Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Well, thanksgiving has come and gone.I certainly hope everyone had a happy turkey day.Bonnie and I drove up to friends in Jupiter Florida and a good time was had by all,we had to drive back Thursday evening and got back to the keys around 9:30pm pretty beat.It's always great to sleep in your own bed again.

On another note,rough gem material of good quality is becoming more scarce and  more expensive,this is not good for  cutters(The rough suppliers still get their price) due to the customer expecting great quality at a better price because of the economy but the cutter has to pay more for the material,everyone is putting their prices up but I will try to hold mine as long as possible without sacrificing quality. The old adage still applies "How do you make a fortune in the gem business?" answer: "Start with an even larger one". Happy holidays!
Lloyd
Custom cut gemstones

Mailing list sent out

The "new stones" mailing list was sent out a couple days ago with not quite as many stones as I would like to have but I just have not had the time to cut as much for my inventory as originally intended.This will hopefully be rectified in the near future.Keep a look out for December's list and if you haven't signed up yet now is the time to do so,that way you can get that beautiful stone for your Xmas gift to yourself or a loved one at wholesale pricing.
Custom gem cutter

NEW STONES MAILING LIST

The new stones mailing list will be out soon,in between the orders I've had to fill I've not had much time to cut too much for my own inventory.The list will contain some really top tourmaline and aquamarine.
I have some gorgeous rough on the way from Africa as well,in the parcel are Tanga garnet,spinel and blue tourmaline.Keep checking the blog and website for news.

I used this piece of Brazilian Maraba amethyst to proof cut a new design for a piece of sapphire rough for a client.I always try to use material with some value even when proof cutting.Most cutters proof cut new designs in synthetic material which is fine,nothing wrong with that but I just like something with value for the time spent experimenting.I think this design will do the job!
Custom cut gems

Another gem

I just finished another one for my inventory.A bubblegum pink tourmaline Barion rectangle 2.3 ct.

Barion's are harder to cut but well worth the effort,this stone is very bright even in artificial dim light which is exceptional for tourmaline.Tourmaline is known as a "day stone" because most stones look their best in daylight and usually have areas of extinction(sooty,black) in artificial or dim light.This stone sparkles in any light.
Custom cut gemstones