Forums Cutting Material and Identification Cuts for Tourmaline

9 replies, 3 voices Last updated by brellan217 3 years, 8 months ago
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  • #5604

    Rick_Brooker
    Participant
    @Rick_Brooker

    I’ve got a very nice piece of tourmaline that should make a nice 7mm round. Any suggestions for a design besides a standard round brilliant? It’s a medium green color and very clear.

    #5616

    Lowjiber
    Participant
    @Lowjiber

    A little more information would help.

    How long is the C-axis and is it open?

    How wide is the A-B axis?

    #5617

    Rick_Brooker
    Participant
    @Rick_Brooker

    Here are pictures of the rough. I’m thinking the center looks best / clearest. I’m not worried about retaining weight. I’d like to get the prettiest stone possible.

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    #5620

    Rick_Brooker
    Participant
    @Rick_Brooker

    I put the ends on the lap at 1200 so I could see the color difference between the 2 axis. Might be hard to tell with my pictures but the long axis is more yellow kind of muddy looking. The color on the other axis seems better.

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    #5627

    brellan217
    Participant
    @brellan217

    If it were my stone I might do a square bar cut. Simply because I think a bar cut would help that c axis.

    But a Portuguese round might be fun. I have cut Portuguese on stones as small as 4mm. It’s hard on smaller stones.

    I did a round checkerboard once too. I think I got the design from Bob Keller’s site. That one would probably look good in the tourmaline.

    You could also try a honeycomb cut. I don’t personally like honeycomb, but that’s preference.

    A whirlwind might be nice too.

    Just my two cents for what it might be worth 🙂

    #5629

    Rick_Brooker
    Participant
    @Rick_Brooker

    I decided to cut 90 degrees to the long axis because I think the color is better that way. The stone is not as clear in the center as I hoped but it will still be nice.

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    #5631

    brellan217
    Participant
    @brellan217

    Looks nice! Upload a pic when it’s finished?

    #5632

    Lowjiber
    Participant
    @Lowjiber

    Looking nice. Please post some pics of the finished stone.

    #5638

    Rick_Brooker
    Participant
    @Rick_Brooker

    Here’s the finished tourmaline. I got it at the Spectrum Mine in Oregon but it came from the Himalaya mine in California.

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    #5641

    brellan217
    Participant
    @brellan217

    That’s a great looking gem!

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