Faceting Diagrams - 34 Original Innovative Designs
Favorite Faceting Designs (12)
1 JW-656 Oval Brilliant
2 JW-255 Round
3 JW-615 Emerald Mixed
4 JW-1281 Cushion Emerald Brilliant
5 JW-231 Cushion Brilliant
6 JW-91 Square Brilliant
7 JW-668 Pear Brilliant
8 JW-388 Tourmaline
9 JW-397 Trillion Brilliant
10 JW-246 Marquise Brilliant
11 JW-1934 Heart Brilliant
12 JW-1678 Pentagon Brilliant 120x
Contender Faceting Designs (11)
1 JW-2237 Oval Portuguese
2 JW-1434 Round Brilliant
3 JW-174 Round Checker
4 JW-3714 Round Portuguese
5 JW-3688 Round Old European Cut
6 JW-303 Emerald
7 JW-3999 Emerald Brilliant
8 JW-3605 Emerald Mock Checker
9 JW-887 Cushion Emerald Mock Checker
10 JW-2571 Cushion Old Mine Cut
11 JW-4002 Tourmaline Mixed
Crown Faceting Designs (11)
1 JW-1081 Oval Crown Checker-A
2 JW-1076 Oval Crown Checker-AD
3 JW-1079 Oval Crown Rose Cut
4 JW-2915 Oval Crown Checker-TD
5 JW-2582 Oval Crown Checker-T
6 JW-1075 Round Crown Checker-A
7 JW-1624 Round Crown Dome
8 JW-1252 Round Crown Rose Cut
9 JW-3387 Round Crown Checker-T
10 JW-2089 Emerald Crown Checker-A
11 JW-332 Emerald Crown Checker-T
My Gems By John lapidary services business, started in 2003, focused on custom cutting colored gemstones. I cut fine natural rough stones into finished gems and repair worn gems to make them like-new. In the Fall of 2022, I closed my cutting services to free up time for other interests. But, this also allowed time to document these faceting diagrams. These are some of my favorite faceting designs I have cut over many years and many stones. Some are original designs, others are innovative faceting designs featuring refined cutting methods. I have cut more than 6000 gemstones and I have kept index cards with detailed notes for each stone: date, stone number, client name, gem type, color, clarity, weight, dimensions, faceting design or cutting angles & index settings.
One of my Favorite round faceting designs has no break facets. I use it to teach new faceting students and it makes a gorgeous round brilliant. From my perspective faceting most every variety of colored gemstone, I prefer the finished appearance of designs with no pavilion break facets or long narrow break facets. Because I struggled choosing one favorite for each shape, I added a few more favorite Contenders. My Crown faceting designs make great looking faceted cabochons or fancy tops on any faceted pavilion.
Testimonial
Apr2025: I received this comment "Hey John! Just wanted to tell you, I purchased your designs last year when I first started faceting, and even with the copious amounts of other designs I have now, yours are my go-to’s for when I cut. Super clean, bright, and simple designs that don’t require any change, so thank you so much!"
Gemstone Cutting Stats (Mar2023)
➢ gemstones cut = 6,128, faceted = 4,138, inlay & cabochons = 1,990, diamonds faceted = 1
➢ faceted: biggest = 82 mm, smallest = 0.75 mm, heaviest = 705 ct, lightest = 0.03 ct, hardest =
Diamond, softest = Carbon or Fluorite
➢ gemstone varieties faceted: natural = 64, synthetic = 12, rare earth elements = 12
My Favorite
✔ Gemstone: Garnet for its ease of cutting and polishing, wide range of colors, finished brilliance,
and durability in jewelry; and Jelly Opal another favorite for their vivid colors
✔ Faceting Design: Square Cushion
✔ Faceting Machine: Imperial Gem Instruments Alpha Taurus
✔ Cabochon Machine: Diamond Pacific Pixie
✔ Trim Saw: Graves Co. Cab-Mate
✔ Cutting Lap: solid copper lap charged with diamond powder 325g side-1, 600g side-2
✔ Polishing Lap: Lightning Lap Diamond D'Light 1200 diamond topper, not technically a
polishing lap but works on lots of troublesome stones
My Least Favorite
✗ Gemstone (for polishing): Topaz because I have never found a repeatable polishing method
Although, I do like topaz for their durability and finished appearance
✗ Faceting Design: Standard Round Brilliant - great for diamonds, bad for colored stones
✗ Faceting Machine: Generic Chinese mast style
✗ My Nemesis: Kunzite the one stone I can not cut because of their sensitivity to fracturing
"They" say cut Kunzite with a fine lap. I tried. Nothing works.
✗ Gemstone Shape: Pear because of its unsightly scintillation
✗ Cutting Lap: 3000g because they scratch more than cut
✗ Polishing Lap: ultra-Lap because they have ineffective oxide polish.
Faceted Gemstones
Natural: Adventurine, Amber, Andralucite, Apatite, Benitoite, Beryl – Aquamarine, Beryl – Bixbite, Beryl – Emerald, Beryl – Goshinite, Beryl – Golden, Beryl – Morganite, Chrome Diopside, Corundum: Alexandrite, Padparacha, Ruby, Sapphire; Crysoberyl, Danburite, Diamond, Feldspar: Sunstone, Feldspar, Moonstone, Orthoclase; Fluorite, Garnet: Almandine, Demantoid, Hessonite, Pyrope, Rhodolite, Spessartite, Tsavorite; Granite, Iolite, Lapis, Larimar, Meteorite, Meteorite Doublet, Moldavite, Nuummite, Obsidian, Orthoclase, Peridot, Pezzotaite, Prehnite, Psilomelane, Rhodochrosite, Scapolite, Spinel, Tanzanite (Zoisite), Topaz: Topaz, Imperial; Tourmaline: Indicolite, Paraiba, Tourmaline, Rubellite; Turquoise, Quartz: Agate, Amethyst, Ametrine, Chalcedony, Citrine, Carnelian, Herkimer Diamond, Desert Diamond, Cape May Diamond, Ethiopian Opal, Flint, Jade, Jadeite, Jasper, Hyalite Opal, Opal, Onyx, Fire/Jelly/Mexican Opal, Rose, Milky, Smoky, Tiger Eye, Verde; Zircon
Synthetic: Corundum: Alexandrite, Laser Rod, Padparacha, Sapphire, Ruby; Cubic Zirconia (CZ), Glass: Soda Ash, Leaded Glass; Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG), Crystal Dog Ash, Crystal Mount St. Helen obsidian, Moissanite, Opal, Plastic, Strontium Titanate, Super 7, Quartz: Amethyst; Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG), Zincite
Elements: Bismuth, Carbon, Cobalt, Copper, Gold, Magnesium, Nickel, Silver, Titanium, Tungsten, Zinc
Lapidary Machines
Faceting Machines: Imperial Gem Instruments Alpha Taurus; Jarvi Tool Co Facetron; Fac-Ette
Gem Master; Graves Co. Mark IV, Mark I, Mark V; Raytech Shaw Faceter; Sterling Gems &
Lapidary ST08 UltraTec V2
Cabochon Machines: Diamond Pacific Pixie, Genie
Trim Saws: Graves Co Cab-Mate, other trim saws
Key: Apex: top Center Point; Brilliant: cut with bottom Center Point; C: Crown; Crown: top of the stone; CP: Center Point; Colored Stones: all gemstones not diamonds; Culet facet: bottom facet cut parallel to the Girdle; C-axis: a crystal’s longest direction; G: Girdle facets forming the stone shape; Keel: bottom edge, forming a line not a point; Meet: junction of 2 facets; Mixed Cut: combination of brilliant kite facets and parallel row step facets; P: Pavilion; Pavilion: bottom of the stone; Table: top center facet parallel with the girdle