My Mate is an Exceptional Faceter, as I stated in the spinel thread he has 39 years experience and has moved on from cutting competitions to judging the competitions. He charges $40 AUD per ct, plus you pay for registered shipping (Insurance or express service is optional if required) I know a lot of American cutters charge more based off the type of cut or the material and extra if you want it calibrated there is another charge. He feels those "extras" are rubbish and charges a flat rate no matter what stone, however there is a minimum charge of $25 a stone as even a 0.05ct stone will take over 1.5 hours to cut. (Note most gemstone are cut to optimal size and sometimes calibrating will lose a bit of expensive material but if you require that for easier setting it can be catered too!) An example of what an American cutter charges can be seen here: http://www.gemcutter.com/service.htm (Please note that I have never used this service so I can't comment on it but for those prices I assume it would be top quality cutting like my mates) His rates are quite good when compared to American cutters (Oversees such as Thai/Indian, etc will be much cheaper but the quality is not guaranteed as they cut for speed and weight generally without regard to orientation, optimal angles, meet points and polish) Also remember that some stones will take 6 to 8 hours so the fee is well below Australian Minimum wage, If he didn't love doing it he would be better off working at Macca's. Please remember that the quality of the finish gem will still depend on the rough that's sent; he can't cut flawless gems out of included material and despite his best effort cannot be held responsible if the stone fractures or breaks during cutting as some flaws that cause it can't be seen until its to late. He has had a few stones break on him but over 39 years I think that's pretty good since he has cut thousands. You can expect a yield of 15-25% of the stone, however If the stone is shaped nicely the yield could be higher. The cutting fee is based off of the Finished stone weight, So if you have a nice stone you found or has some significance or just curious to see how it comes out Send me a PM! Please note that I quickly snapped a few photos of some of the stones it was dark and not the best quality as the stones look much nicer in person but gives you an idea of the cuts he is capable of! Also not all stones were shot at a good angle as I was just doing box shots (Pretty much everything but concave and fantasy as they require different Faceting machines (also some stones have some fuzzies from the case but they are not actual flaws in the stone)
I wish those were all mine lol they all belong to my mate! Did you facet all those stones yourself? I've only done a few as I don't have the equipment and it takes me ages :lol:
Both Aquamarines are Emerald cut, the Pink Tourmaline is a Barion Scissor and the Amethyst is your standard round brilliant!
Thanks Chip! They are however not for sale, they take me so long to do (sometimes redo and redo and redo till I get my meets lol) and are all special to me! (Plus family and friends already want some and I honestly can't even cut fast enough for gifts for them lol) If you are after anything in Particular let me know (here or PM) and I could probably get my mate to cut it for you if he doesn't already have one! (or depending on how hard it is to get the rough)