RECUTTING TIME...

[blithesome71]

Calling all gem cutters/faceters. I need some helpful opinion pls pls pls...

How long does it take to recut/repolish a 10x8.5 EC tourmaline (5ct)? Assuming it has no veils/cracks/internal fractures whatsover (e.g. VVS clarity)

Will it take an hour? 2 hours max? 3-4 hours or so? Please enlighten me. Thanks in advance u guys!



I've attached photos of the gem candidate for recut and the inspiration/desired result as a reference (From badly chipped/horrible cut, to a nicely polished/cut Emerald Cut)

 

[Roger Dery]

Hi Blithesome,
As always, the amount of time a project will take varies among gem cutters. Differing techniques and styles of operating will affect the final outcome as to how long it takes. That being said.....

A classic emerald cut, step-cut style - and refurbishing back into the same style, with a size of roughly 10 x 8 or so, can figure about 1-1/4 hours if things go perfectly, and maybe 2 hours or just over if things don't go well. When I state "don't go well" it could be that the original stone was cut on a jamb-peg style machine where facets from-side-to-side do not match or align with one another.

Another option would be to create something new from an existing stone The Tourmaline pictured above is an especially good candidate (because of its additional depth) to be converted into a radiant-style or a barion-style of faceting. This would entail more time as one would have to work up a design to match the dimensions. Also, faceting in either the barion or radiant styles will take longer as there are many more facets to complete. I would say 2-1/2 on the low end, and up to 4 hours on the high end. That is, if we are starting with roughly a 10 x 8mm stone. And then, you would have a very fresh looking gem.

I hope you find this helpful.

 

[Jim Rentfrow]

Roger pretty much covered everthing in good detail. recutting time can vary widely with the size and complexity of cut however his estimate of 2.5 to 4 hours is spot on.

 

[blithesome71]

Thank you so much for your responses. @Roger, that's very informative. This gem's facets from-side-to-side do not match due to its native cut (so possibly things won't go that well)... I should now decide whether to find a faceter who charges recutting for an hourly rate or for per ct. rate on finished gem.

Thanks so much again. PS rock!

 

[lelser]

Thank you so much for your responses. @Roger, that's very informative. This gem's facets from-side-to-side do not match due to its native cut (so possibly things won't go that well)... I should now decide whether to find a faceter who charges recutting for an hourly rate or for per ct. rate on finished gem.

Thanks so much again. PS rock!

There's a third option - find a faceter you trust who'll give you an estimate, send them stone, and get a firm quote once they've seen it. It's not like they'll be in your house and you can count hours, right? If you want the best possible stone instead of just the heaviest, that might mean cutting weight of the pavillion to give better performance. Encouraging someone to save weight at the possible expense of the finished piece might not be the best way either. That way you know exactly what you'll be asked to pay.

I don't do recutting, so I have no dog in this fight.

Cheers,

Lisa
www.lisaelser.com
www.greengemfoundation.com

 

[blithesome71]

Hi Lisa! Thanks for chiming in I've emailed this lapidary yesterday and he was very nice to give me a nice estimate of how much time he'd spend on recutting this gem. According to him, "Emerald cuts are fast, especially when the original stone is already an emerald cut, heh. I would anticipate your stone taking about two hours..." Glad it won't take him 4 hours or so and I'm on a tight budget now so I'm really happy he gave me a nice quote (inclusive of shipping fee) Thanks again you guys. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that this turns out nicely

 

[Michael_E]

Are you sure that this is a tourmaline? Topaz and tourmaline have similar R.I.'s and are close in specific gravity. Usually a blue tourmaline that large would be quite expensive and not easily obtainable. Tourmaline usually has a dramatic dichroism and your image shows very little dichroism leading me to think that maybe you have a topaz and not a tourmaline. Just a thought.

 

[MontageCreations]

Yea, I have to weigh in with Michael E, my first thoughts was that was a blue topaz.

 

[blithesome71]

Hi Michahel. I knew that reaction is coming. Yes, I definitely agree that it looks like an irradiated london blue topaz in that photo. I must say that among my stones, this is the hardest one to photograph next to my spess perhaps due to its horrible window (or door? hehe). I'm not able to capture its RL color which is a teal bluegreen color, a classic indicolite color. I've obtained this from my trusted local jeweler who has some antique stuffs and gems in his inventory (where I bought my 1st ever 6ct native cut peridot) If only you could take a look at it in RL then you'll know what I mean. It also shows that slight color shift (under fluorescent/incandescent light) So there. Hope it helps. Later!