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Any cutters who cut rough that you provide?

q8peridot

q8peridot

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 1, 2020
Messages
32
Hi everyone

Wanted to know if you know of any cutters who will cut a rough stone that you provide them? not from their stock.

Thanks
 
No answers, but I'm curious about this too. I've seen some beautiful rough for sale, but I don't know much about this! Do you have a specific project in mind?
 
I’ve had the following folks cut my own rough, and they did an absolutely fantastic job. The linked posts

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However, they’re pretty in demand, so the wait time might be a bit.
 
It's getting to be harder to find people willing to cut a customer's rough. It used to be easier. I think it's because with rough prices becoming more transparent the gemstone cutters' costs for time are more transparent and that makes it harder for them to make the profit margins they need if people aren't willing to pay. I have seen hourly costs anywhere from $60/hr to $200/hr.

I know a gem cutter where I live who has told me that there's very very low profit margins in loose gems and that finished jewelry is where she's able to recoup some of her costs.

I can highly recommend Ramon Tesoro. He has an instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/rtgemcutter/. He cut a Mahenge garnet for me that is breathtakingly pretty. He lives in Italy, though, so plan to spend a little bit for shipping
 
I'm not sure it's because of transparency of costs, but for me it's a few reasons.
Mainly it's the customers anticipation vs what may be the reality. I have been buying rough for 20 years, and buying rough is by far the most difficult part of this business. Often to get good rough you need to buy parcels, and sometimes you buy a parcel only because there are a few stones you really want, and you are left with a bunch of stones that will never be cut. These are often the stones that end up on eBay auctions.
Another reason is cutting a stone is series of compromises. Do you sacrifice weight for performance, or clarity, or color, or desirable shape.
Then bad things can happen when cutting. I have had stones crack into rubble after just touching the stone to the lap. Sometimes they crack when being dopped. Sometimes you don't notice a larger inclusion until the stone is partially cut, and then you end up reshaping it into something else.
All these bad things, are eaten by the cutter when cutting their own material, as the final custom you don't feel these, but if you supply the rough then you will.

Over the year I have had many people ask me to cut their rough, and at times I have done it in the past. But it's kind of like getting set up on a blind date. Except after the blind date that was a bust, you can thank the person for the nice dinner, and go home. The junk rough, however produces a junk cut stone that you are stuck with.

Some pieces of rough give up a nicely cut stone pretty quickly, other times it can be a real struggle and a lot of time to get a gem out of it. It's much like our Yourkies. One can get her nails cut with out much hassle, and then there is Winston! It can turn into a battle going late into the night, that is then followed up with his payback. Payback can be simply be a puddle of the floor in the morning or it could be a nice yellow stain the Persian rug.
 
Dan O'Neil has cut rough for me and did a lovely job. Daniel Stair will also cut for you, last time I checked.
 
JackTrick said:
I’ve had the following folks cut my own rough, and they did an absolutely fantastic job. The linked posts

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However, they’re pretty in demand, so the wait time might be a bit.
Click to expand...

I will contact them and see how the process goes.
 
musicloveranthony said:
It's getting to be harder to find people willing to cut a customer's rough. It used to be easier. I think it's because with rough prices becoming more transparent the gemstone cutters' costs for time are more transparent and that makes it harder for them to make the profit margins they need if people aren't willing to pay. I have seen hourly costs anywhere from $60/hr to $200/hr.

I know a gem cutter where I live who has told me that there's very very low profit margins in loose gems and that finished jewelry is where she's able to recoup some of her costs.

I can highly recommend Ramon Tesoro. He has an instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/rtgemcutter/. He cut a Mahenge garnet for me that is breathtakingly pretty. He lives in Italy, though, so plan to spend a little bit for shipping
Click to expand...

Already made a purchase with him, it was one of the purchases that I am very pleased with.
 
PrecisionGem said:
I'm not sure it's because of transparency of costs, but for me it's a few reasons.
Mainly it's the customers anticipation vs what may be the reality. I have been buying rough for 20 years, and buying rough is by far the most difficult part of this business. Often to get good rough you need to buy parcels, and sometimes you buy a parcel only because there are a few stones you really want, and you are left with a bunch of stones that will never be cut. These are often the stones that end up on eBay auctions.
Another reason is cutting a stone is series of compromises. Do you sacrifice weight for performance, or clarity, or color, or desirable shape.
Then bad things can happen when cutting. I have had stones crack into rubble after just touching the stone to the lap. Sometimes they crack when being dopped. Sometimes you don't notice a larger inclusion until the stone is partially cut, and then you end up reshaping it into something else.
All these bad things, are eaten by the cutter when cutting their own material, as the final custom you don't feel these, but if you supply the rough then you will.

Over the year I have had many people ask me to cut their rough, and at times I have done it in the past. But it's kind of like getting set up on a blind date. Except after the blind date that was a bust, you can thank the person for the nice dinner, and go home. The junk rough, however produces a junk cut stone that you are stuck with.

Some pieces of rough give up a nicely cut stone pretty quickly, other times it can be a real struggle and a lot of time to get a gem out of it. It's much like our Yourkies. One can get her nails cut with out much hassle, and then there is Winston! It can turn into a battle going late into the night, that is then followed up with his payback. Payback can be simply be a puddle of the floor in the morning or it could be a nice yellow stain the Persian rug.
Click to expand...

Quite understandable, it does seem like a lot of hassle.
 
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