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 Post subject: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:55 am 
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Hello everyone, I'm fairly new to the world of gems and have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind :)

I'm very much interested in making jewelery and art/display pieces involving semi-precious gems, but have some concerns when it comes to buying them. Many of the cut stones I'm interested in such as garnet or amethyst are often synthetics or imitations. Since I'm interested in a fairly large variety of stones, I'm likely to be buying them from many different sources, and so I don't know how much I can rely on trusting the seller. Getting the stones certified would most likely be prohibitively expense compared to the price of the stones, so I'm wondering if there are any good, basic methods of identification such as using a refractometer, 10x magnification, density, hardness, that are fairly inexpensive and can be used to at least separate out imitations? Also, is identifying synthetics without a fully scale lab essentially a lost cause?

Additionally, I would love to cut some stones, but am concerned about silicate dust and other similar health hazards as well as costly equipment. I've had some experience with opals which I greatly enjoyed, but what are some stones that are relatively easy and safe to work with (in a semi-ventilated environment)?

Thanks for helping me out :)


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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 11:42 am 
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There are 4 sources listed on the left for free gemological training.
I recommend the following:
http://www.gemologyproject.com/
http://www.bwsmigel.info/


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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:26 am 
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Hi, if you are making art/display pieces, why worry about the use of synthetics?
Go to any jewellery shop in a mall, and nearly everything you see will be synthetic.
It doesn't stop people from buying.
You can get great parcels of cut synthetic for literally pennies/stone, then turn them into really special pieces of art and get paid for your effort.
Good luck, and I look forward to seeing some of your work!
Barry.


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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:44 am 
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It would be a serious undertaking to learn to verify whether your gems are natural, especially if you want to work with a variety of materials, all of which will have different appropriate methods. The easiest way to be confident of your gems is to find a respected vendor you trust.

As for cutting your own, most common gems are safe to work with (opal is probably more dangerous than anything else you will cut unless you get pretty exotic). The equipment is very expensive though, don't plan to make your money back right away if ever. And you still have to worry about synthetic rough.

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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:19 pm 
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bobsiv wrote:
As for cutting your own, most common gems are safe to work with (opal is probably more dangerous than anything else you will cut unless you get pretty exotic).

Bob, I did a double-take when I read your comment about opal being more dangerous to cut than other stones. Would you mind expanding on that thought?

Maybe you're thinking of dry-cutting Welo Ethiopian opal, which could possibly present a silicosis risk if done carelessly and often. But the vast majority of precious opal types (Australian, Brazilian, Indonesian, Mexican, etc.) can be ground and sanded wet, with no silicosis risk greater than any other stone. And those risks are virtually nonexistent if simple procedures are followed.

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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:34 pm 
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Yeah, that's what I meant. I was trying to imply that stone cutting is seldom dangerous, but I guess I wasn't very clear.

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 Post subject: Re: Buying cut gems and cutting gems questions
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 7:05 pm 
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Thanks for all your replies, I guess the easiest will be to resolve myself that synthetics are just a fact of life, and they are still chemically the same stone. As for cutting, I'm going to do a bit more research, but probably save trying it for later.


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