Dear customers and friends!
How do I create a new gem design? While today it is common to use programs like gem.cad or GemCutStudio, I have never used those, I even don't know how use them. Since my beginning I have used a piece of paper and a pencil. Sometimes a calculator is also added. But the most important part forms itself as an image in my imagination. But there is another very important thing at the very beginning: an inspiration that start the whole process. It never worked for me to want a new design and just wait for the right moment and it begins. The inspiration usually is external, it could be the floor pattern, an ornament, the rosette of a church, a flower or anything else in nature or culture. This is like a seed that has the whole structure in itself and then just needs the right soil to start germinate and grow.
End of february was the Inhorgenta in Munich a very big fair for jewelry and goldsmithing here in Munich. I'm not a fan of this fair, the atmosphere is terrible, in my eyes it just a superficial freakshow, full with zombies. Perfect for those who want to see and be seen. Not my world. A long-time customer and friend asked me to accompany him to the Inhorgenta. He showed me a trade fair from the customer's point of view, which was a completely new perspective for me, very interesting. We walked from one booth to another during the day, were shown the finest and most expensive gemstones and had many conversations with dealers. As we strolled from one exhibition hall to the next, a sight of the background design of a café immediately demanded my full attention. What did I see? I asked my companion to take a picture of it, here it is:
A typical Moroccan pattern literally screamed at me and demanded to be transformed into a new cut. Can you see it?
If not here is little help, a print of this pattern together with the finished gem and a part of handpiece of one of my faceting machines. See the blue outline and the red "facets":
In the following pictures I show you the steps in grinding this new design from coarsely formatted rough stone to various steps to finer and finer surfaces and polishing:
The rough was found at the Tiefengletscher region in Switzerland and has a very light, near white colour with a slightest touch of brown. The surface is extremely rough. I cut this per freehand into a hexagonal ahape. The peak is the tip of the crystal and the facets are following the natural shape of the crystal. A little greenish Chlorite staining is still visible.
The same rough surface but after dopping the stone I cut the facets and they show a bit of the facets the gem will get.
The next step with a finer lap, the facets are sharper and it's easier to see them.
The same facets but ground with a finer grinding wheel.
And even finer sanded, it is already quite good to look into the stone, this is fine grinding before polishing the rondist.
The rondist is polished and another row of facets, the barion facets, are finely cut. In the next step, all pavilion facets are polished and then the stone gets to the transfer station to go on with the crown.
The crown is partly cut with the fine grit, the brown colour comes from the dopping wax, in the next step...
... the 6 star facets are cut, then it's time to cut the table...
... which is also polished right away. Now the 12 triangle facets with a matt surface are easy to see, since these do not yet have exact meetpoints, the last step is...
to cut these again very precisely and attention was paid to the same size, exact meeting points and an even, scratch-free surface.
The result: a brilliant gemstone with exactly 10.00 cts. (!) measuring 13.2 x 10.7 mm
You wouldn't find this gemstone in my listings. It is not for sale, but will be the profit for the customer, who most accurately estimates the time it tooks me to cut it. With each order, the buyer can submit an estimate (only one estimate per participant, regardless of whether you buy one or more stones). Selecting the rough stone, formatting and dopping it up is not counted. So only the pure time at the faceting machine is asked.The guess that is closed to the real cutting time will receive this beautiful jewel together with the order at no additional cost. All orders received by e-mail within april 30th. will be considered.
The winner is Mary B. from Georgia, congratulations and enjoy this beauty!
New Gems:
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Surselva Smoky-Quartz #1 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" When I have a new design I usually start with a Quartz- clear or smoky - to have a bigger size, not to strong colour and and a good view to the pattern and reflections. This Swiss Smoky Quartz has the 12 triangulare facets left unpolished/ ("frosted") that is normally not a big thing for me, but here it works well and I like it, shows a good contrast between the hexagonal facets and the small triangulare ones. One tiny dot from Chlorite otherwise perfectly clean. 14.77 cts. 14.9 x 12.5 mm |
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Ampanihy Pastel-Pyrope #2 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" One of the smaller samples of the new design and it works also very well. Additionally it is no problem to get the right proportions and symmetry in tiny gems without being to time-intense. Totally clean Pink Garnet from Ampanihy in Madagascar. 1.33 cts. 6.0 x 4.9 mm |
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Chatoyant Quartz #3 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" A chatoyant Quartzcolourless with lots of tiny needles inside. Bought last time at the Munich Show as a unspectaculare tumbled stone and now turned into a charming gemstone. 7.11 cts. 11.7 x 9.6 mm |
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San Carlos Peridoot #4 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" In my eyes the finest Peridots comes from Arizona between the towns of "Peridot" and San Carlos. You can see the diggings on google-maps. This is a super-fresh apple-green well balanced between mostly green and some yellow hues. There is one small dark dot (Chromite) otherwise very, very clean. 1.10 cts. 5.8 x 4.9 mm |
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Brazil Clear Quartz #5 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" After some successful pieces it was time for a big chunk of Clear Quartz. Comes from Brazil and is totally clean and super brilliant. The 12 triangular facets are left unpolished. It's a fun to play with this big baby in my hands and see the brilliant sparkles that comes out of this gemstone. 44.88 cts. 21.3 x 18.2 mm |
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7 manmade Gems:
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Manmade Light Pink Sapphire #6 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" After some natural examples it was time for some manmade gems. This one is a manmade Corundum/Sapphire with just light touch of pink and its higher RI makes it very lively. 5.60 cts. 9.5 x 7.7 mm |
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Manmade Co-Spinel #7 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" Even the darker blue Cobalt-Spinal with its red flashes loves this new design. ca. 18 cts |
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Manmade Golden Sapphire #8 of the new design "Night over Marrakesh" Manmade golden Sapphire from ? I don't know the origin. The strong colour with it's high saturationpushes the refletions to a higher level. Just loving t his new design!!! 4.75 cts. 9.0 x 7.2 mm |
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