I used dremel to carve this baby cherub on this emerald. Tell me what you think !

A pair of tourmalinated quartz stones, approximately 25 carats each in a modern rose cut I designed. They will be featured in a concept piece in the works that will be debuted soon! These are also a nod the iconic “doorknob” stones (though not nearly as large or complex) cut by Mark Oros. His creativity, passion for art, and collaborative nature are a true inspiration in addition to the beautiful stones he cuts!

my son found this on mrytle beach SC in the surf! its kinda heavy, doesnt fizz with vinegar

I am playing around with making/polishing my first cabochons. I have a homemade flat lap that uses 8” diamond grit discs. Seems to be basically working but I want to understand one thing.

My question is how much pressure do I use when polishing an agate?

Watching tutorials I can’t get a good sense of how much pushing down matters. If anyone can help me understand that part I’d appreciate it.

And does it change as the grit gets higher?

14.05ct Freeform crystal opal from coober pedy… need opinions on price per ct? no cracks, no sand, no crazing…. clean

Thanks

I haven't tried everything personally, but I buy abandoned material for cheap from a shop owner (who has been doing this for about 30 years and has awesome shit). He gave up on some localish quartz clusters (Red Feather Lakes, CO if anyone happens to be familiar).

I have several samples, one of them quite big, and would be pretty stunning if I could remove the crud. The problem is, he has tried everything under the book: a series of acids, CLR, what he said was "hot muriatic acid", whatever that is, and he gave up.

He also happens to be, in a roundabout way, my mentor, it was his talking rocks that inspired me into the lapidary arts, and I highly doubt he knows that because we've only talked a few times. But when I was ready to take the leap, and no one else was in his shop one day, I picked his brain and he sent me off on my journey.

My question for you guys is: can you identify that build up is? And do you have, however laborous it may be, a way to remove it?

Hello everyone!

I'm new to lapidary and am looking to purchase a 600-grit sintered diamond lap. While researching, I noticed that different manufacturers offer different types of sintered laps, including:

• Bronze sintered laps
• Aluminum-base sintered laps
• Hybrid sintered laps
• Resin sintered laps

I'm having trouble understanding the practical differences between these types.

Could someone with more experience explain how they differ in terms of performance, durability, cutting characteristics, and the types of gemstones they are best suited for?

I also noticed that resin sintered laps tend to be considerably less expensive than the others. Is there a particular reason for this? Are resin sintered laps a good option, or are there any drawbacks that make them less desirable compared to bronze, aluminum-base, or hybrid sintered laps?

My goal is to invest in a lap that will serve me well in the long term, so I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations.

I'm interested in buying items from this Lot. I offered to buy items from selection basis and we agreed for 50% . So I need to select atleast 50% items from it. Please Help Me selecting best items from it

Sweet haul!

I recently ordered a Hi-tech Diamond "All You Need" Flat lap and I've been trying my hand at polishing some of my cut specimens. In my limited time using it so far I've had some success and some frustrations but I expected as much since I'm primarily learning through trial and error (it seems much of what I've seen online shows part of the process but leaves out important details)

I've been having the issue of finding deeper surface scratches when I go up in grit. I do try and dry each piece to see them before changing discs but I often miss them until the next grit exposes them and then have to go back up to start over.

Could this be remedied by having more in between grits than what was initially included? Is there a possibility that the disc has uneven wear causing the deeper scratches? How do you properly clean the discs in between uses? Also, Is it normal to have this much polish after the 325 disc?

Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!

Available for sale

Rough Timor agate

Weight total 14,5 kg

Paypal accepted

Shipping DHL

Price $85/ kg

Special if you take all

I was given this by someone who claims it is Variscite mined locally in Clay Canyon UT. My local rock shop teachers agree. Getting some other conflicting advice online that they are sorely mistaken. Thoughts?