Learn Gemcutting at Home

If you can't make it to our two week Faceting Bootcamp course, then this class is the next best thing. This video class will present everything you need to know to get started with faceting over the course of 8 hours.

Even if you know nothing about faceting at all, this course will introduce you to all the basic concepts like the tools, the machine, a healthy cutting posture, balancing the Handpiece and then a thorough and easy to understand step by step walkthrough in faceting. You will finish this course with a beautiful round brilliant stone that you cut yourself!

Clear Images and Guidance

As you progress through your lapidary journey, you will easily be able to understand every step of the cutting process with high quality video and images of each stage of cutting.

Throughout the video class, the camera switches to a close-up view of the stone so you can see it clearly at each step and can easily compare the stone that you are cutting with the stone on the screen. Along with these macro shots, Justin's clear instructions and tips will make your cutting adventure easier and with less errors.

What You Will Learn

  • 1

    Faceting Foundations 1 : Introduction and Setup - 2 Hours

    • Introduction

    • Tools

    • Loupe and Posture

    • Machine Modifications

    • Balancing the Handpiece: Left to Right

    • Balancing the Handpiece: Front to Back

    • Using the Handpiece
  • 2

    Faceting Foundations 1 : Round Brilliant - 6 Hours

    • Preforming

    • Dopping

    • Cutting the Crown Part 1

    • Cutting the Crown Part 2

    • Polishing Theory

    • Polishing Mechanics

    • Polishing Crown Part 1

    • Reattaching a Lost Stone

    • Polishing the Crown Part 2

    • Transferring the Stone

    • Cutting the Pavilion

    • Polishing the Pavilion

    • Cleaning the Finished Stone

Faceting Foundations 1 is part of the
Faceting Fundamentals course group

This first block of four courses teaches you all the essential skills you need to competently facet a stone: Understanding all the aspects of the handpiece machine, understanding how to manipulate the geometry of facets through the handpiece plate and cheater, polishing theory, wax dopping, glue transfers, and much more. These four courses and the designs that are cut in them serve as the foundation upon which the rest of the courses are built.

  • Faceting Foundations 1

    Discover all the essential information you need to get started as a gemcutter before beginning your first cutting project: the round brilliant.

  • Faceting Foundations 2

    Begin your second cutting project, the square step cut, while also learning more advanced foundational cutting techniques.

  • Hand Preforming

    Learn the traditional techniques for making the perfect hand-shaped outlines to prepare yourself for ovals, cushions, and fancy shapes.

  • Mastering the Mixed Cut

    Add to the techniques you've already learned during your next two projects, the oval and cushion mixed cuts, and complete your foundational training.

What You Will Need

The Faceting Apprentice courses require that you have a basic home faceting studio in order to follow along with the courses

  • A Faceting Machine; Handpiece or Mast-type

  • All the necessary tools for wax dopping, glue transfers, cutting and polishing laps, and more.

  • See our Studio Setup Guide video for a complete walkthrough on what you need.