- Joined
- Feb 22, 2010
- Messages
- 251
"Native" - I don''t find it offensive. If someone does, they need to recognize that that is their opinion and they can put what ever meaning they want, but some of us won''t agree. But if you argue that it is a poor descriptor, that is valid. I think I have said it here, none of my cuts are native. I moved from Florida to Georgia, so no one will consider them native.
"Sweatshop cut"? - The owner definitely does NOT seem like someone who runs a sweatshop. I think "factory" cut is closer. It does not take in how the economy of the area effects the wages and labor costs though.
It boils down to "You can have it fast, cheap, or precise. Pick any two and they relationship is not 1:1." I can say that the machines they do use are a brilliant modification of the jambpeg design. The machine allows 2 people to work on it at a time. The indexing appears to be done by a keyed barrel and the angle controlled by the pegs. It definitely takes a skilled operator to cut a great stone. But the goal is volume. Johnny Tew can cut a 24 minute SRB on a Fac-ette with preparation. The angles will be superior. But I bet that they are running through a stone in less than 20 minutes of time. Probably closer to 12. But also notice, they are not working on 10ct stones.
This is where it all comes together... In general, the ''native'' shops have access to rough that the low volume folks do not. By the time I see it, a piece of rough I can get is almost the size of their cut stone for the same price. Most of the market wants to buy in that price range and it makes it difficult for custom folks to compete at that level. Trying to do that would be like the saying they use in auto racing, "Do you know how to make a small fortune in racing? Start with a big one." So, we look for larger rough, which increases the cost. The value we can add is by cutting it as optimally as we can. The more optimally, the less ''cheap'' and ''fast'' you get. For faster, we have to buy better precision. But precision has a cost for every digit to the right of the decimal point in accuracy. My machine costs $2000 per person using it (a Fac-ette is $4000 - add concave and that is another $2k or more). Other value comes from unique cuts such as novelty cuts (I AM going to find time to do the Black Widow cut this year as I want it) and cuts that are not standard. Supernova is an example. Assher is not though as it should be very simple to do for a skilled ''factory'' cutter. The corners or getting the steps parallel are a challenge as they cannot be really hidden with an extra facet (the trick for covering mistakes or lack of precision). But some of the experienced cutters are brilliant. But they are usually not cutting the 1 ct stones...
And if you ran a shop like that, you can cut the more expensive stones too. Nothing prevents them from buying better machines and using it. The guys on it will already be experienced, just need to use a new tool. All the rest of the learning curve is taken care of. Sort of what they have done in some areas in Africa. There are Facetrons there in number. They have even imported folks for training. Brilliant in my opinion. I personally do not benefit as it displaces what I could do. But it sure does more for the area increasing the cashflow to the areas where the materials are coming from. Ecologically sound mining practices come from being able to afford the extra costs. If the whole region''s standard of living goes up because of wealth from its industry, they can afford to do it in a sustainable manner. oops... starting to ramble.
"Sweatshop cut"? - The owner definitely does NOT seem like someone who runs a sweatshop. I think "factory" cut is closer. It does not take in how the economy of the area effects the wages and labor costs though.
It boils down to "You can have it fast, cheap, or precise. Pick any two and they relationship is not 1:1." I can say that the machines they do use are a brilliant modification of the jambpeg design. The machine allows 2 people to work on it at a time. The indexing appears to be done by a keyed barrel and the angle controlled by the pegs. It definitely takes a skilled operator to cut a great stone. But the goal is volume. Johnny Tew can cut a 24 minute SRB on a Fac-ette with preparation. The angles will be superior. But I bet that they are running through a stone in less than 20 minutes of time. Probably closer to 12. But also notice, they are not working on 10ct stones.
This is where it all comes together... In general, the ''native'' shops have access to rough that the low volume folks do not. By the time I see it, a piece of rough I can get is almost the size of their cut stone for the same price. Most of the market wants to buy in that price range and it makes it difficult for custom folks to compete at that level. Trying to do that would be like the saying they use in auto racing, "Do you know how to make a small fortune in racing? Start with a big one." So, we look for larger rough, which increases the cost. The value we can add is by cutting it as optimally as we can. The more optimally, the less ''cheap'' and ''fast'' you get. For faster, we have to buy better precision. But precision has a cost for every digit to the right of the decimal point in accuracy. My machine costs $2000 per person using it (a Fac-ette is $4000 - add concave and that is another $2k or more). Other value comes from unique cuts such as novelty cuts (I AM going to find time to do the Black Widow cut this year as I want it) and cuts that are not standard. Supernova is an example. Assher is not though as it should be very simple to do for a skilled ''factory'' cutter. The corners or getting the steps parallel are a challenge as they cannot be really hidden with an extra facet (the trick for covering mistakes or lack of precision). But some of the experienced cutters are brilliant. But they are usually not cutting the 1 ct stones...
And if you ran a shop like that, you can cut the more expensive stones too. Nothing prevents them from buying better machines and using it. The guys on it will already be experienced, just need to use a new tool. All the rest of the learning curve is taken care of. Sort of what they have done in some areas in Africa. There are Facetrons there in number. They have even imported folks for training. Brilliant in my opinion. I personally do not benefit as it displaces what I could do. But it sure does more for the area increasing the cashflow to the areas where the materials are coming from. Ecologically sound mining practices come from being able to afford the extra costs. If the whole region''s standard of living goes up because of wealth from its industry, they can afford to do it in a sustainable manner. oops... starting to ramble.
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