Sharp dude, I appreciate a presentation given with true and genuine knowledge!

Great video John. I used to get non-cutters asking me to cut their rough that's invariably garbage. That's why I don't do job cutting anymore. Also I hope a lao of noobs see it. Anything that makes for a smarter counsumer is going to be good for biz and faceting.

Great tutorial John. I had to take a few knocks and red flags on my journey. Step by step I had to relearn what you have taught me, probably due to an optimistic yet unreal belief that the dealer was an honest and educated purveyor. I do have a nice collection of African garnets and South American quartz varieties.......and a collection of Pakistani cab grade corundum LOL.

Thanks John! Great information for new or old cutters. Even though I do more repair work on stones than straight out rough to finish goods I always interested in gleaning knowledge.

As always, Great info! Thanks!

Thanks again John!

Great information John. Thank You for everything. Salute from İzmir Türkiye.

Thanks John! This is great information for me as I am just starting faceting and looking for rough.

Sir,you are great man

I’ve read with great interests all the articles of your website, extremely well done and well illustrated, thanks for taking the time to share them with everybody! Learning from your informative insights that rough “value” is something you cannot (understandably so) quite estimate if not based on what you may obtain after the cutting and accordingly to the market you may be in, if I may ask I was wondering if it exists some reliable source/website/institution that tracks and updates “average” wholesale and retail prices for cut gemstones (accordingly to gem quality). I’ve found several website but information are very contradictory and I can’t quite understand what it may be a good/“fair” price when attempting to purchase some rough and gemstones. Thanks again!

You have a scary brain John. Thanks for another great informative video.

Thank you for the video John, it gives me a lot to think about in terms of what I will buy for future projects. In the past work that I have done, I have found that if a piece of rough turns out darker than I would have hoped for, there are always customers that seem to love dark stones. Like all art, the variety of work appeals to different people. Just like there are bright and colorful paintings that serve the purpose of emotional uplift, there are dark and dull paintings that serve to illicit a sense of mystery and powerful emotional sadness. Is it too much to assume that gemstones are similar in that these two ends of the light and dark spectrum are both gratifying in their own right? I'm aware that the margin for bright colorful stones is typically better, but if I'm looking at it from the point of view I've described, I do wonder if we should always choose to cut bright colorful stones?  I often see jewelry being sold with stones that are far darker than I would typically accept in my work, but if these retailers are able to sell stones like these, why can't I?


On another note, we often choose to cut natural materials over man made ones knowing full well that flaws in natural material are the norm. We can work very hard to cut around them and remove them, and yet at the end of the day they can still be a sign or signature that the stone is of natural origin and not synthetic or a simulant. I have cut flawless pieces of natural rough only to have the finished gem appear so perfect that people have told me that it looks fake. I wonder what exactly should we think about in this case while we are choosing and cutting our stones.