hi i see these names popped around of laps—what– i have been cutting for long time and am posting answers/comments on all subjects. oh yes the sapphire is a problem, what people are usually not aware of is its plains. topaz has one plain and one must tilt the stone to not put any facet on directly parallel to it as it peals or pits. the same is with the sapphire only it has 3 growth plains if all 3 are at same angle you would have a perfect 6 sided crystal but the very rarely are at the same angle thats why the weird shaped crystals. i’ve cabbed one of the largest cabbed sapphires and rubies that were 10 lb+ while working for crystalite and those plains were very noticeable and really had to work to get the polish. i’ve found if your lucky enough to get around those growth plains you can polish with 50,000 grit if quality stone, but have found that its best to polish with 8000 for final on the trouble ones. just a thought to try. mike zinski gemmakermz@cs.com p.s. the man made sapphire your not likely to have that problem as they do not have those growth plains