Flawless Facets

I had the pleasure lately of being selected to recut a very nice cuprian tourmaline.  These tourmaline are often heat treated to get the pariaba color that is so sought after in tourmaline.  The stone was not cut well and had a very large window in the stone.  The customer also did not like the general shape of the stone, which was a round oval, or roval.  We decided to cut the stone in a Portuguese round design(really I do cut other designs besides this).  The before and after pictures are below.

The crown was almost non existent to begin with so the stone needed to be brought in just over a full mm from 10.5mm x 10mm to 9.3mm. Starting weight was 5.9 carats and finished weight was 3.74 carats. The pictures do not show it but the stone actually has better saturation now due to no window and the proper angles used for cutting.
Do you have a stone that needs a face-lift?  Contact me here, to arrange recutting services.

This is the crown before recutting

This is the pavilion view before recutting

Crown view after. Notice the window closed and a better shape

Pavilion view - Notice the high crown and lack or the "gumdrop" shape

I was able to obtain a large Mahenge spinel crystal weighing 30.50 carats recently.  The piece had a crack running through part of the stone that required the crystal to be cut into two separate pieces.  I have not done much sawing of crystals in the past and with a crystal this size I wanted some additional help.   So I had Mike Kolesar of Blue Forest Lapidary assist me with the sawing process. 

Mahenge spinel is from the Morogoro region of Tanzania.  The stone is known for its fantastic color that is rarely oversaturated and comes in larger sizes than most other locations.  Spinels crystals over 2 carats are rare so a crystal this size that was almost flawless is a spectacular find. 

The process to saw a gemstone is pretty straightforward, the hardest part is to decide the direction of the cut to minimize waste.  For this stone we decided to basically saw down the middle of the crack.  This process worked well and the stone was separated into a 16.55 carat piece anda  11.93 carat piece of rough.  The total gemstone weight was 30.50 prior to sawing and 28.48 carats after sawing for a loss of 2.02 carats or 6.62%.  The stones will now be faceted and should produce some large vibrant examples of Mahenge spinel.  Pictures of the process are below.

This is the piece of rough Mahenge spinel weighting 30.50 carats

Side view of the same piece of rough. If you look carefully you can see part of the crack in the middle of the stone.

This is a picture of Mike starting the sawing process. If a person has any fear of saw blades then this is not the type of thing you want to do.

Here Mike is about a third of the way through the stone. Notice his fingers are about a half inch away from the rotating saw blade.

The crystal is almost completely cut. The last little bit needs to go slowly in order to avoid a slip of the hand and lose a finger!

The two pieces of spinel are now ready for faceting. Look at the color of the stones, the finished gems will be exceptionally vibrant and clean.

Side view of the two pieces of spinel. Both pieces have plenty of depth and I am hoping to get a 4 carat and 6 carat stones to get an overall yield of 33% from the first crystal. Check back soon for pictures of the finished stones.

I usually get a couple of requests for gemstone cutting each week.  There are a few things I need to know when I am trying to estimate a price for gemstone cutting services.  These items are listed below with explanations.

1. Type of gemstone – certain gemstones take a longer time to cut and polish than others.  For instance, quartz can take a long time to polish for most cutters.  Because the polishing process is the longest process and the most time consuming some gemstones may take longer to finish and require more labor.

2. Size of the gem- Knowing the size will help me estimate the time it will take to cut your gem.  Knowing this up front will also clear up any confusion on estimates as well.  I usually do not cut small gems such as gemstones that are less than five carats in the rough weight.  This is because it may not be economical for my customers if they are paying a few hundred dollars on a cut that will result in a stone worth less than the cutting labor.  There are times when my clients are ok with this however due to sentimental connections with the rough.  A lot of my clients mined the rough themselves and still want it cut no matter the economic cost.  If you do not have a carat scale or millimeter gauge then use approximations like dimes, quarters and other common items.

3. What cut you would like with an example picture or diagram – there are thousands of gemstone cuts, and a lot of them are known by different names.  It is helpful if you have a certain cut in mind to have a picture of it or a diagram so I can reference the cut.  Many gemstone facet diagrams can be found at the links below.

http://www.gemstoneartist.com/Designs.asp
http://www.faceters.com/designs/
http://www.usfacetersguild.org/index_designs.shtml
http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/gem_designs/design_index.shtml
http://www.djgems.net/facetdiagrams.htm
http://tlorin.se/Facett/
http://www.fac-ette.com/new_source/designs.php

4. Clarity- This is often the hardest thing for an untrained eye to detect.  Mostly I want to know if you can see through the gemstone or if there are large noticeable inclusions in the stone. 

I will always evaluate your gemstone rough and make sure it is facet grade material.  If I feel that the rough gemstone has a lot of issues that could damage the crystal during cutting or not finish a elegant finished gemstone I will notify you.  Before I ever start a job I will email a prospective client with my recommendations on cut, an estimate of size and an estimate of cost.  Once the gem is cut I will send you a photo of the finished gem and ship the stone after receiving payment for my services.  I look forward to working with you on your rough gemstone projects.

Hello, my name is Jim Rentfrow and I wanted to welcome you to the new Flawlessfacets.com. 

Flawless Facets is your one stop shop for all your gemstone cutting and repair needs.  I have been providing gemstone cutting services since 2005 and facet different types of gemstones such as:  Montana and African sapphire, Oregon sunstone, garnets, tourmaline, spinel and ruby. 

My educational background is in business and gemology with degrees from the University of Phoenix and certificates in colored gemstones and diamonds from the Gemological Institute of America.  I will receive my master’s degree in business and finish my graduate gemology degrees in 2010. 

I strive to provide a gemstone faceting service that is superior to the companies that sapphire mines and Oregon sunstone mines recommend to their clients.  I will turn your rough gemstones into beautiful artistic representations of who you are.  Your finished gemstone will not only be a beautiful addition to your jewelry collection, it will be the shining star! 

My gemstone repair service specializes in bringing back the beauty to a gemstone that has been chipped, scratched or simply needs repolishing.   All of my gemstone faceting and repair services give you an immediate return on investment by increasing the value of your gemstones substantially.  Custom cut gemstones are considerably more valuable in the marketplace than commercial cut gemstones, while at the same time considerably more beautiful! 

Please contact me by clicking here to arrange for an evaluation of your rough.

Thanks for visiting, I look forward to working with to create beautiful, one of a kind works of art for you!