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Like most things in gem faceting…. “that depends” there are soooo many variables its impossible to account for every type of material.
It also depends on your budget and what you’re looking to do/make. if you’re a hobbyist like me, cheap topper laps are awesome. If you’re wanting to make a job of this, everything John Gearloose and Dr. Perry at Hyper Edge make are most excellent. i dream of owning anything they make.
I am relatively new to faceting, so take what i say with a grain of salt. This topic pops up on the facebook groups pretty often and the most basic/common lap progression Ive seen suggested are: 600 sintered, 8k batt lap, 50+k on batt or tin+. Sadly, all of those would total over $1,000 US and are out of my budget. That lap set, while pricey, “should” cover almost anything you plan on cutting and polishing with diamond. Oxide polishing is a whole other topic. hopefully someone with more experience can chime in.
Currently I cut on 600 cheapo topper laps, 8k on copper, 50k on zinc. I use cerium oxide ultra laps on quartz. it fits my needs and budget.
My next lap purchase will definitely be a Batt lap for 8k prepolishing. my copper lap (or perhaps my inexperience with it?) is not up to the task.