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Stuck on you or not, a simple round made difficult
Size does matter when it comes to cutting and polishing on my small, light weight faceting machine that uses 6 inch laps. This post is about a round that is in the easiest range of sizes, from about 5 mm to 10 mm in diameter. In this size range the gems have tables...
In Search of the Perfect Piece of Tourmaline Rough
I could go into my history of obtaining rough that goes back over 60 years, but that would really only help an an old man recall memories. No, I want to address the effort to purchase tourmaline rough over the internet. My window on the process is narrow because I...
My Effort to Cut a Quality Gemstone
Over twenty years ago my love of color brought me back to faceting gemstones. I had not, worked in stone for many years. Years crowded with family, work and other crafts. But nothing I created could compare with gemstones when it comes to pure intense color. I checked...
Tourmaline Tales of Sad and Glade
For every beginning there must be an end. I am green, yellow and orange and I kept the true meaning of that phrase hidden in my heart for many eons. The cutter was drawn into my web of deception by my size, large, price, cheap and the catchy phrase, different unusual...
The grayish blue staircase a rough climb
I have taken to visiting youtube in the last year or so because I get to see what many people see about tourmaline and gems in general. It also gives me ideas for posts on this website. The following story of cutting a piece of tourmaline starts with a less than an...
An Afternoon Delight on My Walk with Two Tourmaline
The effect of natural lighting on the appearance of some tourmaline can be a wide range of both the expected and surprises. The surprise I am focusing on here happen during a late afternoon to evening walk. I had picked two stones from my collection that had strong...
Faceting Machines, Faceting and Me
Fifty years ago I started cutting my first cab. My father had found a new creative out let for me at the erging of my mother who was afraid I might blow up the house playing around with my wonderful chemistry set. Two years later, at fifteen, I was determined to try...
Desert Flower Tourmaline
Putting the new recruits through basic training has become a major effort for the tourmaline tribes. Each bright face must be tested under different lights and placed in the constellation of stars sparkling in the mind of the cutter. This is not as uniform as you...
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