Hi Ashanthian Coles ~ I'm glad to hear that you've been keeping an eye on my work. In this day and age of intelligent(and idiotic ) algorithms, i'm unsurprised. I have folks that are trying to keep tabs on my account (for good and perhaps also not) who are not getting notifications either. If only I knew which individuals and teams to have a good heart-to-heart chat with about this... XD Either way~ fate brought you here now, and i'm honoured to have your comment and your interaction here.

I'm glad to be of service~ may the way before you be laid out clearly, and may prosperity show itself on the left and the right.

Thank you Corey, that's very kind.

My pleasure to serve.

Thank you Peter, and I'm glad my show has value to you.

Bwahahah~ There's an instrument for measurement now! Fantastic

Thank you for your kindness. I try to show my process so that others may enjoy and learn. I think that's how we leap-frog forward. I hope that my work is of service to you~

Thank you ~ I'm trying to finish the year strong.

Whell~ as they say, if you think about whether or not to do something and the only reason holding you back is fear, then that's not a good enough reason, and you should do it. I believe that was the actor Viggo Mortensen. From my own side, I'll say that gem cutting is like many worthy things - torturous to learn and emotionally scarring, but the way it shapes YOU professionally and personally is of a value that is difficult to calculate. I won't say everyone should do it. I will say that if you are willing to walk through the desert far enough, there is a lush paradise on the other side.

My pleasure Fahad.

Thanks Thoralf ~ I appreciate your continuous support.

My pleasure Austin~ I hear you and your logic is sound. Some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in our trade are exactly as you described. I'm just a glutton for punishment XD and envious of knowledge.

It is a blessing indeed. Trying to do horizontal sawing isn't something I want to do, but I know some of my friends try for it. From the amount of influence it has on EVERYTHIGN downhill in the cutting process... i don't think anyone is saving money by not having a decent saw.

Excellent~ I hope my work is of service.

My pleasure Chandra~

Thanks Ben, glad to be of service.

Hi Timm ~ Excellent question. This has to be reverse engineered, but the first step is being sure that your eyes see the differences in colour, and clarity first off. Then you shop prices for already cut stones of a similar size and quality. THEN you can have some idea of where to begin estimating when buying rough. This is part of the complexity of why they say buying rough is dangerous. It may seem cheap compared to cut stones, but only if you have a good read on what you can truly get out. After all of that, there's still an element of gamble. Cheers Timm, and may the way before you go straight.

Excellent questions and observations. Some inclusions are just an aesthetic choice. The horsetail inclusion in demantoid actually makes it more valueable ~ The thin film inclusions in the mega beryl I cut (link below) are another example of interesting inclusions that can be kept face up if you like them, or you can orient the stone so they're less visible if you dont. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nJlhn5Vqlp64gnU.html Cracks and fissures though can cause the stone to break either when you're cutting (which happened to me in another video, link below) and waste all the previous hours of work prior to it breaking. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p5iVpNaLlbG7fGw.html So... depends on the stone and the fissure in some senses. If they affect structural integrity, then I'd say its better to avoid them, as it also scares the jewelers and setters that would be called upon to set your gemstones. Cheers~

It's an excellent question - though one that would be more effectively answered by my materials science friends. In the gem world, most people will hear that idea and scoff for one reason: it would then now be a heavily treated stone. Beauty is beauty, yes, but if it's been treated in a way that makes it outside the natural space, it drops fast in value.

Add a durable colorless cap, like an opal doublet. Submerging in resin is a possibility. Or a thoughtful mounting, like a cage, can protect soft gems.

Thanks~

That would definitely have to be tested to speak sensibly. Chances are (statistically) that it's a quartz cousin like chalcedony or agate. If you want to know for sure, definitely get a facet polished on the stone, and take it to someone who can get a refractive index reading and perform other tests.

@@GemologyforSchmucks come on, you're right. I have my refractometer I will have to see how to make a facet to identify it as you say. maybe that will help me. why to be another stone and that hard. like diamond. I don't think that's it. but this weekend I'm going to clean it with chloridic acid

@@GemologyforSchmucks can I ask you some questions. Look, I'm not a Gem trader. I only collect precious and rare stones I have in devices such as Polariscope refractometer. tester and other little things I just need the microscope. and I don't have a certificate. where I stipulate that I have studies of gemology the little that I have learned. I learned it from you and your videos and from others who upload tutorials. It helped me with that. I already asked the GIA to certify these. But my problem is that the economy is hard for me and if I want to dedicate myself to this, I have to sell some pieces to buy more things. How to cut, polish and especially my gemologist microscope. Do you think I can sell some pieces if I get the data from them and give the information on the precious stones like this without a GIA certificate, I would like your advice. I see that you are more patient in these matters

@@sergioortega5869 Selling in general is an exercise in building trust, both between buyer and seller and trust in the product. There is nothing written that one must have a report from a laboratory, or formal credentials. These things just help build that trust I was talking about. In you situation, informing your clients about exactly HOW you know what your gemstones are could be an excellent way to build trust. Many graduate gemologists with a diploma don't touch their gemological instruments after their studies, so in the long term... who really is the most trust worthy? In my opinion, its the continuing student who is confident in their skills, but also open to new ideas.

@@GemologyforSchmucks Good day, and if you're right, look, a while ago I bought a series of faceted red painite. but I did not have my tools. I bought them little by little but in that course I tried to find help to sell them with the owner where I work and he told me give me your stones I'll take them to a friend when I return them he told me they were rubbish not to spend my money on those things that if they were really real stones. they would be worth a lot of money ok I accepted your opinion I kept them and when I already had almost all my tools I checked them and saw that they were not red painite I checked the inclusions and their hardness and these things turned out to be Rubies I don't really know who that friend of yours is My boss couldn't find out what these stones really were and he's a jeweler, so I fall for the truth that you say that having a certificate of studies from the best gemology companies helps them if they don't know how to learn, that's why I dared to learn this way and I really like it, it's a great hobby that I would have wanted to learn from a younger age. Today I confess that I buy my stones from people who sell these stones and they work them manually in an artisan way, so I would like to learn how to cut and polish

Some tourmalines, yes. Others no. Tourmaline is a complex group of things, many of them well loved, and seriously rare. Others are common and less valuable. Learning the colours of those varieties is very important.

That depends on how they actually come out faceted~ there is always a degree of gamble on what we see in rough and what we see in cut. It's a wild wild world.

@@GemologyforSchmucks They are faceted and I found a guy who’s gonna look at a lot of my gemstones tomorrow I’m hoping that he’s honest

About a year now ~ amazing what you can learn if you jump into the thunderdome XD We just hope we can come out eh?

@@GemologyforSchmucks i havent even started yet lol

Knowledge is power~!

@@GemologyforSchmucks ×2?*

It is - and neither that nor the toothbrush go in my mouth. Strictly gem cutting tools on that table. (The toothpaste and mirror are for finding angles on already cut stones. The toothbrush is for non-oral cleaning tasks.)

@@GemologyforSchmucks "non-oral" cleaning tasks 😅