Columbia Willamette Faceters Guild
Turning Pretty Rocks into Pretty Awesome Gemstones
From the category archives:
By Dick Walker. Published in FACETS, January 2005
The time-tested method of dopping with hot wax seems to have gone the way of the Dodo bird for most people. I still use hot wax on occasion when I am in a hurry or perhaps someone else is in a hurry. Now I favor the use of epoxy, the [...]
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With the dizzying array of equipment available, Your Gemologist has a nice write-up explaining a bit about what many of the various gemstone identification tools do and why they do it. This equipment is used by both gemologists and faceters.
What equipment do you use? Did you teach yourself?
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A few sources for gemology education include the International School of Gemology (more expensive) and IGS, International Gem Society (less expensive). I have not attended either so only cite what I found online but both look interesting.
Also check out Your Gemologist (warning, it has audio that plays no matter what, so turn down your speakers [...]
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If you are interested in faceting you may already have an interest in gemstones or rocks in general (most of us do). But where do you go when you’d like to get a bit more in-depth education? One great online resource is Barbara Smigel’s free Gemology Course offered through CSN (College of Southern Nevada). The [...]
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Refractor is a common material used to examine “inside” a stone. Here’s a great explanation in how to use refractol found at TheImage.com.
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Nov 2009 at OMSI the CWFG’s meeting features a presentation on making your own Polariscope. We tracked down a few online tutorials to supplement and will update after the meeting with features from the presentation. Also how to make a polariscope from Sunglasses.
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Beginning Gemstone Faceting introduces the theory and techniques of faceting gemstones. During the course, students will facet one or two gemstones with material and equipment provided by the Columbia-Willamette Faceters’ Guild enabling the student to gain sufficient knowledge and techniques to continue faceting on their own.
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