Making a Gemstone
Illustrations

This gem was cut out of topaz.
The design is one the author developed especially for this cut.
Topaz is very hard. This stone is 10 x 7 mm in size and weighs 3.30 carats.

This is a round brilliant cut.
It has 57 facets.

Finished gemstones come in many shapes.
Some of the more popular are emerald, oval, and round brilliant.

These are some samples of facet rough materials that are used to make gemstones. The large piece at the lower left is corundum. The picture shows it to be more orange than it really is. In real life it's more of a ruby or red color. The piece just to the right of the corundum is amethyst. Just above the corundum is a citrine. Just above it is a topaz crystal. In the middle on top is a garnet crystal. Below it is another topaz crystal with some matrix stone attached to its base.

This is a diagram of an American Round Brilliant gem.
This will help you understand the names of the different parts of a gemstone.

This canyon is large with many smaller canyons and mountains
that have topaz and garnet crystals.

This is the faceting machine the author used to cut his gemstones.
Faceting machines cost from $800 to over $2500 dollars.

These aluminum dop sticks have rough stones glued to them with dopping wax.
Once a stone is firmly attached to a dop stick, it is placed in the quill
of the faceting machine and ground to the desired shape.

This collection of gemstones includes corundum, sunstone, amethyst, tourmaline,
laser gem, jewelite, citrine, topaz, chocolate quartz, opal, aquamarine, and glass.
The number below each gem refers to its entry in a record book that contains all the details
about the cut gem.

This gem is cut out of quartz that has a little bit of amethyst color to it.
A star has been cut into the bottom of the stone and its reflection shows.
The gem measures 13 mm and weighs 10.50 carats

This is a good place to look for mineral crystals such as topaz and garnet.

You will be surprised to know that the larger stone was cut from the glass of an old whiskey
bottle that I found. The smaller stone was cut from a piece of laser rod. Glass cuts into
beautiful stones. The main problem is the brittleness of glass. Both stones are
American Round Brilliant cuts. The larger stone is over 75 carats.

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