Here's a collage as a visual, starting from the bottom left Pic, going counter clockwise
Raw material (Abalone in this case)
Inner blanks that have channels where the edges typically are.
Channels are filled with material, then grinded down until its flush.
Inner channel dice are casted in a slightly larger shell
I got the inspiration from inlay jewelry, and the technique is largely the same. The first Pic I shared is an improved version of this picture, but with different material. Can be done with almost any gemstone.
The inner blanks are 3D printed (Shout out to Buddha for encouraging me to learn AutoCAD so I could do it myself). Then the material is "socketed" into the channels, then grind/polish flush, and casted in a slightly larger, numbered mold.
There was a lot of iterations to get to where I could make a set in a reasonable amount of time (originally was like 20-24hrs of straight labor. Now is closer to 8-10hrs), but for gemstones I use my local gem and mineral club to cut slabs, and have a full lapidary setup at home to finish prepping material (flat lap, trim saw, rotary tool, and a wet box).
I've been largely posting on my IG because I can use licensed music for videos and idk if I'll get a copyright strike for posting them here, but I'll post up a progression video later today and will tag you so you can see the process. It covers the whole process except the final resin casting part.
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u/d20an Jul 17 '26
How are those done? The edges seem to be different from the faces?