Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

This category is the best place to discuss cutting opal.

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Artfldgr
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Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by Artfldgr »

Hey,
will be deciding to cut these soon... trying to decide what or how to go at it.
while this stone could be faceted, i do not have that skill, the other might be better as free form.
hmmmmmmm.... arrrrrghhhhhhh... heh...

KJR_6366.jpg

KJR_6370.jpg

KJR_6380.jpg

KJR_6387.jpg

KJR_6390.jpg


KJR_6401.jpg

KJR_6404.jpg

KJR_6406.jpg

KJR_6413.jpg


More to come.. (always)
Artfldgr
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by Artfldgr »

KJR_6464.jpg

KJR_6439.jpg

KJR_6434.jpg

KJR_6419.jpg
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PinkDiamond
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by PinkDiamond »

Nice, Art, and unless you know a faceter who will do it for you, or teach you how to do it on their machine, I say go for the freeform cab. ;)
PinkDiamond
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gsellis
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by gsellis »

Too much loss on faceting. I would freeform cab them myself.
Artfldgr
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by Artfldgr »

Alas... i dont know faceting.. however, regardless of the loss, the price is different due to that. just like the best calibrated are.
ie. they know they lose a lot to get THOSE shapes...
AND when not using some cabbing machine, they know that its a bit of an art to choose the angle to make that show better
smaller and better fire, larger and fire off on one side? its all the cutter and the stone in an intimate risky dance, where one is never sure
at least till your so damn old they pay you a fortune to cut a few stones a year... (the size of marbles to golfballs to baseballs)

that one with the extra bright band in it would be great for fasceting.. even better if it was possible to line up the band with the girdle..

what i wouild like to see is a facet cut that is designed for opal...
not apply the facets for diamond and others to that, as the key there is trap the light inside and bounce it around till it spreads
ie. chromatic aberration is your friend in diamonds.

In optics, chromatic aberration (CA, also called chromatic distortion, and spherochromatism) is an effect resulting from dispersion in which there is a failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same convergence point.[1] It occurs because lenses have different refractive indices for different wavelengths of light. The refractive index of transparent materials decreases with increasing wavelength in degrees unique to each

Chromatic aberration manifests itself as "fringes" of color along boundaries that separate dark and bright parts of the image, because each color in the optical spectrum cannot be focused at a single common point. Since the focal length f of a lens is dependent on the refractive index n, different wavelengths of light will be focused on different positions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration

hubble suffered this, cameras suffer this, and is why my lenses cost more than the body.
my 300mm is way over 3000 for the lens it has coatings and optics to reduce this maximally
ie. professional vs non pro.. the pro has the more expensive lens with less aberration, less shift due to temperature and so on

anyway, in diamonds and stones, the light bounces around and most people think the effect is akin to a prism
but i guess chromatic aberration IS what makes a prism do its thing...

https://lunns.portfoliooffinediamonds.c ... Aberration
The failure of a lens or mirror to bring light rays to the same focus. When caused by the shape of the lens or mirror, it is called 'spherical Aberration', when caused by the different refrangibility of light of different colours, it is called 'Chromatic Aberration'. Both the American Gem Society and the Federal Trade Commission specify the use of a 10x corrected eye loupe for grading diamonds and other gemstones. A corrected loupe is designed to eliminate Aberration, and consists of two or more optical elements.

(in this way, you see what the actual diamond is doing NOT the combination of the diamond and the loupe (which might seem like more fire. which is why they dont hand people in the store a corrected diamond.)

Diamond district in ny is horrible now... it used to be mostly Hasidim and so on, but the Russian mob moved in and its horrible... other than really nice stones you have to put up with people who ooze disdain, hate, boredom, and more towards you... the happier you are and so on, the more rude, and distracted they are... a HORROR - which is why the street is empty, lots of closed shops, people don't even want to walk down the street as they pay men to stand outside and try to cat call people into the shop and then the shop keepers are nasty... about the only nice thing is middle European girls hired for their headlights and such, but even then, you get the feeling of such fake beauty, like when a prostitute sits next to you and wants a date (happens at the plaza oak room now that women dress like prostitutes normally, the prostitutes now dress like business women and go to high end places... you don't know what they are until about 45 minutes into hanging out and thinking you just struck up a connection... then they halt it and say, if you want to continue this fun, please deposit something into the slot.. and if not, the event is over and you there going wtf? as you were just in for a drink not THAT...)

but its so horrible that this is what happened to the diamond district...
i remember it when it was really something special and young couples from around the world would come
then the Russians took over and you got diamonds with silicon injected and on and on in a kind of sociopathic greed (reminiscent of the old country)...
sad..
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PinkDiamond
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by PinkDiamond »

Good grief Art, I had no idea the diamond district in NY had deteriorated to such a point that people avoid it. How sad for that once famous area the people of NY used to take pride in. :o
PinkDiamond
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kjsspot
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by kjsspot »

Sounds like someone needs to learn to facet so he can figure out the best way to cut an opal!
~KJ~
Mysterious opals contain the wonders of the skies - sparkling rainbows, fireworks, and lightning, shifting and moving in their depths.
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Artfldgr
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by Artfldgr »

heck if i learn to facet i will do diamonds...
or some other choice stones that are easier to sell
If you look its hard to find opals in any stores so its always been an odd market
i learned about them from a social register debutante i was dating...
(i guess that means she was slumming... eep! that makes me.. oy!)
anyway, at that time lightning ridge was just a peep compared to today
and the big thing was the Hungarian opals, but they had to be in water, so were in tiny jars (like last century early part)
Gilsons are in the stores, but the stuff we see, i don't see getting that far into the market as i see almost no one have any.
[oh, and the reaction by some in the industry was like you pulled out a skunk and said look at my pet kitty]
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PinkDiamond
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by PinkDiamond »

Since I don't shop the jewelry store chains, but instead frequent small boutiques and small local jewelers, I don't come across synthetics very often and when I do they usually have all the various types of synthetics together, rather than putting them in with the real stuff, and I do see good opal pieces being sold so I guess it's a question of where you're looking. That, and people are always commenting on the opals I wear, and eventually someone will say, "I thought opals were supposed to be bad luck", to which I say, first of all you have to believe in luck to swallow that line, and then I tell them opals used to be considered to be very lucky since they often show all the colors of the rainbow, and tell them that the idea that they weren't came from a fictional novel, and that usually enlightens them enough that they're will to stop spreading the 'opals are unlucky if you buy them for yourself' BS. :lol:

My first marriage was back in 1969, and even back then I was so enamored with opals that I gave an opal pendant to each of my bridesmaids before the wedding. :D

Oh, and I used to take my pet skunk Chanel into stores with me and he was always a big hit with everyone but the ones who took one look at me walking in, and ran screaming into the street. I can't imagine why. I mean, did people really think I'd be walking around with a loaded skunk?! :lol:
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
Artfldgr
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Re: Freeform? Cab? (or Facet, but I cant do that)

Post by Artfldgr »

I see them rarely... and as you say.. but at least they dont mix em
and whats sadder is that you can tell the ladies hired dont know much, not even because its work

and yes, to the diamond district is really sad... though its what happens when someone takes over someone
elses hard work and reputation then sullies it rather than respect and maintains it.

anyone else have similar experiences?
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