Gemstones for Jewelry

Chris and I have been collecting gemstones for 35 years so we have collected much of the material we work with. The ones we have not been able to collect due to location or availability, we have purchased mainly from estates.

We start with only good quality material. Then we take it to one of our large saws to cut it into thicknesses we want to work with. Next we orient the best design in the slab and trim it down on a trim saw to a desired size. The next step is to shape it on a grinding wheel. Sometimes we follow the design in the rock and other times we cut to a desired shape.

We then dop (put) it onto a dowel with a dopping wax which has been heated. Then off to the grinding wheel again to round the top of the cabachon. After rounding we move to finer grits progressively to remove all scratches and prepare it for the polish. The polish we use is determined by the hardness of the material.

Even though this is a time consuming process it is very rewarding to see the finished product. Click here if you are interested in seeing and learning more about polished calibrated gemstones.

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