How do you know if it's worth faceting

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Hi,

I found what looks like a couple of pieces of river polished quartz. Quit clear when wet.

My question is how do you determine what stone it is and if it's worth having faceted?

Also who provides this service in Australia?

Thanks heaps,
Shane
 
Ask Lefty. He cut my smokey quartz.
1506686198_1505959812398-2131608096.jpg
 
Very nice. How did you know it was worth getting done?

Cost?

My pieces are large compared to that. It would have started bigger though I take it?
 
Hi Shane.

If you could post a photo that would be helpful but to really determine whether or not something is facetable I have to examine it first hand. If you could coat the piece in a light, pale-coloured or colourless oil like baby oil, aniseed oil etc and post a well-lit photo I could get some idea from that. If you can do that I can decide whether or not it's worth sending to me for a first-hand inspection.

Cheers
 
Depends what you mean by "worth cutting". If you want to have it cut for sentimental reasons than clear quartz can certainly be worth cutting as it can be really stunning. If you want it cut for selling later on I would not recommend it as the cost of cutting far out-weighs the end price. Unless it's really big with a fantasy concave cut or carving that would catch the eye of a collector.

Determining what the stone is,is another ball game all together. You will need to do a specific gravity test or pop it onto a refractometer. If it you can make out the original crystal faces and they are in the shape of a hexagon its a pretty safe bet to say its quartz. Or you can just send it to lefty and he'll tell you lol. :lol:
 
Yep, what SC said there Shane - clear quartz can certainly make a fantastic-looking faceted stone if it's good and clean and has the right sort of hardness for general jewellery setting but it isn't going to be worth a great sum of money. It's something you might have faceted for sentimental reasons, as a stone you actually found yourself to go into your collection or a jewellery piece.

Exactly how much cutting might cost is very difficult to estimate in advance without physically examining the stone - the stone might weigh hundreds of carats but there might only be a small, clean piece in it worth faceting, which reduces the cost as you only pay for the faceted stone you get back (plus whatever the postage was).
 
Hi Guy's. I'm only new to this hobby and haven't found any good gems as yet. Now my idea for the quartz crystals I have found is to join the local lapidary club and learn faceting with them. This way when I do find some better material I can make a decent go of it. Unless it's exceptional then I'll get a professional to do it. Is this a good idea?
 
Squint. Lapidary club is a great way to get into the world of gems. Just beware the ever present curmudgeon lol.

Shane below are your images above. I circled a few things for education purposes. Your stone looks a lot like a topaz. A simple indication for topaz is that they always feel very cool to the touch and have a denser more stone like feel that quartz. Quartz feels a lot like handling glass. It is also claimed that if you strike 2 topaz together it sparks under low light and gives of a welding smell (probably the release of fluorine gas). I have never tried it myself but the old tin miners swear it does.

This image clearly shows 2 inclusions in the stone. Probably bubble veils rather than cracks. Impossible to tell how deep they go without handling the stone. These kinds of inclusions don't usually effect the cutting of the stone as they aren't cracks and can sometimes add a bit of character.
1506764335_flaw_1.jpg


The circled flaws in this pic are only shallow and are removed very early in the faceting process. They won't effect the stone in anyway. If you see bright flaws like these that are big or in the middle of the stone, they can be an issue.
1506764662_flaw_2.jpg
 
Thanks for the reply SC. That's two seperate stones btw.

They are light to hold. I thought they were glass to be honest. I was told they are not though.
I'm not very experienced at handling stone in saying that lol. I target the alluvial gold but decided to go through the screens and look for gems this time around. I would do a gravity test but only scales I have small enough will weigh 22 grams so I don't think I will get a big enough container of water on them to submerge them.

Will quartz have less inclusions?

The triangle shaped one has one point a bit smoked like in appearance.

Sorry if asking dumb questions. All learning in my part.

Thanks,
Shane
 
Ah ok fair enough Wishfull.

I guess everything we do is a gamble lol.

Scratch last comment on sparking. Google has shown me quartz will spark like that.

Thanks,
Shane
 
Going on the photo you've posted I'd say - as has already been mentioned - that the likelyhood is that the stones are either clear quartz or topaz and they both look to have faceting potential.

Neither colourless quartz nor colourless topaz are worth a fortune so you would't be able to on-sell the cut stones and retire :) . But both are well suited to faceting and jewellery setting and both can look very nice. Topaz in particular facets a very bright stone with plenty of "fire".

If you'd like me to have a good look at them, drop me a pm.

Cheers
 
Looks like topaz to me, where did u find them. If you found them in a well-known topaz area then the chances are its topaz if not and there is no topaz nearby then probably quartz. Also if u hold topaz up to the light sometimes it has a light blue or yellow shade.
 
PM sent thanks Lefty.

Emanuel, found them at Eldorado, Vic.

I see more of a smokiness in them with no light and blue colour as seen above when illuminated.

Thanks,
Shane
 
Very nice there mate , very pretty:Y:

And as they say - happy wife, happy life :D

I'm glad I was able to be part of it. I have cut many stones for other people but only rarely do I get to see the final result when they go into a jewellery setting. I hope she gets many years of happiness from wearing it.

Soon as I saw the rough crystal I thought "it would be a shame if that were never cut, it would make a really lovely and unique-looking gem". And so it did. Seeing it all come together in a finished piece for someone to enjoy makes my day :)

Cheers mate :Y:
 

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