the bonded ones; so get all your grunt work done on your steel wheels to minimize the excessive wear on the rubber backed ones. They are not cheap as I am sure you know already. But looks good to me...
Just a word of caution on malachite; it has copper sulphate and is poisonous to a certain degree as the breathing of the dust on a regular basis can be toxic; I usually make sure I have no open cuts or anything when cutting it and eliminate any dust as much as possible with water mist to keep it down... But you more-than-likely know this already but being osha trained for 30+ years makes me a little anal on those things
Enjoy the journey and have fun with it as you never know what stone you are working with will turn out to be a one in a lifetime find...
Most Respectfully;
Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master gem Cutter
#96CGE42
I get them all the time ... LOL He would tell me but never would show me ??? But hey you get what you can when you can and there was not much in the way of youtube etc. when I started as those things were non-existent. So that is why now I will show and tell all I know; it was for me trial and error and that can be costly and disheartening... So ask anything and I will do my best to give you the best answer I know or steer you in a direction to get the right answer or best answer.
mastercutgems|1458396871|4007808 said:No problem on personal questions
I started on the tumbler polisher which to me was like watching paint dry. Then I went to the genie and started cabbing; it too was fun for about a year but not what I wanted; I wanted to see BLING !!!! I am like a crow I like bright shinny things
As for starting faceting I bought my ultra-tec from Paul Burton; a dear ole friend who is 87 now and great cutter who cut the largest hiddenite found and it resides in a museum in Texas and he also has some of his cuts in the Smithsonian Institute... But he would never show me a thing
Paul sold me the new machine, some rough, and laps and the book faceting for Amateurs by Glenn and Martha Vargas... Which to me is the bible for faceting and cutting in general. That was it; fortunately I had about 8 years of tool and die making and machinist trade under my belt and did carbide die grinding and polishing on a old WW2 machine. So I had some background in what I had to do with angles and polishing and cutting. But once you understand the way light works in those minerals and what you can and cannot do; it will make it much more simple and then you can cut on the fly and not have to follow diagrams to restrict your creative juices. Diagrams are great; do not get me wrong; but you must learn to vary the design to retain weight, color zoning, and also dodge inclusions, etc. also when repairing damaged gems you may not need to re-cut the entire gem but just blend in facets to remove scratches, nicks, rubs, etc.. As it may have a 2K mount it has to go back into; so knowing what the angles and indexes do to float in a facet will really help you in all respects of faceting.
As for the corundum " ole Pinky" I agree you may want to hold back from anything more coarse than 600 grit as if the material is glass facture filled you can shake that stuff loose from the vibration of a coarser wheel. But always watch what is happening when you take it to any wheel and adjust your strategy per what you see happening with the stone...
Just cut cheap natural stuff until you get the feel of it. You will do very well and any cutter worth their salt will have no problem with you becoming a vendor or cutter for hire. There is enough room out there for everyone... I wish you all the very best and will help you in any way I can..
Most Respectfully;
Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master Gem Cutter
#96CGE42
PrecisionGem|1458410158|4007879 said:
PrecisionGem|1458563404|4008845 said:
PrecisionGem said:
Well I think I am the only ole timer the others are wise but young... but at the end of 2 years of doing that I would get over 80% correct and that will be a tool to you to spot things that may or may not be what you are being told it is or is not; just like when Be heated sapphires came out on the market... They just did NOT look right for a sapphire; just too intense... RED FLAGS start flying and just like the Andesine scam; they could not produce a mineral specimen in facet grade form for the amount of that mineral being cut; another red flag and I would not bite... When you have the fundamentals it will be hard for anyone to pass off things on you that your "gut" tells you otherwise...
mastercutgems|1458659639|4009404 said:Hi Jordy;
Thank you for thanking us ole timers
There is one thing that you can keep on the back-burner of your mind. When looking for something neat and worthwhile to cut remember the old stones that were once loved by another and have become abraded, chipped, and put to rest in the drawer of a old jeweler or pawn broker that just wanted the gold value. There are some very fine gems hiding in those old stones. I have been re-cutting for over 15 years and have found gems that were very valuable and only paid 10 to 100 dollars for them and they turned out to be gems worth well over a grand when re-cut...
No they are not hanging out at every old pawn shop or jewelry store but I know once in the last year I bought what they thought was a 12 carat kunzite that was heavily abraded on the table and small chips around the girdle and they sold it to me for 10 dollars. Sadly it looked like the crown had been drug across a cement walkway ??? I said to myself at the time; well it was clean except for a tiny veil on the edge which was the indicator of a natural gem and a unusual color pink and I bought it. I got it back to my shop; took the table to the genie and polished out the table enough to do an RI and it was beryl; Morganite...So that 10 dollar investment along with knowledge and the ability to do the lapidary craft made it possible for me to finish out a 8+ carat very nice pink old Morganite brilliant gem... So sometimes you find a deal where you least expect it...
Just a little word that may help you in your quest to find worthy cutting objects; learn to identify gem minerals after they are cut. I know when I used to visit my Serbian mentor he was a finished colored gem wholesaler that was one of the largest in the USA and he would sit out 200 gems or more in cases and have me identify them. Some were windowed , some were precision cut to western standards, etc. some cabbed, etc.; that method of teaching will give you the feel of what is what by their luster, return or lack of return of light, color tones, types of inclusion etc... Now did I get them all right, NO
Do your base work on the minerals and how they form, what they look like in all forms and then you will have the basis of your foundation of knowledge of the mineral. And just 2 or 3 small tools to take with you when looking for rough or gems to re-cut; a chelsea filter, a dichroscope, a 15+ power loupe , and a good pen light... yes there are other tools like a spectroscope, RI tester, etc. but they can be cumbersome and without proper lighting can give false positives, but to each their own as one will swear by this or that; but those tools mentioned will get you close.
There are deals out there as these Ladies and Gentlemen show them on here all the time that they have bought. Cutting rough these days as much as it was 15 years ago is a very tough circle to break into as there is not that much coming out that is truly facet grade; I was told only .05% of the material being mined is true facet quality in decent sizes and from the prices and quality I see; I will have to agree it is very scarce indeed. As Gene, Jamie and others have said in their posts; good rough is not easy to come by and it does have a heavy price tag associated with it as those two cutters and others know how it is... Also the white paper test has been around in the cutting world longer than I have been alive and it still holds true; if you do not see the color that is pleasing to your eye on white paper in normal daylight; it will not cut something your eye will usually be pleased with.
Sorry for the long winded post but there is so much to know about all this that the books will rarely tell you. And just what I have mentioned is just a drop in the bucket of things you will need to know when you go to places like Tucson, Bangkok, etc.
be well and enjoy your journey...
Most respectfully;
Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master Gem Cutter
#96CGE42
PrecisionGem|1458664052|4009430 said:
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