CALLING ALL FACETERS- Show us the weird ones!

[iLander]

I thought it would be fun to see the stones that the faceters thought were especially unusual or different. An odd natural inclusion, an experimental cut, funky zoning, a really challenging stone, something the made you say "Hmmmm . . . ".

I thought I''d start it off with something I saw on the Master Cut site (which I just pilfered without permission, shhh, don''t tell him , a blue sapphire with cool yellow color zoning right in the middle. I think it''s been on Pricescope before, but I it was the oddest stone I could think of.

I know this thread will be fun for me anyway, and hopefully some other PSer''s will enjoy the show.

 

[lelser]

Most of us who are faceters are also vendors and not allowed to show our work.

 

[iLander]

Date: 6/12/2010 11:58:55 AM
Author: lelser
Most of us who are faceters are also vendors and not allowed to show our work.

Really? That''s sad,

since there would be some good stuff. . . I''m not sure any PSer''s have any really odd pieces.

Sigh . . .

 

[Arkteia]

I am trying to remember whose website it is...I think it''s Jeff White''s. There is a sapphire with a "zoning" that he put in the miiddle, so that the sapphire looks white inside with "blue" corners. Not something that I will buy just because I want to invest my money into something more traditional (also, it may present problems with setting since the"corners" may be masked by a bezel), but a very interesting way to work a stone!

 

[Burberrygirl]

Crasru, I remember the sapphire you''re talking about. I thought it was super cool. The Gem Trader also had a cool emerald cut bi-colored sapphire.

http://www.thegemtrader.com/July%202006%20BC%20Sapp%20Page.htm

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 6/12/2010 11:58:55 AM
Author: lelser
Most of us who are faceters are also vendors and not allowed to show our work.

In reading the guidelines for vendors I come away with the general idea that we are not to be making blatant advertising posts. There is nothing in the forum policies about posting pictures related to our work and if it''s done in an educational framework by someone who is taking part in the forums regularly, I think it would be valuable to the members here. I avoid problems by only posting things which I have already sold or are not visible elsewhere and have definite interest to the members. Weird stuff is always interesting, hard to sell and generally something that we keep in our "Oh well, that didn''t work out quite like I had planned" box and so would be kind of hard to consider self promotional. If presented properly and with low frequency, I doubt that showing images will cause a problem for anyone, (if it does I''m SURE that we''ll find out quite rapidly). Perhaps a moderator could clarify this if I am wrong.

In that vein, here''s a wierd one. This sapphire has distinct growth lines which are hidden in the face up view by it''s dark saturation and reflectivity from the pavilion facets. Turn it over in the sunlight and it looks like a blue venetian blind. After cutting this one I thought, "Darn this would have made a cool cab", Oh well.

 

[Ella]

Vendors are not allowed to post photos of their own stones unless approved by us or in the context of answering an educational question posed by a member (i.e., to show an inclusion type or color) and then only stones that are not and will not be for sale. This is to prevent problems with self-promotion and in order to do this we simply just draw a hard line in the sand for everyone.

That being said, in the context of this thread alone vendors are welcome to post a favorite photo of a stone that is NOT for sale (and will not be) that they believe is a fun weird stone. If posts become self-promotional in nature or if they do not comply with our rules we as always reserve the right to remove them.

 

[iLander]

Yeah!!!!

Thank you, Ella! I don't think anyone will try and sell anything. This is just so the rest of us can see what, from a professional perspective, is unusual. I might see a dozen stones a year, but some faceters will see hundreds, and it might be fun to see what stuck out in their minds.

@ Michael E: That's really cool, what causes lines like that? Does the stone heat and cool in rapid succession? How rapid? Is it like years, decades or a couple of hours? How long does it take these crystals to grow? I'm sure these are stupid questions, but I really don't know . . .

 

[lelser]

Since we have the blessings here''s one that is long since gone, and probably won''t be repeated.

I got some Moonstone in Madagascar, and decided to facet it. The photo shows a microscopic view of the stone, but in life it had a fabulous flash and adularescence. Why never again? Cleavage and polish. It was a mountain of work to get this perfect, and it took a long time to find a home. Just a bit too unusual for most jewellers to take a risk.

Pretty though.

 

[iLander]

@ Lisa: I would love to have seen that in person! Someone out there owns a really unique stone, very cool.

 

[SparkleSparkle]

This is my "strange" tourmaline from Dana at Master Cut Gems. The stone is actually pink but has a blue culet, which makes the stone appear a greyish blue.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I am not a faceter and do not claim to know anything about it, but of all the niche cuts I have ever seen, this is the one that always strikes me as the most unusual. I would love to see more, both cuts and stone types, I love the idea of getting some unique cuts. There is a guy who does them with computer and models types and posts the how to online. He has one that I believe has a record number of facets, but he has never actually tried to do it and is hoping someone will in his lifetime so he can see it. I want to see it too and now I can''t find the link.

 

[Jim Rentfrow]

Here is a sapphire I had finished a few months back, its interesting because it the stone had a core of orange color surrounded by very light blue. So the reflections would be orange, blue, and combination colors.

 

[iLander]

@ Jim: University of Florida Gator colors, LOL!

 

[Rockit]

Crasru, I remember the stone you mention... the RB greenish blue stone with yellow in it is a montana sapphire cut by Dan Stair.

 

[iLander]

I saw this zircon over at Gem Trader (it''s sold). I think it''s pretty bizarre, if you ask me.