What Are You Doing?

What Are You Doing?
By
Paul Forster

“Hi, can I watch?”

“What? Yeah, give me a minute to finish this cut first, then we can talk… there, done, what can I do for you?”

“What are you doing.”

“Im faceting a gemstone and this machine allows me to control the angle of each cut by 1/100th of a degree.”

“Is that good?”

“Yes, the closer the control, the more beautiful the stone turns out. It’s all about getting the most reflected light back out the crown.”

“The crown? What’s that?”

“The top of the stone. On crystal it’s usually a flat table that lets in most of the light, but the beauty of the stone is from internal reflections. The better I can control the angles, the better the stone.”

“What are all those plates?””those are the cutting laps, like this one I’m using. Each is a different grit size to cut and polish.”

“Cut? What’s cutting?”

“Grinding is another name, but it’s much finer and requires more control. Listen when I touch the stone to the lap…hear the cutting action?”

“Yes, fascinating. So that creates the flat spots?”

“Each flat spot is a facet and acts like a mirror inside the stone, that’s what gives the color in a diamond. The closer the angels are to perfect, the more color.”

“Even dark ones?”

“Yes, the color is just harder to see in dark stones.”

“You keep calling them ‘Stones,’ but that one your working on is a crystal?”

“Yes, it’s just a common expression in the industry. I do facet rocks too. I love cutting obsidian, it’s just a glass and the banding I see in some lends itself to some beautiful stones. I’ve faceted pebbles off the street some have fought over. I’ll cut anything I think will look good.”