Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC, NJ?

[benjaminpendleton]

I have a friend who has several 10 carat rough emeralds that he is interested in having cut; he's looking for top quality workmanship. Any opinions? I'm especially interested in anything that Oldminer might have to say, particularly about Southeastern PA/Jewelers' Row.

 

[gongli]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Precisiongem's website gives a PA postal box under "contact us". Gene's work is excellent.

 

[SB621]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Precisiongem's website gives a PA postal box under "contact us". Gene's work is excellent.

+1

 

[T L]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Precisiongem's website gives a PA postal box under "contact us". Gene's work is excellent.

Gene won't cut other people's rough. I suggest you contact Jerry Newman. He has experience cutting emeralds. I forgot his website name, but if you google 'Jerry Newman gems,' you'll find it.

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Jerry's website is gemartservices.

A while ago, I bought some rough from Cathy at RoughtoRefined. Her partner, Dave Dawson, was too backed up to cut it, so Dave recommended the following cutters:

Dan Stair
Jim Rentfrow
Matt Dunkle
Steve Kotlowski
Jean-Noel Soni of topnotchfaceting

Good luck.

 

[chrono]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

I second the suggestion for Jerry Newman. He's not only skilled but also discusses the cut in-depth before starting work, informing the customer of the pros and cons.

 

[jstarfireb]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Precisiongem's website gives a PA postal box under "contact us". Gene's work is excellent.

Gene is located in central PA, about 2 hours away from Philly. He's great, but if you're looking for Philly/NY/NJ, he's not there.

The only gemstone cutter I know on Jeweler's Row is FGS Gems. You can see some of Frank's work on his website: http://www.fgsgems.com/fgsgems/

 

[chrono]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

I'd like to make an important note with regards to Gene of Precision Gems: he will NOT cut a customer's rough or stone.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

I'd like to make an important note with regards to Gene of Precision Gems: he will NOT cut a customer's rough or stone.

I'd like to second that!

There is good reason. People expectation of their rough could be much higher than the stone as able to produce, and I'd not like to have an unhappy customer. By only cutting my own rough, the only unhappy person could ever be me. Emeralds can be very unpredictable stones to work with, they often have many hidden surprises in them once you get into them.

Years ago I used to do this, and found out the people often thought they had a great piece of rough, but it really turned out to be a piece of junk. Evaluating rough is a very difficult thing, and takes hundreds of purchases to learn, and you can still get burned on stones.

 

[benjaminpendleton]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Thanks to you all for your responses.

My friend (and I) did stop in at FGS over the weekend and there was an initial discussion. I don't know if anything actually came of it or not; I'm guessing not, as my friend headed back overseas today and the gemcutter was talking about the possibility of taking several days to get the work done.

Sorry to hear that Precision Gems doesn't cut other people's rough, he's within an hour of my home. Of course, I completely understand where he's coming from. So, at the risk of being the new guy who breaks the cardinal rule of Pricescope etiquette, does Precision Gems or any other area cutters buy rough? To be specific, Panjshir Valley emeralds? My friend's been very deeply involved in the business for at least 15 years. This guy is the real thing. I first met him in 1991 in Afghanistan while photographing the war.

 

[pregcurious]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

You may want to contact Jim Rentfrow. He went to Afghanistan (last year?) and would know about emeralds from that area.

 

[chrono]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Of course, many PS recommended lapidaries buy rough. Some buy only rough to recut, and some buy both rough and cut stones which hold promise to be recut. They purchase from many locations, travelling the globe to obtain what they require or can find.

 

[benjaminpendleton]

Re: Emeralds: Who's the Best Emerald Cutter in Philly, NYC,

Pregcurious, I did take a look at Jim Rentfrow's website (as also suggested by minousbijoux) and saw that he has done quite a lot of work in Afghanistan. Really liked the lapis lazuli that he had. Definitely someone worth getting to know...

Thanks again to all for your help.

To be continued...