Couple pics of a faceted pyrope garnet from Wyoming.

[Jim in Idaho]

I've been prospecting for diamonds in Wyoming, and one of the indicator minerals is pyrope garnet. 18 months ago, I got one that was about 1/4" across, so I thought I'd try to facet it. The finished gem is less than 1/8" across.
Jim

 

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[mamabear]

very nice! I have always wanted to try faceting, but it is price prohibitive. Hope you find more.

 

[old digger]

very nice! I have always wanted to try faceting, but it is price prohibitive. Hope you find more.

It only cost me around $60.00 to have on of my topaz's done. (2 to 3 carats)

 

[mamabear]

Oh, I thought you did it yourself. I was thinking of the cost of equipment. $60 isn't bad. I tried looking for diamonds outside of Medicine Bow but found a bluff of agate(?) that I couldn't get past. It was everywhere. & the loose stuff had been polished by the wind and sand. Most amazing sight to see.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

very nice! I have always wanted to try faceting, but it is price prohibitive. Hope you find more.

I bought a used Raytech-Shaw faceter. It came with some disks & polishing grit. I've got about $500 in the whole setup. I added a dial-indicator to it, so I had a visual reference for the depth. It works really well, though those tiny gems are a challenge. I'd like to find one about 3 or 4 carats to work on. I've done some really nice gems out of insulator glass (cobalt blue). Glass is easy, and fast.
Jim

 

[JLeonhardy]

That a very nice rock, Jim! Well done! I've got Wyoming on the 'to do' list for some of those massive iolite deposits I've heard rumors about.

@ Old Digger -- gotta say, $60 for a 2-3 carat finished stone is a heck of a good price for the states!

 

[JohnnyFlake]

It only cost me around $60.00 to have on of my topaz's done. (2 to 3 carats)

I am very new at this, so pardon my lack of knowledge question. What equipment do you need to begin faceting?

 

[old digger]

I am very new at this, so pardon my lack of knowledge question. What equipment do you need to begin faceting?

I didn't do the faceting, I had a lady do it for me.

 

[old digger]

I've been prospecting for diamonds in Wyoming, and one of the indicator minerals is pyrope garnet. 18 months ago, I got one that was about 1/4" across, so I thought I'd try to facet it. The finished gem is less than 1/8" across.
Jim
View attachment 912207 View attachment 912206

If you did that yourself You did an excellent job. It looks flawless.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Yup...I did it, but it's a long way from flawless. By blowing it up, I noticed what a poor job of polishing I did...especially on the table....you can see the scratches. But, in my defense, it's really hard to see that when you're working on something that small. I was pretty tickled, though, when a registered gemologist told me He couldn't believe the workmanship on something that small. Faceting isn't difficult. It just takes lots of attention to detail. But I appreciate the kind words.
Jim

 

[loco oro]

very cool man , impressed!

 

[Eu_citzen]

A used Raytech for 500$ is a decent price, they often have small kirks and may need a new lubrication on the table where the handpiece rests on. (hint, hint*)

Jim, what laps do you have? In what order do you use them? Polishing is about the most difficult thing, it's more art then science. LOL
Even I that have 4 years experience sometimes fail to polish a gem properly.

Zoom in on this picture and look at the bottom right of the stone. Notice the greyish lines? Scratches. Eeek!


A good polish should be mirror-like for the naked eye, kinda like this: (excluding the glue stains)



By the way, if you are looking for more designs to try and cut look here:
Faceting Designs | Custom Gemstone Studio
Faceting Designs - The Gemology Project

A last tip for ya Jim, get a good loupe - 10x triplett to check your work.


As for getting something cut, you could easily expect to pay 40$ per hour for that service, and that still is pretty cheap for a professional.