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Getting Started in Faceting Would you like to learn faceting? Although there are many attractive aspects to this craft, there are also some cautions; it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Faceting machines are pretty pricey and a wise individual will think carefully about whether this hobby will suit them, before jumping in with both feet. Is it right for me? From my perspective there are five major ways in which faceting makes an excellent pastime: 1. Faceting is nicely flexible time-wise, in contrast, some hobbies such as baking, require that you finish the project once it is started. Not so with faceting, while some speedy and dedicated cutters finish more than one piece a day, others may enjoyably work on a single stone off and on for months, as time permits. 2. It is very interesting. There’s enough technical knowledge required such that faceting presents a pleasing challenge with ever expanding horizons as new materials and cutting techniques are incorporated into one’s repertoire. 3. Your activities are not confined to a certain season or locale as with fishing or gardening, nor is the equipment so large or messy as to require a special workshop. 4. Faceting can lead to acquaintance with a new group of friends that share your interest and can help you solve problems. These can be found at a local gem club, a regional faceter’s guild, or perhaps on the internet. 5. Bottom line, one of the most appealing rewards of the faceting process is the finished product! The thought of gaining the knowledge and ability to take a piece of gem rough that looks something like driveway gravel and turn it into a sparkling treasure is all the incentive and inspiration most ‘would-be’ faceters need. On the down side, faceting itself is pretty much a solitary activity and as such can lead to resentments from family and friends who are feeling left out as you hunker over your machine, hour after hour. And on a practical note, the expense of getting started in this activity can run to several thousand dollars and maintaining your ‘habit’ with new rough, books, supplies and gadgets will place a long term drain on your income. Am I right for it? Many who are considering getting started wonder if they have the requisite characteristics to make a good faceter. The physical requirements are few, but you will need enough manual dexterity to handle the gems and enough strength to work the machine. (Don’t worry too much about these criteria as one of the best faceters I know is missing a thumb on his right hand, weighs 90 pounds and suffers from advance emphysema!). You’ll also need reasonably good vision (with correction); but even here the requirements are eased by the fact that you’ll be wearing a magnifying headpiece as you cut. Faceting as an activity is virtually ‘ageless’ - successful cutters range from preteens to nonagenarians. Personality traits conducive to successful faceting are: patience (some parts of the process are repetitious); attention to detail and the ability to keep your cool when things go wrong. What you don’t need is: creativity (unless you intend to design new cuts); a degree in geology or gemology, or an engineer’s level of mechanical ability. None of these attributes would be detrimental of course, but they aren’t essential to enjoying and succeeding in the faceting process. The next article in this series will look at the process of getting your equipment, and the third and final installment will discuss the basics of the faceting process itself. This article was written by Barbara Smigel of www.acstones.com. Biographical note from Barbara: ‘I came to faceting rather later in life than some, after age 40. Virtually all my prior working career had been spent in academics (college biology professor). So, part of the great appeal of faceting to me was that I was producing something concrete with my own two hands, as opposed to the paperwork and mental constructs that had always been my ‘output’. I became interested in gems first as a collector, then as a GIA gemology student and finally, to complete the picture, getting a machine and having at it. For the past four years I have been the owner of Artistic Colored Stones, a website (www.acstones.com), which is an internet source for my own custom cut gems as well as those of other hobby and commercial faceters.’
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