23/05/2020 How to Facet Gems - International Gem Society

How to Facet Gems

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by Dr. Gerald Wykoff GG CSM

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Gemology
CERTIFICATION

The Face ng of a Gemstone Only Appears Complete

and Cri cal

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23/05/2020 How to Facet Gems - International Gem Society

Don’t be Fooled: Ar s c Talents and Mechanical Skills Aren’t the Cri cal Factors to Success,
Pa ence Is
Advance your knowledge of
To the average person, viewing a magnificently faceted diamond or colored gemstone, the gemology with the IGS Cer fica on
complexity appears awesome. How do you manage to cut all those bright, ny facets? It must Course!

take enormous talent. They are queries o en heard by faceters.

Learn more
Usually a faceter will nod smugly and make light of his or her apparent genius, a mode too
o en dedicated to keeping you awed. If the ques on is posed to an honest gemcu er, s/he
might respond with a famous Japanese idiom, “HAI.” HAI is a marvelous all-purpose expression
that means, “yeh, yeh . . . I suppose so . . . OK . . . I’m cool . . . I get it . . . I’m with you . . .go  Ar cles
ahead . . . etc.”
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Face ng methodology consists of moun ng a gem crystal on a metal dowel, (dops ck), which Updated
fits into a quill, then rigidly addressing the Height-Angle-Index triangle with the face ng
machine, and touching the locked-in-place crystal to abrasive laps in two sequen al
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opera ons, face ng first the top (called the “crown”) and then the bo om (called the “pavilion”). and Instruments

In face ng, HAI is much more than a casual idiom. It is an absolute ruling principle, expressed
as an acronym with it’s significance focused on “go ahead.” When a faceter can say HAI to his Refractometer Guide, Part 3:
Determining Op c Character
or her face ng progress, it means “OK to go ahead” (and facet) because the vital triangle is in
and Recognizing Op c Effects
place (as shown in “B” above) with the gemcu er incontrol of the three principle elements of
face ng:
How to Evaluate Diamond
H — height Symmetry

A–angle
Dichroscope Guide for
Gemologists
I–index.

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Height controls the depth to which a facet is cut and this enables a faceter to establish even, Learn to Use a Polariscope
(Video)
uniform rows of same sized, same depth facets. Angle establishes the plane upon which each
facet is cut because op cs and performance is so dependant on each facet(s)possessing just the
right amount of plane or slant. Index refers to the placement of the facets around the shape or Refractometer Guide, Part 2:
outline i.e., a round brilliant cut stone, like most diamonds, shows eight main facets when Cabochon Tes ng

viewed straight down in “plan view.”

These three important elements are more fully explained below.

Four Simple Steps . . .  Forum

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For the most part, you can take all the mys cism and incanta on, secrecy and ritual and
downright nonsense, roll it up into a ball and toss same in a face ng scrap heap. Face ng Dendri c Agate, Dendri c Opal, Dendri c
consists of four simple elements: Chalcedony - Different stones, or the
same?
3 days ago
1) a person to set and hold the machine
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2) the face ng machine
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3) abrasive disks to do the cu ng and polishing
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4) a piece of natural or man-made crystal to cut
The Mys cism of Gemcu ng
It may look complex, but one must merely glue or a ach a stone to a metal dowel (called a 2 weeks ago

dops ck, then set the machine’s mast (for H), adjust the protractor or quill posi on (for A),
Roubellite or garnet
place the trigger grip in the numbered notch in an index wheel (for I). Next, s/he lowers the
2 weeks ago

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stone to the abrasive lapwheel and monitors cu ngand polishing progress. There really isn’t Day of month birthstones?
much more to it than that which is why face ng can actually be learned in a few hours. That 2 weeks ago
learning process will allow one to cut the most famous and easiest cut of all, the famed
American round brilliant whose shape and appearance symbolizes and dominates the en re GIA Limited Time Offer

fieldof gemcu ng. Truth is, nine out of 10 gemstones are cut in the round brilliant mode or 3 weeks ago

one of its varia ons. How is this possible? The answer is simple. Modern face ng machines
Pendant Stone Iden fica on
are actually milling machines (it’s not by chance that the leading face ng machine
3 weeks ago
manufacturers are machinists by trade).
How best to mount micro pave in amber
All three HAI controls (mast, quill, index wheel)are rou nely locked in during setup before a 3 weeks ago
faceter even starts to cut. As a result, the faceter needs only “pa ence,” the ability and mind
set to hold the locked-in-place stone against an abrasive wheel and watch the progress. Has Anyone used
www.wholesalesapphires.com / Gem
Amongfaceters ” . . . cut and look . . . cut and look . . . ” is a me honored reality.
Rock Auc ons?
3 weeks ago
The Four P’s of Gemstone Analysis . . .
Diamond clouds
If you never cut a gemstone but want to be able to evaluate one professionally, keep in mind 3 weeks ago
that any cut–diamond or colored stone–is evaluated on the basis of what I callthe 5 P’s of cut
appraisal:

1)–Points (edges and intersec ons meet precisely which provesthat facets have been cut
evenly and uniformly)
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2)–Propor ons (for the height of most faceted gems the top part represents 1/3 and the
bo om part represents 2/3

3–Polish (a fine polish proves that the previous steps, too, were done properly)

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4)–Posi oning (an astute faceter has studied the gem crystal andoriented to conform with
op cal laws and to minimize the visibility and interference of imperfec ons and, finally,

5–Performance (if the vital angles are observed, the stone’s facets reflect and refract the
maximum amount of external and internal light i.e., it will perform op cally – even when lted
or pped away from normal. This reflec ve capability contrast with an uninteres ng piece of
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see-through glass when the gem is viewed straight down through the table).

All of a faceter’s efforts are focused through HAI to accomplish these Five P’s men oned Plus! Sign up for these FREE email
courses...
above. Here’s how it’s done.
Gemstone Iden fica on Course

Face ng Fundamentals . . . Sample Lesson from IGS

Cer fica on Course
Face ng methodology consists of (A) cu ng appropriate angles on the top and bo om of a
gem crystal, because (B) the face ng machine forms a right triangle that controls the stone’s
angle on the abrasive disk, and (3) a faceter to hold the stone against the turning lap wheel Subscribe
and monitor progress in cu ng the “crown” i.e, the top of the gem, and the “pavilion” i.e., the
bo om of the gem. Obviously, tradi onal face ng is a two-step process...

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H = Height As explained above, very face ng machine must form a right triangle so the target
angle will appear at the stone-abrasive disk intersec on. To accomplish this, the face ng
head is raised on its mast (in a protractor machine) or the quill’s tailpiece in a jamb peg
machine is placed in an elevated slot on the back- board jamb. In both cases the quill’s are
locked at an eleva on consistent with the stone’s diameter or width. This ac on coordinates
the machine’s quill to the stone so height is no longer an issue.

A–Angle. Once the quill’s eleva on is established, angle se ng becomes a cinch. The
mechanical protractor stop is set to the targeted angle or the jamb peg’s quill tailpiece is
slipped into the appropriately numbered angle slot. This effec vely assures that the cut facet
will finish up at the desired angle. Thus, se ng angles involves merely a simple dial-up task
or a put-it-in-the-right-slot proposi on. Your greatest danger consists in se ng the angle
posi on wrong.

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I–Index. Placing all those “ ny” facets around and about a faceted gem demands li le more
than slipping a trigger into a numbered gear notch. If the instruc ons tell you to put the
trigger in the “2” notch to cut a par cular facet, that’s what you do and the task is done . . . the
face ng machine will du fully cut a nice par cular facet at the right angle and at the place
you want. Again, your greatest danger consists in placing the trigger in the wrong notch.

That’s it! Observe HAI on every facet and you’ll achieve the 4 P’s every me you cut a stone.
As for the supplementary heady stuff concerning proper angles, conversion of notch numbers
from one index gear to the next, reflec vity, etc., well, that’s a cinch, too. If you’re not a
mathema cian or if you don’t want to memorize a lot of formulas, refer to the FacMath u li es
in the Reference Sec on and your PC computer will make you a wizard in a minute or so – and
you won’t make any arithme cal mistakes either.

This ar cle is part of a series as follows:

Gem Lore – A Resource For Gemcu ng Informa on

How to Facet Gems

How to Cut Cabochons

How to Carve, Sculpt Gems

Crea ve Gemstone Op ons

Frequently Asked Ques ons

 About the author

Dr. Gerald Wykoff GG CSM

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23/05/2020 How to Facet Gems - International Gem Society

Dr. Gerald Wykoff is GG (Graduate Gemologist), a CSM

(Cer fied Supreme Master gemcu er), educator, and
author of several gemology books. He founded the
American Society of Gemcu ers in the 1980s and

served for more than 10 years as the editor of its

monthly magazine, American Gemcu er.

All ar cles by this author

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