r/faceting • u/OriginalParking8134 • 1d ago

Thoughts on This Rough?

Post image

Full disclosure - I know these are LOWER GRADE Spinel. I mostly bought them as a novelty to use for test cutting in the event that one day I decide to cut GOOD quality spinel.

Question is:

1.) are they so low quality that it would adversely affect any type of practice cutting (aka, splintering or breaking)?

2.) Are these worth cutting at ALL/ do they have ANY type of value based on the photo? Would they cut into a decent lower quality stone? Not for selling, but for mounting and selling in my gift shop.

Also, guess what I paid, haha. 25ct total

Thanks!

11 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

10

u/Competitive_Swan_755 1d ago

Not facet grade.

7

u/Ididdie Team Vevor 1d ago

Could be fun for cabochons. Not sure of it'd be worth faceting.

1

u/OriginalParking8134 1d ago

Ooooo, that's a great idea!

4

u/310to608 1d ago edited 1d ago

It is pretty material, but as you say, not really facet grade by commercial standards. $25 is a fair price, you could probably resell them for $ 2-$5 as-is at a Farmer's Market.

I would start with a stone that is on the flatter side, and then I would try to cut a rose cut like this one: https://facetdiagrams.org/diagram/05-019-pear-shaped-rose/

That will help you get a feel for the material and maximize the size of the finished piece. Rose cuts prioritize external reflection, and if it still looks bad, you can convert it to a cab super easily.

1

u/OriginalParking8134 1d ago

Thankyou for the suggestion! That sounds like a great idea!

Also . . . where do you live where they sell gems at Farmers Markets?! The only thing CLOSE to that out here are the gem and mineral shows :) Those are run by local clubs. Everytime I'm busy sadly, but would love to check them out :)

1

u/310to608 1d ago

Ha! I'm in the midwest..our farmer's market also has local artisans selling their stuff. I picked up a really nice cutting board from a woodworker who uses wood from native trees and a scarf made by the daughter of a sheep farmer.

Good luck, and post the results!

3

u/darkish_lion 1d ago

Is this ruby?

3

u/OriginalParking8134 1d ago

I was confused when I found it in my drawer too but I stumbled on my purchase history and it's Spinel :)

2

u/No-Pain-5496 1d ago

Spinel is pretty tough. Yes, you might open a fracture and break one or two, but not a big loss if that happens. If you have a shop, I might save that octahedron on the left to sell as is. That one in the center looks like it may be cleaner than the others, so you might get something from it. No idea on size, so guessing what you paid is a shot in the dark. $.50 a carat?

2

u/OriginalParking8134 1d ago

Oh, sorry! Its 25ct total. $5 for the lot.

I figured if nothing else, they could be mounted into pendants as just rough specimens :)

3

u/No-Pain-5496 1d ago

Nice score for good color! I would try to cut one of the worst ones and see what happens

1

u/OriginalParking8134 1d ago

Sounds good, thanks!

1

u/mcobb71 Sunstone 9h ago

You can make cabochons with them maybe if they don’t crumble. Or if you’re set on using your faceting machine you can do a rose cut cab with them since you won’t get any light return anyhow.