An excellent idea, thanks Craig. I've done one or two, but I look forward to making more and clearer ones. Cheers~

Thanks Rog. It was a delightful surprise to find goshenite.

@@GemologyforSchmucks I should imagine. I’ve heard of it but never met Goshenite. A beautiful Crystal to facet. Basically Beryl with no impurities and a high refractive index, a perfect choice. I loved your cuts.

My pleasure to serve~!

You're welcome, Chandra.

Glad that it was helpful~!

Imperial Topaz is indeed a worthy thing when you can find good quality. A lot of shattered nonsense out there (or just... yellow...)

A solid caveat. The approach you took is definitely "long game" strategy among an already long game activity. For me I think I would have burnt out and died if I went this route. Seeing a completed gem, even with the imperfections that I was (and to some degree still am) tearing myself apart over.... gave me a boost to keep going and gain proficiency.

Thank you Afzal~!

Cheers, and thanks~

Thank you Alim. You also

Thank you for your kind words ~ in less tropical places, I do indeed enjoy a variety of head-gear. It's the best part about balding. In tropical environments however, I prefer to go full pirate with the bandana. Cheers Mosheyahu~

Peridot could be a good starter rough aswell if you can get ahold of it, sure. Beryl and quartz have an RI difference of around 0.02, which is not distinguishable by the naked eye. I'm confident that there is another reason out there for the added "crispiness" of goshenite. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Cheers TJ ~ I look forward to your email.

Hi Anna~ Synthetic corundum is in the pipeline soooon ~ quartz... will likely be a while and probably involve some Brazilians that know the secret ingredient to that soup XD Cheers~

Thanks Vrashal

It is indeed time consuming.

When you're prepared to buy kilos, some prices become magical. Of course, that applies for readily available things.

Hi Sergio, as to connections for US cutters, i'd suggest looking on facebook for faceting groups. I myself haven't lived in the US for several years and am not in direct touch with those regional cutting communities.

I'm already a screaming madman, and I think the planet doesn't need me to call on the fires of hell after dancing about with spodumene XD Also, its THREE cleavage planes. Miserable @$*%& crystals. Sorry to hear about the spiteful stone that decided to split in twain on you.

In Thailand there are a few courses in Thai, but I don't know much about them. In the US there are a few individuals (Justin K Prim being one) that are traveling around teaching.

Send me an email at thegemshepherd.com and we can talk through your needs and details etc~ Cheers

I'd suggest getting inexpensive natural corundum at that point. Low colour or off colour corundum crystals are substantially less expensive. Once you have confidence in your skills, buy the good stuff and make your profits.

The oxides idea is an excellent thought. I'll have to ask some friends of mine who have deeper scientific understanding than myself. Tanzanite (a variety of the mineral Zoisite) is structurally/ crystallographically very different from garnet. I haven't heard anything about metamorphosed tsavorite garnets, so I can't speak to that specifically, but I will say that metamorphic processes fundamentally change stones in drastic ways. This is why metamorphic rubies and sapphires are such a different colour from basaltic rubies and sapphires. The forces at work change the chemistry in the area where the stones reside. Its like raising a kid on fresh garden/ farm raised food vs instant ramen and oreo cookies - far and away a different upbringing.

@@GemologyforSchmucks that is essentially what I thought about tanzanite cutting like garnet , but I have to ask when I am unsure. I got the tsavorite info from that certain three letter name company .the name sounds like they should make stereo equipment, I am trying to hint without name dropping. If you want the name dropped of course I will. That's an excellent analogy with the diet /upbringing. They are totally and extremely different end results. I would very much be interested in hearing what you learn from your friends about the metallic oxides vs quartz. thankyou for your videos and knowledge and time sir! You are in no small part WHY I can even come up with an idea of such things.

My favourite gem to cut... At this point I really like Beryls, because they have such a transformation when they go from something that looks like frosted glass into a well polished gem. They behave really well and have a clean, almost frigid light. Tourmalines are also a nice Cinderella story. I'm sure my answers will change as I cut a larger variety of gemstones, but that is where i am at the moment. Topaz, I have a big thing for orange and the overlapping areas of the spectrum, so i'll say a "true" imperial topaz. Smoky topaz is offensive to my eyes at this point, and I've seen enough blue topaz for a lifetime. Thanks Thoralf.

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