John has been faceting gemstones since 2001 with more than 900 faceted stones and 200 cabochon stones to his credit. John personally hand selects premium facet grade rough from mines all over the globe including Africa, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Russia, Thailand and the United States. The best finished gems start with the finest gemstone rough. And, it is easy to see quality in colored gemstones - rich vibrant colors and sparkle radiate from every stone John cuts. He regularly cuts for individuals, gem connoisseurs, and jewelers across the United States; Midwest & Central regions; states surrounding Kentucky - Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia; North to South - Michigan to Florida; East to West - Rhode Island to California; and across the globe - as far away as Australia.

Introducing

Retrofit Accessory for all Graves Mark I & Mark IV Faceting Machines

Overview

-- Makes it easier to use all Graves Mark IV and Mark I faceting machines --

-- Breaths New Life into Old Faceting Machines --

-- Speeds up Cutting --

-- Improves Cutting Symmetry --

-- Improves Depth of Cut Repeatability --

-- Improves Angle Repeatability --

Gems by John Soft Stop retrofitted on a Graves Mark IV faceting machine

Features

COMPACT DESIGN neatly fits all Mark I & Mark IV Graves faceting machines

HIGH CONTRAST black index lines on large white face dial

SMOOTH TRACKING spring loaded needle dial indicator

DURABLE lightweight aluminum construction securely mounted to faceting head

Benefits

Converts any Graves Mark I or Mark IV faceting machine into a Soft Stop machine

Makes it easier to use any Graves Mark I or Mark IV faceting machine

Needle directly follows cutting progress giving continuous visual feedback

Allows cutting to be stopped with more precision and with greater repeatable

Faster cutting by eliminating the repetitive Cut-Stop-Look, Cut-Stop-Look process

Aides visual monitoring of cutting progress and amount left to cut to reach the target angle

Gems by John Soft Stop mounted on a Graves faceting machine

Normal turnaround time is five working days to complete the work needed to mount and calibrate the Gems by John Soft Stop accessory to any --old or new-- Graves Mark I or Mark IV faceting head.

To order your Gems by John Soft stop, mail the faceting head (only) from your Graves Mark I or Mark IV faceting machine.

Remove the faceting head from the machine and mast.

Do NOT send the mast assembly.

Do NOT send the complete faceting machine.

Pack only the faceting head in a well padded box.

Mailing Address:  Gems by John LLC, 4101 Tates Creek Centre Dr, Suite 150-195, Lexington KY 40517

Include your return address, phone number, email address, and full payment in the amount of $195 dollars.

Accepted payment methods are cash, bank check, or PayPal to JohnWright@GemsByJohn.com

 

Gems by John Soft Stop Retrofit Accessory mounted on a Graves faceting head

1.25 carat Peridot

First stone cut with the Gems by John Soft Stop Accessory

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.   

FACETING SERVICES

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.

The Story Behind the Gems by John Soft Stop

 

         Graves hard stop faceting head                              Gems by John Soft Stop accessory on Graves faceting head

In the summer of 2009 when John was giving a faceting lesson at his studio in Lexington, Kentucky, one student seemed to be over-cutting facets. The student could not tell when to stop pushing on the stone. She was using a Graves Mark IV faceting machine. John observed how difficult it was for the student to determine when she reached the target depth of cut or target angle. Hard stop faceting machines such as the Graves Mark IV require the cutter to listen to the cutting sound to die down.  Then when the cutting sound slows from a constant grinding grrrrrrrr -- to just a whisper, pssst, pssst, psst  -- the facet is cut and it's time to stop and move on to the next facet.  On a hard stop machine, depth-of-cut is limited by a stop-block. The stop-block is set at the target angle and then the stone is pushed into the lap until the quill hits the stop block and cutting stops.

IN THEORY cutting should stop when the quill contacts the angle stop block. That would be true IF no pressure were applied to the quill or to the stone after the quill contacted the angle stop block.

IN PRACTICE however, a cutter unknowingly continues to push the stone into the lap because there is NO VISUAL FEEDBACK warning when the quill approaches or contacts the angle stop block. This situation causes facets to be over-cut.  And that happens due to flex throughout the machine.  Flex in the faceting machine allows the stone to be pushed past the target set angle.  Flex occurs between the stone and glue, glue and dop, dop and faceting head, faceting head and mast (on mast-type machines like Graves), and mast and base faceting machine. So, it is rather easy to push the stone past the target angle -- deeper into the cutting lap -- after the quill hits the stop-block.

Unfortunately John's faceting student just didn't know when the quill hit the angle stop-block. And, she is not alone. As a professional gem cutter, John has the same difficulty. So, John thought other cutters might be having the same problem with their Graves Mark I and Mark IV faceting machines.

This inherent problem with hard stop machines got John thinking about a solution. The problem with using a hard stop is lack of VISUAL FEEDBACK.  Relying on audio feedback ("cutting by ear") listening for the sound to stop is slow and not very easy to repeat.  Or, cut-look, cut-look, cut-look constantly lifting the stone to monitor cutting progress is a slow process indeed. 

One of the keys to faceting is REPEATABILITY.  So how useful might it be to add a repeatability control device (Soft Stop feature) to the Mark IV Graves faceting machine making these old workhorses much more repeatable.  And, easier to use, speeding up the cutting process. After all, soft stops work great on other faceting machine.  Why wasn't there a soft stop feature for Graves faceting machines?  So, John developed this much needed Soft Stop feature to add on to any Graves Mark I or Mark IV faceting machine.  Then after he got the soft stop working on his machine he thought maybe other facetors with old Graves Mark I or Graves Mark IV machines might like to add a soft stop to their machines too.

After field testing the prototype Gems By John Soft Stop, John was convinced this accessory would be very useful for other cutters.  When another student used the same Graves Mark IV faceting machine retrofitted with the new Soft Stop, he commented “I don’t know how I could have cut the stone without the Gems By John Soft Stop".  And, his first faceted stone, turned out beautifully.

That's The Story Behind the Gems by John Soft Stop and the reason behind why John developed it as a retrofit accessory for all Graves Mark I and Mark IV faceting machines. 

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 $65

Oval Cabochon cuts $25
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  $175
Cabochon Cutting Lesson 1/2-day, $85

STONE SETTING SERVICES
Melee Faceted - under 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.

Gems by John LLC - Product Warranty

The Gems by John Soft Stop product is warranted for 90 days from the date of purchase for material and workmanship. Gems by John LLC, maker of the Gems by John Soft Stop retrofit accessory for all Graves Mark I and Mark IV faceting machines, is in no way affiliated with The Graves Company, maker of the Graves Mark I and Mark IV faceting machines.

Every Gems by John Soft Stop (Product) is warranted to the original purchaser only to be free from defects in material and workmanship. Subject to certain exceptions, Gems by John LLC will repair or replace any part on the Product which, after examination, is determined by Gems by John LLC to be defective in material or workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days after the date of purchase. Return the product and a copy of proof of purchase to Gems by John LLC, freight prepaid and insured. This warranty does not apply to damage that Gems by John LLC determines to be from repairs made or attempted by anyone, misuse, alterations, abuse, normal wear and tear, lack of maintenance, or accidents.

Warranty Registration is not necessary to obtain the applicable warranty on a Gems by John Soft Stop Product. The manufacturing date of the product will be used to determine the warranty period if no proof of purchase is provided at the time warranty service is requested.

Gems by John LLC does not cover freight or labor charges associated with the inspection and testing of the Product that are found by Gems by John LLC not to be a valid warranty claim. A valid warranty claim must be substantiated by the discovery of defective material or workmanship by Gems by John LLC.

ACCEPTANCE OF THE EXCLUSIVE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT REMEDIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IS A CONDITION OF THE CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF EVERY GEMS BY JOHN LLC PRODUCT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS CONDITION, YOU SHOULD NOT PURCHASE THE PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT SHALL GEMS BY JOHN LLC BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY COSTS, ATTORNEY FEES, EXPENSES, LOSSES OR DELAYS ALLEGED TO BE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ANY DAMAGE TO, FAILURE OF, OR DEFECT IN ANY PRODUCT INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY CLAIMS FOR LOSS OF PROFITS. THIS WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, WRITTEN OR ORAL, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, GEMS BY JOHN DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES.

This warranty applies to product sold in the U.S.A. only.

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
JohnWright@GemsByJohn.com

PHONE NUMBER
(859) 539-2407

MAILING ADDRESS
Gems By John
4101 Tates Creek Centre Dr
Suite 150-195
Lexington, KY 40517

                                                                
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