• Date/Time
  07/27/2023 - 07/29/2023
  Event Time TBD
• Location
  The Fun Factory
• Categories No Categories

Event Details

Host: The United States Faceters Guild
Date: July 27–29, 2023 at the Fun Factory
Location: 1024 Georgia Rd. in Franklin, NC.

Franklin Faceting Symposium Schedule 

July 27-29, 2023 updated 6-23-2023

Hosted by the United States Faceters Guild, the 2023 Franklin Faceting Symposium will be July 27-29, 2023 at the Fun Factory, located at 1024 Georgia Rd. in Franklin, NC.

As we meet collectively in Franklin, whether it be to learn, to improve our skills, to spend money, to mingle with those that share this love of faceting; whatever your reason, it is quite exciting to anticipate this year’s event. The details, although not 100% complete, continue to fall in place, and it really is only a little over 5 weeks away. I am happy to announce the following vendors that will be on site for this year’s event. We love our vendors and thank them for their support. Without them our event would not be possible.Confirmed Vendors at this time are as follow:

• Marsh Howard – Lightning Laps and supplies https://lightninglap.com/
• John E. Garsaw – Gemstone Rough https://johngarsow.com/
• Stephen Challener – Angry Turtle Gems https://www.turtleshoard.com/
• Steve Upshaw – Colombian Emerald Majestic J Gems New
• Jeffrey Hill – Facet Rough https://www.instagram.com/rocksplitsandcuts/ New
• Jason Brim – Jason@selectgem.com
• Tom & Judy Mitchell – https://www.mitchelljewelrystudio.com/
• Dan Lynch – Gemstone Rough https://danlynchgems.com/
• Mike Gillespie – Gemstone Rough https://midlandgems.com/ New

The Faceting Class is full at this time, there are a couple of spaces available to audit the class. If you are interested, please reach out to Doug Augspurger via Messenger to discuss the details of the audit.

2023 USFG Faceting Symposium Schedule of Events (Times are subject to change)

Thursday: Sales Floor open 900am – 6pm.

“Welcome to the Symposium” with Doug Augspurger and Dan Lynch 11-12am (an overview of the           events of the 3 days and a word from our president)

“How the Other Side Cuts” with Justin Prim 12-130pm

“Cutting and Polishing Sulfur” with Scott Sucher 2-330pm (Scott presenting via live zoom broadcast)

“Concave Faceting” with Larry Mattos 4-530pm

Friday: Sales Floor open 900am – 6pm.

“The Art and Joy of Re-cutting” with Justin Prim 12-130pm

“A Stone’s Story” with Tom Herbst 2-330pm (Tom presenting via zoom, if not present)

“Sharing the Rough” viewing with Roger Dery 4-6pm

Prettiest Stone Contest in the Depot Room 6-8pm

Saturday: Sales Floor open 900am – 6pm

“A Primer of Gem Cut Studio” with Arya Akhaven 10-1130am (Arya presenting via Zoom)

“A Conversation with Jon Rolfe” 12-130pm

“Answering Your Faceting Questions” and “A wrap of the Event” with Dan Lynch 330-430pm

Thursday & Friday:“Faceting Class” with Tom Mitchell 8am-6pm both days. The class is full at this time, but there could be an opportunity to audit the class, If interested, please contact Doug Augspurger via messenger to discuss those details.

We have plans for some great hands-on opportunities throughout the show regarding dopping techniques, polishing techniques, what to look for in a competition finish and how to see it, how magnetism and specific gravity can aid you in stone identification, and some other surprises.The pizza party / prettiest stone contest will be on Friday evening. You will be able to enter a stone in three categories: Natural, Synthetic / Man made, and Fantasy. Winners will receive a gift certificate for use at the show at the vendor of their choice. And yes, there will be free door prizes given away at this event.

Just as in years past, there will be an opportunity for you to buy tickets for a chance to win some top notch prizes, including a Gearloose Starter Kit donated by Jon Rolfe, and Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1 and 2, written by and donated by Tom Herbst.

Joining us again this year will be Gerry Boykin and Larry Mattos doing concave and fantasy cut demonstrations. Both have tremendous knowledge about concave and fantasy cutting techniques and will have their Ultratec Fantasy machines on hand as they demonstrate and answer questions. Larry will also be doing a presentation on Concave Cutting and Polishing.

I am very excited to welcome Robert Rubin and Robert Mendoza this year to our Franklin event. Both,  from Ultratec will be in the house, and are excited to join us, meet you, and answer your questions about the line up of the Ultratec faceting machines. Welcome!

Also joining us is Justin Prim, the author of The Secret Teachings of Gemcutting (2nd Ed). Justin will  be on hand to meet and talk with you, ready to share his knowledge of the history of gemstone faceting as it has developed over the years. In addition, he will also be doing presentations at the event.

Roger Dery will also be joining us again this year, sharing information about seeking ethically sourced gem rough,as well as dopping techniques with wax. And there will be a showing of the movie “Sharing the Rough.” so you won’t want to miss this.

Daniel Hu, another newcomer to Franklin, and the developer of the new portable faceting machine “The Dreamer” will also be joining us, showcasing his new machine and also doing a presentation with respect to competition cutting. Welcome Daniel! Unfortunately, Daniel had to cancel due to personal reasons, but has indicated his support for next year. Daniel, sorry it didn’t work out this year.

Also new this year to Franklin, we welcome Scott Sucher, as he will be joining us via the internet, doing a special presentation (webinar) on cutting and polishing sulfur. Scott is an acknowledged expert in the history and cutting of famous historical diamonds, having published articles on the French Blue, Tavernier Blue, and Koh-i-Noor diamonds in Gems and Gemology, Review de Gemologie in France, plus a few others. Scott was the featured expert gem cutter in the Discovery Channel documentary “Unsolved History: The Hope Diamond” You won’t want to miss Scott.

I am also excited to announce that both Arya Akhaven and Tom Herbst will be joing us via the internet, both doing presentations. Arya will be doing a presentation on Gem Cut Studio, and Tom will be discussing the journey of a gemstone. You certainly won’t want to miss either of these.

I’m still quite busy tweaking the schedule and there is more to come. We still have numerous opportunities for those who have an interest in participating, presenting, and/or supporting this event, so please reach out to me via messenger and I will connect with you directly. The success of the USFG, as well as the Symposium greatly depends on you, the membership. I am looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you in Franklin.