Finishing The Stones

Once the selection has been made of what stones to work with, they need to be prepared to be cut and prepared for completion, Every stone has some special feature that wants to be emphasized and we try to find that in each one we work with. All work is done in water which helps the special feature stand out. If a special shape can be cut without losing the colors or designs, we will try to do that, but usually the stones have their own personalities they want followed, and we must follow their directions.

Polishing the Stones

After a rock has been cut into smaller slabs, they must be polished, which can take a very long time to do, as we do it is all done by hand. Polishing the raw stones is also done in water. Sometimes some stones just do not like “cooperating” when being worked on, but when things go right, a beautiful gemstone is the result. We do not own a tumbler as that is an entirely different way to polish and can only be used on certain types of stones. The final step to completing the stones is a final polish to bring out the colors of each stone. Some stones really love to shine and others require even more attention to get the great shine, such as putting a resin on the surface for extra shine or protection from damage while being worn. The final steps are completing them with Sterling Silver.