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Question About Meetpoint Precision on Harder Gem Materials
Hi everyone,
I’ve been faceting for a little while now and recently started working with some harder materials like sapphire and spinel. One thing I’ve noticed is that hitting meetpoints cleanly seems to be more difficult than when I was working with quartz or topaz. I’m using a well-calibrated machine (Ultra Tec), and my laps are in good condition, so I’m wondering:
Does the hardness of the material make a significant difference in how easily you can achieve clean meetpoints? Or could this be more about technique and pressure control?
Any tips or tricks for improving precision on harder stones would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! ragdoll hit
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6 Replies
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Hi, at what stage are you referring to here? cutting, pre-polish, and or polish. I would say generally it is more the gem material itself that can give slight differences in the process. Topaz being 8 and Corundrum being a 9 are both very hard materials so I personally do not find a difference between these. I found that after you have found your groove on Sapphire and the set of tools to get a great finished cut. The tool set you have used will be what you use on Sapphire and the others will have their own set of tools and processes. Topaz has basil cleavage and can cause some issues with meet points if you happen to land on that plane. Sapphire has no cleavage, and Spinel completely reacts to the process in its own rights.
My current tools for each
Sapphire: 600CrystalMet, 3k Diamond Powder-Wd40/Batt, 8k/60k PC Diamond(Gearloose BA5T/Batt Dual Lap)
Spinel: 600CrystalMet, 1200k Solid, 3k Diamond Powder-Wd40/Batt, 8k/60k PC Diamond(Gearloose BA5T/Batt Dual Lap)
Topaz: 600CrystalMet, 3k Diamond Powder-Wd40/Batt, 8k/60k PC Diamond(Gearloose BA5T/Batt Dual Lap)
Quartz: Well it is a beast of its own. 600CrystalMet, 3k Diamond Powder-Wd40/Batt, (Gearloose Lightside/Tin Dual Lap)You will have to check with UltraTec with availability of these laps.
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Harder stones usually expose small inconsistencies in pressure and sweep more than softer ones, so it often feels less forgiving rather than truly harder to hit meetpoints. You might try slightly lighter pressure and shorter sweeps to see if the facets settle more predictably.
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Thank you
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Harder stones expose small variations in pressure and sweep more than softer ones, so meetpoints feel harder to hit. It’s usually technique rather than hardness alone. Lighter pressure and shorter, consistent strokes often improve precision.
Edit by slope 1 day ago
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This reply was modified 9 months ago by jastaa.
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This reply was modified 9 months ago by
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Hardness definitely matters. Sapphire and spinel are far less forgiving than quartz, so light pressure, slower cutting, and a well-conditioned lap are critical for clean meetpoints. Final polish choice also plays a big role in hard stones—this overview on diamond polishing compounds explains why: https://ukam.com/product/diamond-polishing-compounds/
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