Gem cutting in Zamia
Gem cutting in Zambia
Although Zambia is a major gemstone producing country supplying the world with top-quality emerald, aquamarine, tourmaline and many other types of gemstones there is no tradition for gem cutting. So far gemstones faceted by local craftsmen were poorly cut and polished.
LUKUSUZIRIVER.COM has started to develop a gem cutting workshop in Zambia equipped with an Imahashi faceting machine for pre-cutting, a custom-made precision faceting machine, a laptop with licensed versions of cut design software (GemCad and GemRay) and a trained cutter.
Our gem cutter has been thoroughly trained by a professional gem cutter from Germany for 5 weeks in June and July 2014. The training included learning the development and adjustment of cutting design and practising the precise cutting and polishing to achieve ideal proportions, perfect symmetry and an excellent polish of the facets.
From now on more and more of our gemstones are being precisely faceted in Zambia.
Since July 2014 our gem cutting workshop in Zambia works with a precision faceting machine.
The heart of the machine is a hand piece with exchangeable index gears with a fine adjustment mechanism. Angles can be adjusted to a precision of 0.1°.
The hand piece rests on a steel bar and is moved over a vertically spinning grinding wheel. This system is universally adjustable and very robust.
Careful working and frequent checking are vital for precise gem cutting.
With just a few turns the faceting machine is transformed into a diamond saw.