Continue Your Faceting Adventure

Picking up where Faceting Foundations 1 ended, this 2.5 hour class is all about the step cut. Now that you know how to use the faceting machine and the necessary tools, we dive straight into a new lesson. How to cut a step cut, which includes an extensive lesson in how to use the cheater.

The cheater is an important part of the faceters toolkit, and is something that we didn't use or discuss much in the previous Foundation 1 course. The step cut is the design that really utilizes the cheater in order to get perfectly straight facet tier lines, so we will get a lot of practice and a good lesson in cheating in this course.

Working Around Cracks and Inclusions

Faceting Foundations 2 discusses the obstacles of cutting a new type of stone, garnet. Through the durations of the class, we will discuss how to deal with stones breaking and the process of working around a fracture or crack.

You can following along with my, step by step, and finish the class with a beautiful square step cut stone, and the knowledge to be able to adapt the design to different lengths from square to rectangle.

What You Will Learn

  • 1

    Faceting Foundations 2 : Step Cut - 3.5 Hours

    • Introduction

    • Examining the Rough

    • Preforming

    • Dopping

    • Cutting the Crown

    • Polishing Mechanics

    • Polishing the Crown

    • Transferring the Stone

    • Cutting the Pavilion

    • Polish the Pavilion

    • Fixing a Broken Corner

    • Using the Cheater

    • Conclusion

Faceting Foundations 2 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.