Faceting 1: Foundations of Faceting
Instructor: Keith Harrigill

Gemstone faceting is the aesthetic placement of flat surfaces onto stones to maximize color, scintillation, and brilliance. This class is foundational, and is intended for the student with no prior faceting experience. The ideal student will be interested in learning as much as possible about the art of faceting. The class will be a mixture of didactic and practical learning. Didactic modules and demonstrations include faceting rough evaluation and selection, dopping techniques and variations, preforming, lap selection and progression, machine usage, faceting techniques, design interpretation and overview of computer-aided design. Our first project with be the most typical and instructive faceting design, a modified standard round brilliant in preformed cubic zirconium. With this project, we will learn to read designs, to cut to identical depths on a given tier, use grit progressions, and learn good polishing techniques. For our second project, we will select from 12 designs suitable for beginners and will learn rough selection, preforming, and continue our development in a more individualized direction. I expect that we will finish two stones this week.

I recommend using class materials for these projects. If you would like to bring your own material, please bring either synthetic quartz or glass to streamline your learning process. The student kit will have most of what you need, but please bring an Optivisor or 10x loupe in addition to closed-toe shoes. If you have your own faceting machine or laps, feel free to bring those as well and I’ll help you learn that machine. This class will be a fun, structured, and very informative introduction into the world of crafting beautiful gemstones. You will complete the class with a rich base of knowledge and will be capable of cutting elaborate designs in the future.

Class Fee: $70

Materials: $0+

Prerequisites: None