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Independent Jeweler

Colored GemStone Lapidary

John has been faceting gemstones since 2001 with more than 840 faceted colored stones to his credit. John personally hand selects premium facet grade rough gemstones from mines all over the globe including Africa, Brazil, China, Chech Republic, Russia, Thailand and the United States. The best finished gems start with the finest gem rough. And, it is easy to see quality in colored gemstones - rich vibrant colors and sparkle radiate from every stone John cuts. He regularly cut for individuals, gem connoisseurs, and jeweler clients local Midwest to the Central region, states surrounding Kentucky - Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia.  And, for clients in states from north to south, Michigan to Florida, and from east to west, Road Island to California.  And, for a clients outside of the united states in far away Australia.

This is a sterling silver bracelet with a stone that was lost.  My jeweler client ask me to cut a blue opal to match and she provided the kite shaped opal triplet shown in photo one.  In the second photo above you can see how I cut out a pattern in a piece of paper to match the shape of the missing stone using the stone bezel as a guide.

  

This photo above left show the trimmed opal and above right shows the opal with a nail fastened to the back to hold the stone during cutting.  

I use a Pixie machine (above left) to cut the opal cabochon.  The finished stone is shown in the photo above right.  Ready to go back to my jeweler client who will do the final stone setting. and return the bracelet to her client.   

So, here is my most frequently ask question by gemstone collectors.
How can I tell if my rough gemstone is worth cutting ?
This is what I advise.





Here is a lovely purple-blue Tanzanite that was badly scratched.  A fellow jeweler pulled it out of his client's ring and sent it to me. See the difference after I re-cut and polished the crown without touching the pavilion or outline of the stone !  Before photos are on the left and after photos are on the right

 
October 2008 - Oregon Sunstone - Rough - Preformed - finished stones


December 2008 - more Oregon Sunstone rough stones - stones prepared by grinding flat faces to be glued to the brass dops ready for faceting - and four finished faceted Sunstones

 


These are just a few pieces of red & black and yellow & black Kentucky Agate I cut from local rough collected right here in Kentucky



November 2008 - California Watermelon Tourmaline crystal sliced in two along the C-Axis to make two finished gems




Red Mexican Jelly Opal - Facet Rough Stones - Finished Faceted Oval Stone - Finished Gold Pendant cut for a client in Iowa 



Christmas 2008 - Montana Sapphires photos show parcel of rough stones, select pieces ready to cut, finished gemstones, mountings ready to set, and finished colored stone gold rings and pendant, cut for a client from Florida


These are my five work samples I'm submitting with my application for induction into Kentucky Crafted  Guild.
 Designer gemstones, original design "Frosted Star Trillion", precisely chiseled facets, high symmetry, uniform light return, bright color flash, reflects signature 3-pointed star. Garnet, Peridot, Sunstone, Aquamarine, Smoky Quartz

 
Madeira Citrine just in from Brazil (January 2008), cut for a friend from Kentucky
I have some extremely nice 4 gram rough stones available to cut or sell.


 
Just off the dop March 2008 a +33 carat Ametrine, cut for a client from California, from a rough stone weighing 21 grams


December 2007 I cut this 30 gram blue Topaz rough stone (left) into a spectacular 44 carat, 17 mm x 26 mm fancy pear shaped gemstone, for a client from California


January 2007 - I cut this Verde Quartz rough into a 15.43 carat emerald cut measuring 18 x 13 mm and went on to set it in 14K yellow gold basket pendant. This cut is named Bar-X with opposing facets cut along the width on the pavilion and  along the length on the crown giving the appearance of a checkerboard pattern.


July 2003, I cut this large piece of Arizona Peridot into a 4.3 carat 10 mm x 8 mm emerald cut and then set the stone in this 14K yellow gold man's ring, for my uncle in Oklahoma


                                                                                                FACETING SERVICES

                    • All Colored Stones
                    • Fancies 
                    • Re-Polish Table
                    • Standard Round Brilliant 
                    • Faceting Lessons 
                    • Step Cuts 
                    • Matched Pairs 
                    • Mixed Cuts 
                    • Heirloom Cuts 
                    • Stone Repair
                    • Facet Your Rough Stones 
                    • Recut
                    • Stone & Color Matching

This was a 14K yellow gold ring and facet grade rough amethyst stone (upper left photo) that I gave away at a white elephant gift exchange.  The proud  recipient hired me to cut the gemstone and set it in the ring.  Very nice

FACETING AMETHYST
Natural Amethyst varies widely in color ranging from pale violet to deep purple. It can be very challenging to cut a set of matched stones and even more challenging to replace a lost stone.

Uncle Ben ask that I cut a pair of natural Amethyst earrings and pendant for my aunt. I chose medium purple stones from a box of faceting rough purchased last year from a dealer in Florida. I faceted two round stones from a single piece sawed in half. Ensuring good color match is simpler if you can do that. And the pendant stone was cut from a second stone with similar color. The amethyst gemstone jewelry set in 14K white gold was a smash. Aunt Norene was thrilled with her Christmas gift. Well, she was, that is, right up to the time when I got the call.

The call was from my uncle who said my aunt was distraught since losing one of the earrings. He asked if I could cut a replacement. And, I requested that he send back the one original so I could match the color. However, before it arrived by mail, I used some pictures of the original earring stones to select and cut a replacement stone from a piece of the original batch of facet rough.

When the earring arrived, it was quite obvious that the color was not a good match. There just is not any good way to match colors without physically holding two pieces side-by-side.

So, I chose a new piece of amethyst using the original to guide me and cut another stone. The following photographs and captions show the steps I followed to complete this finished project – Faceting Color Matched Natural Amethyst Earrings.

I think the replacement amethyst faceted stone and the original are a very good color match. The new stone measures 5.9mm in diameter, weighs 0.65 carats, and is set in 14K white gold earring dangle with a white CZ baguette accent. No one would ever know just by looking at the earrings that one was replaced if they were not told this story about how I cut four stones to make one set of earrings.

SHAPES CUT 
Round
Oval
Emerald
Pear
Marquise
Princess
Cushion
Trillion
Heart
Freeform

STONE CUTTING SERVICES
Table Re-polish $20
Crown Re-cut $25
SRB Full Re-cut $35


STONES CUT FROM ROUGH
Less than 5 carat finished
Round faceted $45
Fancy shape faceted $60

Oval Cabochon cuts $20
Fancy & Free form Cabochon cuts $30


Greater than 5 carat finished
add $10 for each additional 5 carats

Volume discount available on +5 stone parcels

LESSONS
Faceting Lesson 1-day  $125
Cabochon Cutting Lesson 1/2-day, $65


STONE SETTING SERVICES
Melee Faceted <1/4 ct  $10
Round Faceted 1/4 to 2 ct  $25
Fancy Shape Faceted  $45
Cabochon stones  $20


TURN AROUND TIME
Normal 2-3 Days 
Rush 24 Hours

GUARANTEE
If you are not absolutely satisfied with the quality of my cutting, I will refund 100% of all labor charges.

FACETING LESSON

Six hours one-on-one instruction – plenty of time to finish one finished faceted stone
Top grade facet rough ~2 grams – choice of amethyst, citrine or smoky quartz
Will cut ~8 mm round brilliant stone ~2 carats
Hands on training using my faceting machine, or yours
25% discount on stone setting & jewelry mounting
List of faceting resources - equipment, rough, mountings, etc.
Available to answer follow up faceting questions

Some other options available
Faceting rough kits – 5 assorted colored stones  
Faceting diagrams – my original designs
Jewelry mounting - karat gold & sterling silver
Stone setting – set your finished gemstones into jewelry

June 2007 - I finally set up my studio to cut precious opal and cut these cabochons clockwise from top left is 1) Gray Opal bright multicolor fire red, green orange, yellow & violet  2) Black Opal with deep blue and black looking like an Ariel view of the pacific ocean 3) Carmel brown boulder opal with red and green pin fire.


LAPIDARY
  Cuts stones to show best
  COLOR & CLARITY

FACETER
  Cuts flat surfaces on stones to bring out 
  FIRE & BRILLIANCE

I’M LOCATED IN
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

EMAIL ADDRESS
JohnWright@GemsByJohn.com

PHONE NUMBER
(859) 539-2407


                                                            
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