QuestionQUESTION: Hello, I have gone and bought a good rock tumbler/polisher. I have about a half a pound turning as we speak. So are right clean where others are still incased in the black rock. My thoughts were if I use the course grit longer it will turn out better? I have some really nice rubys and garnets as well. I just do not know what all I can put together one, two am I going about it the right way by cleaning and polishing these Emeralds? I figured it is because its the only way I know to grind of the black. As well smooth and get it ready for sale to someone that cuts stone. I have one pc. in there that has to be atleast 120 kts? Has two lines of black running thru it though. I know the less black spots the the gem ,the more the value. By polishing like this am I messing up? As I said every rock in the tub is emerald not anything else except the grit. Please tell me what you think?
Kind regards,
Charles
ANSWER: Charles,
The way I clean up rough is by sawing and grinding off the parts that are not gem material. I use a flat lap 180 grit diamond.
I hope this helps you.
Regards,
Steven D.Covey
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QUESTION: Steven,
Sounds like a plan for next time. I already strated the tumbling over 24 hours ago. Will the grit not wear some or all of that down? For me I`m a noob 1st time.I tried looking at it like that but a lot of emerald may be under that black and am scared to cut it wrong?. I thank you for the info next time I go get a batch I`ll do it that way. Give it a try.By polishing the stones with all emeralds will it bring any clarity too it? That`s all I have for you.
Thak you & best regards,
Charles
AnswerHello again,
The thing about just about all rough is this. What you see is pretty much what you get. Emerald crystals are very self evident, if they are high quality. If they look bad, then they probably are. No amount of polish will change that. Yes there can be crystals in the matrix that are not showing. This would require special care to break up the matrix or sawing to expose the crystals. Once exposed they are either gem quality or not, it should be easy to tell. Crystals that have black or white material in them and no clear areas are pretty much junk.
In other words they need to look like green clear glass. Most emerald do have flaws however and are either oiled or epoxyed to fill the cavities (there are some that need no treatment). This makes them look more flawless which is accepted in the trade unless dye is added to enhance the color. This would not be acceptable.
I hope this helps you out.
Regards,
Steven D.Covey
