Post subject: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:40 pm
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Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2016 8:07 am Posts: 134
Hey all, I am a member of Orchid, a jewelers forum and just got a look at a jewelers latest work He saw a large smokey quartz sent on memo to where he works and loved it so much that he had the company cut him one just like it. He is happy with it and here is what he got.
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I can only imagine how difficult it must be to convince the public to buy precision cut stones when jewelers find that level of cutting acceptable.
Maybe I should sell my machine and just go at the rough with an angle grinder
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:08 pm
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
Likely a style choice in this case, not a technical ability deficiency. Some of the best jewelers in the World today are building lines with stones cut as they were a few centuries back. These are very popular today.
Take a look at all of his collections on the site. No where will you see what American cutters refer to as precision cuts. However, thes shallow, windowed stones are cut with incredible precision. They are cut in close tolerance calibration to fit into volume manufacturing with close tolerances for color, cut, and clarity. This is very precise work
Cutting what you call precision style is not much of a challenge anywhere in the World these days. The machines and the staff can do it easily. It is a choice not to.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:42 am
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Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2016 8:07 am Posts: 134
I don't doubt you know whats going on in the jewelry business Steve.
The stones on Marco's website all appear to have apex facets to somewhat hide the window and give some extra flash and look like they have good meets as well.
To me the pics of the stone I posted just look like the cutter got the job at 4:30 and left work by 5:00
As usual I'm just behind the times, thanks for letting me know what is popular in current jewelry trends.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:42 am
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
JCD wrote:
To me the pics of the stone I posted just look like the cutter got the job at 4:30 and left work by 5:00
You may not be far off the time to cut mark. Have you ever seen how fast a jamb peg machine can cut? It is simply amazing.
Here is a video of an israeli machine. These machines cut nice stones on top of it. I am working on importing one similar to my home shop. It should be just the thing for some stones and styles.
Last edited by 1bwana1 on Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:25 pm
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Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Quote:
I can only imagine how difficult it must be to convince the public to buy precision cut stones when jewelers find that level of cutting acceptable.
Can't lump "the public" into a single category. I think most everyone would find that smoky quartz ring a stinky poo. Perhaps if it came with a stellar provenance, it might get a little more interesting, maybe.
There are ample buyers for both commercially cut and precision goods. Some folks really can't see a difference. Those folks are not your customers.
I own a similar system to the one in the video, though simplified further yet. It can be used for very fast cutting but does have some drawbacks, especially since it works best on preformed stones. But it can cut very acceptable stones very quicly once you are good, and when I finally have room t set it up I am hoping to get to that level.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:57 am
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
Stephen Challener wrote:
I own a similar system to the one in the video, though simplified further yet. It can be used for very fast cutting but does have some drawbacks, especially since it works best on preformed stones. But it can cut very acceptable stones very quicly once you are good, and when I finally have room t set it up I am hoping to get to that level.
Yes, preforming is essential. It and dopping are actually where most of the money is made or lost in cutting. You should probably preform no matter what kind of machine you are using.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:02 pm
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Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 8:32 am Posts: 1730 Location: Suwanee, GA US
The machine in the video... It is a commercially purposed vs a hobby machine. I would not call that a jamb peg machine. Instead of an index gear that allows you to cut almost everything under creation, it is limited to specific symmetries. Very fast. The Gem Master II mimics that with the colored index dots on their gears, but the workflow is not the same.
If I were turning out and selling as many SRBs a day as I could cut, that would be a great investment.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:29 pm
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
There are a series of indexes that accommodate all of the standard shapes. The indexing piece is attached to the dop depending on what you are cutting. You are correct that it is a commercial machine, but you can use it as a jamb peg to cut almost anything. The basis of the machine is the same as any jamb peg, you place the dop in holes to control angle, you rotate the stone on an index attached to the dop, not the machine.
Post subject: Re: If jewelers don't know good cutting from bad
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:46 am
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:08 pm Posts: 381 Location: Lyon, France
This Israeli made machine is an improved version of the French jamb peg. We see this same machine, still hand cranked, in the cutting houses of Paris. Brazil and Thailand and India have also adopted them though the Israeli's were maybe the only ones to make it better. The French made the 8 sided index dop stick but the Israelis added 64 teeth so you could quickly cut your 8 sides and then rotate the stick through the teeth to move the stone 2 indexes over to quickly cut your stars on the same 8 sided index. Pretty amazing and fast.
I made a video of the Thai version which is the most low tech version of all of them. Same 8 sided dop stick but the index Is plastic and is held on to the dop by pressure. They stick a scap piece of paper in-between the dop and the stick to hold it together
I really want to go check out the Israeli machine and make a video but for now check out the Thai version of this machine. Still very fast but slightly sloppier stones come out of it.
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