Re-Faceting Root Beer colored Tourmaline
into cushion shape
A local gemstone collector had purchased this root beer colored Tourmaline from a gem dealer in Bangkok, Thailand.
He could see the potential of this gemstone. The pavilion had a very standard Portugese cut which was windowed. And the shape of the stone was a poorly shaped oval. He felt it would look much nicer if it was re-faceted into a cushion cut. I think he was right. And cushion cuts are also very popular these days.
Below, you will see photos and description of the cutting process.
More facets on the Pavilion
Here you can see that I have added more facets which makes the facet pattern more complex.
On a gem like this, I almost always improvise the faceting rather that following a standard pattern.
I begin with a standard pattern but since the shape can mean that a standard pattern won't fit the new stone very well, it becomes necessary to use creativity to alter the pattern in a manner which is sometimes unique for that gem.
Re-faceting the Crown
At left you can see the new main facets on the crown.
When re-faceting a stone, especially when changing the shape, it is almost always necessary to re-facet the crown also.
Sometimes we can get by with only partially recutting the crown.
