Hand Cut Gemstones

Lately, and coincidentally, I've had a lot of consultations about crooked settings, and I will dare to say in 90% of the cases, the setting is completely fine, and the "crookedness" comes from an uneven gemstone so I decided to write a bit about this not so big issue.

Gemstones can be cut in a variety of ways, with machines or by hand without or with the assistance of a machine, the later being the most common, this helps the lapidary (the gemstone cutter) have a lot of control on the cut, facets, color, and general shape. The human machine is incredible, but total precision is impossible, specially without the assistance of machinery. most gemstones are soft enough to be cut by hand, and will have slight imperfections on the cut (the crookedness most of my clients complain about).

In most cases, I advice to keep the stone as it is, nature is imperfect, and in gemstones, that imperfection just shows how special that gemstone was that someone took the time to work on it with their hands just for you. but if the sentimental route doesn't work, you can always unset the stone and send it to a lapidary to be cut again, just keep in mind it will cost you.

 If you're curious, this video will show you basics and examples of hand cutting gemstones. (Credit for the video goes to the Lawson Gems channel on YouTube)

This video is will show you step by step how gemstones are cut if you're interested on the whole process with a machine. (Credit for the video goes to the Vintage Time channel on YouTube)

I hope this will help some of you, but you are always welcome to come to the studio and seek the assistance of an expert.

Wonderful Saturday for all!

Mauricio.