Post subject: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 3:34 pm
Established Member
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2018 3:48 pm Posts: 39 Location: London + Pakistan
I randomly stumbled across an interesting article on Chas Matthews in Hatton Garden. I’ve attached a PDF of it.
The article goes into some detail on their laps, polishes, dops and techniques. A fun read. Don’t know how this article came to be, or how reliable the info is though.
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:14 pm
Valued Contributor
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:08 pm Posts: 381 Location: Lyon, France
Wow this article is great and has so many specifics in it. Thanks for posting it. I really enjoyed visiting these guys. They are really nice and it was a pleasure to see their Work and try to understand how they think when they look at stones.
The article does a really good job of expressing their opinion about modern cutting. They come from the very old school and are masters at what they do so they aren’t shy at making their opinions plain.
I look forward to visiting them again, hopefully a few times and try to absorb more of their knowledge and story before they fade away.
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:36 pm
Established Member
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2018 3:48 pm Posts: 39 Location: London + Pakistan
justinkprim wrote:
Wow this article is great and has so many specifics in it. Thanks for posting it. I really enjoyed visiting these guys. They are really nice and it was a pleasure to see their Work and try to understand how they think when they look at stones.
The article does a really good job of expressing their opinion about modern cutting. They come from the very old school and are masters at what they do so they aren’t shy at making their opinions plain.
I look forward to visiting them again, hopefully a few times and try to absorb more of their knowledge and story before they fade away.
You're welcome Justin!
Maybe you might remember, I actually met you in Bangkok at AIGS and you took me and my dad to see your school before it was fully set up. You gave me some tips and tricks and showed us around. I would have liked to have taken some classes but didn't have the time back then and had to go back to the Uk.
Oh and also, I just bought a Sterling Machine! Thanks a lot for recommending it to me, I'm really happy with it and am enjoying it so far.
Btw, I think you mentioned that you got that "Blue Episode 3" documentary about Chas Matthews from some Chinese site. Do you happen to have a link to the other episodes of that documentary series?
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 1:06 pm
Valued Contributor
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:08 pm Posts: 381 Location: Lyon, France
Oh hi Zain. I didn’t realize it was you. Congrats on the new machine, I’m sure it will do you well. I just bought one for working at home and I love it. If you need any help come and take a class! We could even do something custom if you don’t want the full 10 days.
As for the Chinese series, I don’t have any links. Sorry. Really kind of shocked I was even able to find that because the site was totally in Chinese and the way websites are laid out in China are very different and confusing.
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 2:01 pm
Valued Contributor
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:08 pm Posts: 381 Location: Lyon, France
I wanted to let you know that I got ahold of the author of that article who turned out to be a friend of mine, Al Gilbertson, and he gave me permission to publish on my site. Turns out he wrote it 10 years ago for a magazine but it never got published so now it is, with photos and updates. Thanks for the heads up on the original pdf
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:06 am
Gemology Online Veteran
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:55 am Posts: 543
Hi Justin, fascinating article, I have to say, not being in their end of the market I have never visited them, indeed, I did not know that cutters still worked in Hatton Garden, I had the impression that they had all been pushed out by rising property prices. Your experience accords with mine, that real experts are happy to chat and share expertise with those they sense are interested n the same things they are!
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:10 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:49 pm Posts: 3
Fascinating! It's always a treat to watch and learn from those who have attained true mastery of their craft. I wonder what the considerations are for prioritizing color over brilliance -- presumably one aims to throw less light back out of the crown, but I'm not sure where to go from there.
Post subject: Re: An article on Chas Matthews Lapidaries and their setup
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:17 pm
Established Member
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2018 10:08 pm Posts: 19
Yes, I have been wondering that too. What are the characteristics of 'traditional'? cuts that helps the color? More tiers / smaller facets that help make the stone "light up" more evenly instead of in big blocks? Less facets near 40-45 degrees?
I'm guessing the design has to reflect light back to the eye after it's bounced around a several times instead of directly back (just two reflections). Or has to reflect the light slightly oblique to the eye, without causing too much 'extinction'. But what specifically to consider when cutting to accomplish this, other than just making the pavilion or crown steeper?
Sort of unrelated, but I think I've heard a few times that a step cut generally causes less scintillation and dispersion than a brilliant. Is there some difference between triangular facets and square facets that causes this? Is it the nature of the facet junctions?
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