Here is the first stone cut using the new fantasy machine. It is a 12.1 mm., 7.11 carat rose quartz hexagon with concave facets on both pavilion and crown.
For faceting demonstrations at the local club shows, I typically want something that is big enough for visitors to see, but inexpensive enough that I won’t be upset when working in less than ideal conditions (distractions!) results in mistakes. Lemon citrine and rose quartz seem to be what I end of choosing for these situations.
Since I had a number of pieces of rose quartz pre-formed from a chunk I acquired for just that purpose last year from Steve Ulatowski / New Era Gems, I am working with that for the “learning experiences” I know I am going to have getting used to new equipment and cutting options. It was a good choice — on this piece I had several “oops” happenings ranging from rolling off the mandrel (had it turning the wrong way) to running off the end of the mandrel (did not check the mast position adequately).