What Do You Need to Get Started with Gemstone Faceting (Gear, Books, and More) 

Glad you like it

@@peternord8440 true!

I just dug up a few hundred pounds of what i call "Brooks Opal" its almost like black opal had a baby with fire opal. Im a 2nd gen geologist and even my study buddies and a few phds havent seen opal like this.

Thanks for much for the kind words. I will keep it up as I have a lot more videos in the works. Also the 2nd printing of the book will come towards the end of the year and its all going to be hardcover so you will be able to get a copy then. Have fun

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

Congrats and good luck! Its a very exciting day!!!

How do you like it two years later?

The pleasure is all mine.

I’m so happy I could do that. We need to continue what our ancestors started.

Thanks! Trying to keep myself entertained as well 😃

@@JustinKPrim sure you do

❤️❤️

You can find it at www.magusgems.com

No worries. It will be on magusgems.com starting in October! We are excited to release it! Thanks.

Check the pdf in the description. It has all the prices! 😁

Hello. Singer oil is the oil for sewing machines. You can order online or get it in any sewing supply store and sometimes even hardware stores. For diamond powder, most of the brands are all the same. I like 0-5 for prepolish and 0-1 for final polish. I use diamondtech because it’s convenient to me here but whatever you can get is fine im sure.

I’m still writing that book! The history of faceting going back 500 years! Coming soon I hope.

Check out this article I wrote. I address this question exactly… what is the cheapest path to get a good setup : medium.com/justin-k-prim/i-want-to-buy-a-cheap-or-used-faceting-machine-9c613b3f1da9

Your wish is my command. Here’s a list of all machines currently being made in the world: medium.com/justin-k-prim/a-list-of-current-faceting-machine-manufacturers-4c46775949cc Here’s a guide to getting a cheap machine but not a bad machine : medium.com/justin-k-prim/i-want-to-buy-a-cheap-or-used-faceting-machine-9c613b3f1da9

I prefer white light but not sure if it matters.

@@JustinKPrim thanks

AliExpress.

Can you tell me the timestamp for what you’re asking about? I don’t have an electric torch so I’m not exactly sure what you’re referencing.

I have ultratec faceting machine V5 for sell

Yes, everything needs to be ordered. Check out the pdf in the video description to see where to source everything.

It’s coming to magusgems.com in October. I’ll be announcing it. We’re just waiting for the copies to arrive!!

US $40.06 42％ Off | Long Arm Table Lamp Clip Office Led Desk Lamp Remote Control Eye-protected Lamp For Bedroom Led Light 5-Level BrightnessandColor a.aliexpress.com/_mPZrwLc

Glass is great. Cheap, easy to polish. Just be careful on sawn edges as you can cut yourself easily.

Well for cabs there are better and cheaper machines for working. Check out a pixie cabbing machine. It has 6 wheels I think and let’s you go through all the steps. I don’t have a machine for doing cabs (sadly) though I’d like to get one. I’m looking for a used one this year while we travel across America.

Btw do you have any good suggestions on where to buy rough gemstones?

Sorry for some reason I just imagined a girl. Sorry!!! I usually buy rough from dealers in Tucson. We try to get parcels when we can because single stones is the most expensive way to go. The more you spend the cheaper it is.

Yes, we offer several options for Bespoke cutting as well as commercial cutting with our factories in Bangkok. Send me an email please : JustinKPrim At gmail dot com

Go for it!

Yes. You can sand anything. Flat laps usually use diamond grit laps. Diamond is the hardest material on each. You can literally grind anything with diamond laps. Even diamonds, though slowly. I regularly grind my metal dops on my laps.

Yes. I wrote an article for this question. Read this and keep saving your money: medium.com/justin-k-prim/i-want-to-buy-a-cheap-or-used-faceting-machine-9c613b3f1da9

Please email me about this. Justinkprim at gmail dot com

A trim saw is useful but if you’re just getting started it’s not essential most natural stones don’t need trimmed. If you are buying synthetic sapphire you almost always need to saw boules but we rarely use the saw we have

@@josemilian4167 for faceting it’s really not necessary. Between the water drip and the oil for polishing there really isn’t a chance for a stone to make dust in the air.

they are trash,. just keep saving up!

lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hehehh. The book is coming in October and any oil will help. If you’re in the bedroom, even KY works. Just get your diamond mix just right 😃

Large stones need the same gear and tools. However if it’s super large light football sized then it might not fit on the machine. Some people in the past have built custom giant machine to cut giant stones but this is not usual. I did a video about one of these if you search for Sinkankas Faceting machine.

Also. Love your videos. Im from Detroit where our gem and stone scene is very capital and commercial. Not a lot of artists around here nor are there any groups in my area. Iv learned a lot from you and appreciate your dedication to the craft. Im currently making solid stone rings to create funds to buy a sterling faceting machine. If you have any tips for punching out solid rings with remedial tools.(Im working with rotary tools and vises\mounts) i would appreciate that tenfold.

I saw something like this on Kickstarter. It was all plastic and didn’t look promising and the creator shared it with the faceting community and everyone was against it basically. Essentially I don’t think there is a market for this. Hobby cutters don’t want a machine to do their hobby and serious cutting factories need a giant industrial one that can do hundreds of stones per day. That already exists. So a smaller automatic machine is aimed at a market that doesn’t exists. Good luck.

@@JustinKPrim the goal was to create it simply for myself and research purposes. I want to play with light and stones hahaha I ended up completing the designs but it would run me a pretty penny just for a personal project so it's on the back burner until the funds are presentable. I learned a lot about different facets since then and it has only fueled me to create designs using algorithms and post processing math. I got the liberty to see a machine that someone called "The grail" in which it was a custom cnc style machine built on its own proprietary code, designed to engrave materials in a 3d space so he could do "sacred geometry" on spheres. It was honestly mind blowing to let my brain play with the possibilities

@@JustinKPrim you are completely overlooking small batch production in this comment lmao wtf

@@jetaddict420 yes but how many makers want to do this. I would guess less than 100, 50, maybe less than 20. In order to justify a lot of time on research and development, as well as the final manufacturing costs, you need to be able to sell a lot of machines, 500+ in my estimation. Otherwise the project loses money and wastes time. Also the Kickstarter I saw represents this well. If there was a market demand for this, the Kickstarter wouldn’t have failed. I say this as someone who has crunched all my own numbers and had a successful Kickstarter and someone who is currently crunching numbers for a new faceting machine project that I want to do myself.

Yes you can definitely make a living doing it. I know a lot of people in America, Australia, UK, and Canada who are pro cutters and make a good living. You need to have the right skills and potentially be in the right place or at least connected to a network of jewelers that needs repairs, recuts, and new stones to buy.

@@JustinKPrim Is it realistic to try and get into it later in life? I'm definitely fascinated by it and would love to test the waters as a hobby, but if I could eventually make some money doing it too then that would be a bonus.

@@Metal-Spark I got into it at age 30 and 9 years later I'm doing great. Most Americans start when they retire though they don't get into it to make money but to have a creative hobby where they make things with their hands. I think any time is a good time to start, especially if you can have fun and play and then decide later if you want it to be your job.

@@JustinKPrim That's great to hear thank you for being so open and honest : )

I got into it as a hobby and to (hopefully) make some money on the side. It's not easy or profitable starting out. It takes a lot of practice before your cuts are of a quality that customers would be willing to pay well for. The quality of the rough you cut and the time it takes are major factors. You can get some beautiful Rose de France amethyst fairly inexpensively, cut it very well and wind up with a 5 carat stone, then be offered $100-150 for it. If it only took you 3 or 4 hours to cut, that's a pretty nice profit for a piece of rough that probably only cost $10 or less to buy. If it took you 8 or 10 hours to cut though, that suddenly becomes a much less efficient use of your time from a money-making perspective. When I first started, a standard round brilliant took 6-8 hours to cut accurately, and more complex patterns could take as much as 12 hours. The overall point is that faceting is a fun hobby, but there's a level of skill in cutting, sourcing your rough, understanding the value of various pieces, and establishing customers that takes time, practice, and effort. Don't get into it and expect immediate returns on your investment. Just enjoy it for what it is, then transition towards earning a profit as your skills rise to the necessary level.

Yes it’s true! It was on another desk!

@@JustinKPrim nice video thanks, maybe one video special dedicated for wax and super glue , epoxy and that stuf

Check out the pdf in the video description for a list of all the tools and where to buy them.

Sorry no, but we have a small class coming up in bangkok in March if you want to join.

That so pretty. could you give me more information about mini class: how long ? schedule and document ? … I begginer! Thanks😊

@@phucnguyentrong173 you can read all about the class here. It’s 2 weeks long and ideal for beginners: www.facetingapprentice.com

I would say within six months, you can be a very competent Faceter, especially if you start out with some kind of teacher of class.

I’ve never had the chance to cut any.. yet.

$3000 plus shipping and rough.

@@JustinKPrimwhat machine would you recommend in that price bracket?

There's really only one choice for a reliable machine at that price point. details here: drive.google.com/open?id=14NvJ89tXbRh6wIkFRljjQ607qcall20W&usp=drive_fs

@@JustinKPrimthanks, link is broken but I can Google it. I had been looking at another, US-made faceter but a complete setup would’ve been well over $6K!

Unfortunately no

A trim saw is nice but not essential. I have two and I use them rarely. It’s not that common for us to get natural rough that actually needs to hit the saw. I find that I use the saw for synthetic boules more than anything else though once you have the basic tools, the trim saw is the next thing on the list!

Practice practice practice! I have seen some amazing free hand faceting before

You can order here www.magusgems.com/product-page/the-secret-teachings-of-gemcutting

I have ultratec faceting machine for sell

Check my page

You can order it here: www.magusgems.com/product-page/the-secret-teachings-of-gemcutting

@@JustinKPrim I already found it but the PayPal link is not working, is there any other way? I need first published one how to get that one ?

@@siavashsoltani4813 the first edition is sold out. We are on second edition now. Email me if you want and I can send a PayPal request directly or a bank transfer

@@JustinKPrim ok that's great

Too many comments about the patched hole 😅

I have one for sell

yes, we have 4 classes per year in France and USA. Check out the info here: www.facetingapprentice.com/pages/facetingbootcamp

@@JustinKPrim ..im from srilanka...how to join ur clasees in france...can u give me proper deatails.for me to join ur clases ...andmeet u.....

@@rikasmohamed5779 all the details are on the page. Get a tourist visa and come!

medium.com/justin-k-prim/a-list-of-current-faceting-machine-manufacturers-4c46775949cc

also medium.com/justin-k-prim/how-to-choose-the-best-faceting-machine-for-your-needs-c41774367c55

The best investment would be a batt lap for polishing as it can polish almost anything. For cutting laps, cheap toppers would be good for your budget. 360 800 and 1200 would suit you.

@@JustinKPrim Thanks for the fast as lightning reply ! Copper polishing laps (60 $) are bad ? Batt laps are 150 $ from what I saw. Just want to be sure before investing or not. Thanks for your help.

@@tofu2129 copper is very hard and won’t work well for many types of stones. It works well for sapphires but for tourmalines and beryl I think you’ll have a hard time getting a good polish. A tin lap would be much better. If you can’t afford a batt, a locally made tin lap will be best

@@JustinKPrim Thank you very much ! A batt it will be. You really help the community, Congrats !

@@JustinKPrim I have another, and hopefully last question. How do I know what size of dopps I should buy ? Do they all fit with any machine ? Or should I wait to receive my machine and measure the dop "holder" ? Sorry for all these questions, but I'm really new in the game.

No it’s a patched hole but everyone including my wife commented on it so I tried to just prevent anyone from noticing 😂

Hello, Its usually not possible to identify a stone based on a photo. I recommend finding a local gemologist to identify. If you don't have anyone local you can send it in to get test to a lab like Lotus in Bangkok or GIA.

There is a complete list in the description of everything I mentioned in the video. Its a the first link that downloads a shopping list PDF with everything you want to know.

Thank you for that! I must have scanned right over it. @@JustinKPrim

Your local gem show.

@@JustinKPrim we dont have these , only big shops that sell cut gems eu sux

@@MrCcfly sorry to hear that. Where in the world are you?

​@@MrCcfly youtube will probably block this link, but 3 seconds of Google searching found hundreds of gem expos in EU...

There really isn’t much dust. All the cutting is done wet so any potential dust turns into mud and gets collected in the machine or sprays on the wall. For polishing we use an oil slurry which also captures the dust in a liquid medium which we wipe away.

The Secret Teachings of Gemcutting. You can find it on magusgems.com. Thanks

Those robots already exist and they are cutting the worlds melee and a bit more. They are relatively new and the quality of the cut is still not as good as a human. Also they don’t read the rough, they just cut all the material the same.

I wish I could go out and mine my own stuff. Sounds like a dream.

I recommend getting what you need all at once and save on shipping... 96 and 80 is probably all you need but Sterling at least throws a 64 in as well though its not that useful.