Lapidary is a kind of shaping, working, and cutting of stones. The word is related and referred to small gemstones. Lapidary or gem cutting have been used 1000s years old. It is the way to transform rough gems / crystals into splendid gemstones. It unlocks the luster and shining of the stone.
There are following types of gem cutting approaches which gemstone cutters do:-
- Faceting
- Cabbing
- Tumbling
- Carving
We are giving brief details of gemstones types of cutting here:-
Faceting Rough:-
Faceting style of cutting in gemstones is an outstanding way of giving brilliance to the gemstones. If anyone want any wedding jewelry set made of gemstones like emerald, ruby or Diamond. One would like to go with faceted gemstones. It increases the value of gemstones. It gives beautify to the viewers. In faceting cutting style, gems are shaped in geometrical shapes and flat polished faces. The faceted style of cutting is very popular among people.
The brilliant cut round is an easy way to understand and start to learn faceting.
Gemstone faceting is great art or engineering in fact. In the start, one may feel faceting is difficult but it is not so ambiguous actually. There are different types of facet style gemstones. See Loose Stones Varieties here with their different shapes....
Faceting rough stones into beautiful polished gems is an art. The gemstone cutters choose the best gem quality rough stones to give them shapes. Popular facet grade rough stones are amethyst, citrine, aquamarine, tourmaline, peridots, emeralds, ruby, sapphires to start with. Check Facet rough gems deals here...
Tumbling Raw Rocks:-
Tumbling represents a straightforward
method for cutting gemstones. It involves placing rough gemstones in a revolving barrel tumbler equipped with abrasives. Successively finer abrasives are employed until the gem achieves a polished finish. Along beaches and riverbanks, one often encounters rocks originating from mountains. These rocks typically boast pleasing shapes and forms, having been naturally tumbled by the friction of water and other rocks.
Cabbing Rough Gems:-
Cutting of Cabochon is very popular among people. Cabbing is very popular for of cutting among people. It is an easy and anyone can master on it.
A cab can be of any form and from any stone precious, semi precious, rocks like ceramic, porcelain or wood. It does not matter where it come from. Its shapes are flat, domed, or rounded inside.
The stone cutter first select cabs grade rough stones or lapidary raw rocks. Mark it with particular shape or template on the stone. One can select the beautiful patterns for exact finishing shape.
After marking, the shape is cut using trim saw and cooling lubricant to keep the saw blade from becoming too hot. Some machines which are used during cabbing process.
After cutting, they are well grinded with basic outlines. Then comes shapes making and finalizing with polishing work.
Carving of Rough Rocks:-
The more artistic, challenging part in lapidary is carving. It needs really very aesthetic and artistic sense to carve a stone. It needs further expertise along with cutting. In the past, the old civilizations started to carve a gem. The art is called glyptgraphy. Many thousand years before, gemstones have been carved for the members of past Roman nobility. This art can be found in many other civilizations such as Persian, Assyrians and Egyptians.
There exist various styles of carving, with one of the most renowned being cameo. When the design is intricately carved into the top surface of a cab, it's referred to as an intaglio or relief carving. Conversely, when the design is crafted on the reverse side, it's termed a reverse intaglio.
What type of rough gemstones are choosed for carving?
Again, the rough gemstones which are selected for carving are lapidary raw stones or cabs grade stones. They are normally opaque or have very very less transparency.
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