Freshly hand-cut gems!!!

BurntBear

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Fresh, hand-cut gems!!!

Here are four hand-cut gems cut by Doc at Doc's Rocks Gem Mine in Blowing Rock, N.C..
My partner & I found these stones; not in a mine, but in a stream (except for the Ethiopian Opal) and had them cut at the gem mine.

First photo is an Ethiopian Opal .90 ct. 6mm Cab Cut - North Carolina Emerald .65 ct. 7x5mm Oval Cut

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Ethiopian Opal .90 ct. 6mm Cab Cut - Untreated

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North Carolina Emerald .65 ct. 7x5mm Oval Cut - Untreated

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North Carolina Ruby 1.10 ct. 7x5mm Oval Cut - Untreated

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North Carolina Black Sapphire .95 ct. 7x5mm Oval Cut - Untreated

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All of these gems are natural and untreated. The Black Sapphire is interesting! Black Sapphire is actually a very, very DEEP blue that appears black as night!

Thanks for looking! :occasion14:
 

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You really couldn't see from the photos, just the smaller fractures. It had a big one that ran nearly half-way through it. I will have photos up of the new cuts a little later!
 

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The newest Emerald did not turn out as well as we'd hoped, but it's still unique.

Rough: Approx. 6 cts.

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Cut: .65 cts. 6mmx4mm EC - Appraised: $500.00-$525.00

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Working on the new Ethiopian Opal still. I'll have it up tonight.
 

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That is actually looking pretty neat. If your ever up for a trade on some emeralds of decent quality PM me! I'd really like to try some, I so far haven't.
 

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Here is the Ethiopian Opal:

Rough: 5 cts.

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Cut: 1.10 cts. Oval Cab

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For some reason, this was the hardest photo to capture. It really displays a lot of greens all over.
 

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Opals always have been tricky to photograph. :)
 

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I posted this one before, but it needs to go in our cut gem thread!

Bi-Color Mexican Fire Opal

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You've come a long way young Jedi.. and you've pick up where I left off years ago.. trying to home facets was very time consuming and having bad hands doesn't help matters.. Again I used a dremel with a diamond wheel and a homemade plastic shoe box as a "sling" containment setup.. Using a homemade drip system which looked nothing more than an crude IV that allowed water to drip onto the diamond wheel when cutting or shaping.. To acquire a couple of the angles.. I used a pencil.. (five sided) and dropped the stone on the end.. then using a flat surface I held the pencil on the diamond wheel to get the facet.. Again crudely done and my best work was the emerald cut citrine.. which later broke because I knew it developed a hairline fracture during the cut process. Afterwards.. I sold the dremel and just never went back..
 

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:occasion14:

I'm getting there! It's been a fun ride so far. I wish you could still cut. I'd love to see some of your work! -Luke
 

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Bear.. If you seen my work.. you'd be looking at your own.. there isn't much different.. But I will suggest that once you get a bit more handy at knowing what and how to cut the stones, you'll start focusing on stones that are clear to near flawless and perfect.. The facet Citrine.. was near perfect, clear and without any inclusions.. took me forward and a day to cut the stone and remove all the imperfections.. The fire opal.. is one of those stones.. as I said you're on your way to know how to cut.. now it's time to know what you're looking for so you don't waste that cut.
 

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Bear, This is a for instance jerry rig setup I used often to achieve a crude facet cut stone..

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Image: Using the pencils flat sides and a jerry rigged setup consisting of dowel holes, Allowed me to facet cut the stone at different angles. The dremel was off to the right is a plastic shoe box as to contain the sling from the wet diamond bit.

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Image: Freehand emerald cut aquamarine.. Note the crude facets..and this stone has yet to be polished.
 

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Wow, that handle you made for the dop stick is an amazing idea!

I love the cut. I've got some older equipment here like a dual grinder/polisher, different belt-driven sanders, tile saws and just about everything I would need to hand cut. Some of it is newer actually. Need some more diamond blades, belts and such to make initial cuts. They're pricey but worth it. I've heard of ways of preserving the life of the blades as well. I've only cut Agate, Petrified Wood and Chalcedony so far, but I did well and only had minor crazing in the small agate. The rest came out good. :thumbsup:
 

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A little group action...

I never saw just how gorgeous this Ethiopian Crystal Opal was until tonight!

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Faceted North Carolina Star Ruby: 1.25 cts. Untreated

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Speaking of Blowing Rock NC... I have this in my license plate collection in my garage "office"
 

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Emerald:

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Black Sapphire:

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Nice green in that emerald!
 

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Figured I'd post a decent picture of the oval cut Ruby:

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