We met with Michael Beach, our dealer in the UK (why does "UK" sound funny? when "US" sounds OK - even "OK" sounds OK). Michael Beach, a faceter himself, got his FGA degree in 1960, and has been in the Lapidary equipment business for over 30 years - about the same amount of time that Ultra Tec has been in business - so he knows the field, and, he has that many years of good stories! - including that among his customers and students he counts members of the Royal Family. We are very happy to have him representing Ultra Tec - UK cousins can reach M.L. Beach Ltd. at 0181 892 0409.

We also met with Ultra Tec representatives Hubert Heldner and Katerina Kestermont, of Switzerland. Their shop is in Montreaux, an exceptionally beautiful location on the shores of Lake Geneva. They are jewellery designers - and they conduct faceting classes. The class is one day of concentrated work, limited to three students. The student is provided a very good piece of rough - a tourmaline, or aquamarine - so that the student takes home a gem of real value, offsetting the cost of the class. It's an interesting (and successful) approach to teaching, by interesting and talented teachers.

For those of you who might consider going there, their address is: Artistes des Bijoux, Grand Rue 83, 1820 Montreux - tel: 021 963 8977/ fax 8978).

A SHOW DEMO.

At our booth, Gary Brown, a pro cutter from St. Louis, asked if he could use an Ultra Tec right there - to cut an Ultra-marine. It was a welcome idea. Gary had a BIG piece of rough - a 150 carat Aquamarine, with a "user friendly" shape. To maximize the yield, he cut an original design - a step cut which yielded 75 carats (the photo gives you a good idea of its size - l wish the photo could show you what a handsome stone it is). It's obviously an investment stone (too big for a pinky ring).

The "demo" lead to good conversation - on two subjects:

WHAT TYPE OF GEM MATERIAL SHOULD A FACETER CUT ?:

The idea was put forward that faceting time should be spent cutting "good material" (that is, relatively expensive material), and almost never inexpensive material - like quartz. The idea was endorsed by the professional cutters present, including Paul Javery, from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and Hubert Heldner of Switzerland.

I think anyone must concede their logic - from a financial standpoint, it's obviously correct: since the value of a cut stone is some multiplier of the value of the rough, the time spent cutting expensive material generates more money than the same amount of time spent on relatively inexpensive material.

There are many faceters, however, for whom the goals and rewards of faceting are not primarily financial. I fit better in this group myself (actually, much of my faceting is in evaluation of equipment - and I use quartz most of the time). Nevertheless, as many of you know, it had long been my advice to cut the best material that you can afford (is it possible that I am one of the few people in the world who preach one thing and do another?). But, the discussions made me think - and inspired me to buy some nice tourmaline rough - yes, expensive (expensive in my mind). And I love having those stones, even if I never sell them.

In the process, I also relearned something about buying rough: when you are ready to actually exchange your hard-earned cash for a rock, you become an instant expert on selecting good material - detecting flaws, estimating yield, etc.

POLISHING.

Subject two was POLISHING. This, of course, is a frequent discussion. This time, the discussers - all pro's - were unanimous. They all endorsed using the polishing lap that Gary used - a Zinc Lap (I never used one before - I do now). Zinc Laps have been around - but until recently I'd mostly heard them recommended for CZ. But those pro's surprised me by recommending Zinc as the best "general purpose" polishing lap (looking back over my notes, I see that Paul Javery mentioned that it's not always effective with Quartz, but that hasn't been my subsequent experience). As we watched Gary Brown in action with the Zinc lap, he got impressive results in polishing his large aquamarine.

Before using the Zinc lap, it was prepared by scoring the surface with radiating scratches - put in with a 260 grit Silicon Carbide paper) - and of course, well cleaned with water. Then, a film of light oil was applied to the surface (like a light mineral oil), and a spray diamond applied (Gary used 14000). Contrary to the polish slowly rule, the lap was run fast, about 700 RPM (about "7" on the speed control dial). You can "hear" and "feel" the polish come in. Is this the final end-all of polishing discussions? - don't bet the farm on it - but Zinc is what I've used most recently, with happy results.

Incidentally, if you remember several newsletters back, there was the recommendation to follow any diamond polish (even a 50000 diamond polish) with a "kiss" on an Aluminium Oxide Ultra Lap - that recommendation still holds - the bit of "haze" vanishes.

SEMINARS.

Avid readers of this newsletter (can one be avid about a once-a-year newsletter?) know that I've been recommending attendance to faceting seminars. Last summer's Southern California Faceting Seminar, in Riverside, certainly lived up to high standards. Glenn Klein-with the help of his wife Rhoda and the other members of the SC Faceters Guild - did a super job of organizing the seminar. I was unable to attend all of the lectures, but I was particularly impressed by John Sinkankas, who discussed mineral crystal systems and their effect on cutting any particular stone - does that sound dry? It wasn't (that's the chapter in the book that I always skipped - but he gave life to it - and sent me back to my reading). The Seminar deservedly drew attendees from all over the USA, and I welcomed a chance to chat with Ultra Tec Dealers Dr. Granville Tabb from Mississippi and Art Grant from upstate New York.

SEMINAR COMING UP
There's a seminar coming up next month, Midwest Faceters Guild style, in Hartland, Michigan. It's a 3-day event, August 22 (evening), 23, and 24. The format consists of classes at several levels ranging from beginner on up - you do your faceting under an expert instructor's guidance. This year's staff consists of an impressive line-up of faceters, many of them award-winners - including Don Dunn, Bill Gardiner and Bill Horton (to mention people previously highlighted in the "Some Times"). And, several lectures will be given by Dr. Kurt Nassau - you probably have read some of his articles in Lapidary Journal.

If you can, go to this Seminar. As someone who went several years ago, l can tell you: it would be impossible for you not to learn and impossible not to have fun. Tell 'em Joe sent you.

For details - cost, lodging, program, etc, call: Bill Horton 517 546 2159, or, Bill Gardiner 517 655 3608, or, Arizona Rice 810 463 5972, or, Kathleen Myers 517 624 9178.

WHAT'S NEW?
I had once written an article, "Transfer Techniques", which explained how monoblock (machined out of one piece) designs are inherently more accurate than designs that have a sliding V-block - and they are. Ultra Tec at that time was delivering a monoblock design. We stopped sending out that article when we replaced our monoblock design with a sliding-V-block one, necessitated (I thought) by the keyed dop system.

There was a short period, however, right when we introduced the keyed-dop system, during which we continued to supply a monoblock. It was used with slides that fit the V and in turn held the dops. Some people found it difficult to manipulate those pieces, however, and we replaced it with, a sliding-block design. But, the possibility of combining keyed dops with a monoblock Transfer Fixture continued to rattle around in my mind. It was a matter of ironing out the "details" - isn't it always? - and we did.