Cutting These Rare Gemstones Raw to Finished, Gem Silica

Gem Silica is a rare blue green variety of chalcedony that gets its coloring from the presence of copper. Some of the nicer quality material is found in Arizona. I received a couple of trimmed pieces to cut for Paul, owner of The Rare Rock Shop in Southern Utah. I go through the cutting process showing how I cut these gemstones.
Pages that I use for free faceting diagrams
facetdiagrams.org/
www.gemologyproject.com/wiki/...
Amazon Affiliate Links. Disclaimer: as part of Amazon's Associates program, I make a small commission off amazon sales through affiliate links. These are products that I use that can be found on Amazon.
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[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Not bad a bad turnout given the starting pieces!

[@SithMami]

All of that brilliantly-colored dust turned the pan turquoise!

[@user-po6xr9ec9m]

Really cool stuff. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Awesome, Thanks!

[@jeremiahembs5343]

I love chalcedony. Great job friend.

[@doriskarloff964]

Intriguing colour - very eye-catching. I love the finished shapes and faceting - they're beautiful.

[@CrimFerret]

I have a small cut piece of clean gem silica. It's an amazing color for a gem. It took a while to hunt a good sample down at the time.

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Nice! I imagine finding a really clean piece isn't all that easy.

[@hige1234]

great job!

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Beautiful work!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thank You!

[@lisapfeiffer2266]

I like your work which is why I subscribed. I find faceting gems fascinating. Just one thing....chalcedony is pronounced, Kal-SAID-dough-knee. Keep up the good work!

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

very cool, wouldn't have guessed they would be so clear after seeing the starting material

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Yeah, they aren't fully transparent, but they turned out with more transparency than I was even expecting.

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

@Matt's Corner of Gem Cutting right, night and day difference. Really surprised me.

[@thirtyeight92]

Great work dude. Keep it up!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thank You!

[@Petro250]

Love these vids

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thank you!

[@Rasta.]

Good job mate😊

[@IndusRiverRock]

Beautiful sharing 👍

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@rhondajones1313]

Looking good

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@user-dd3ef3hh7y]

Beautiful~

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@ShoonitStSinta]

THIS IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Algoldprospecting]

Nice work

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@nanaadjeitv5322]

Nice piece...

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks

[@oregonaje4827]

I like it!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@PembelajarMerdeka]

Wow beatiful

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks!

[@Sp3ncerSauc3]

I love the color. More clarity would be nice. Beautiful work!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thanks! A little more clarity would be wonderful in that material.

[@mahmodyahmady7280]

very good i like ask you how many price pef carat from Gem Silica ?

[@Muslimganteng]

Itu adalah batu bacan yang sangat terkenal dari indonesia😊

[@NobleArtDimensions]

Hi Matt, Thanks for the video. I was wondering if you had anymy tips on polishing botryoidal gem silica. Im getting a lot of undercutting which is a major bummer.

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Work you way through several grits: 600, 3k or 8k for pre-polish, then cerium oxide. Get your meets in with a good pre-polish will help the final polish go quickly while maintaining your meets. The cerium oxide isn't a cutting stage grit, so get you meets in before then.

[@NobleArtDimensions]

@@MattsCornerofGemCutting Thank you so much 🙂

[@brettmunn9313]

Hi Matt. I like your video. I feel you would have been better served cutting two ovals out of the first stone instead of having one stone with a big fault and inclusion running through the middle. Quality is more important than size every time IMHO. Cheers Lyrebird Qld Australia.

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

I would have done something like that if they were my pieces, but I cut them for someone else who cares more about them being large.

[@mahmodyahmady7280]

How hardness scale for gem silica and density too?

[@PetesShredder]

Would you ever do a diamond? Presumably they are harder and would be more difficult to cut? Plus the expense...

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

I don't know if I will with the tight control of diamonds and their high price to get rough. Cutting them honestly doesn't interest me that much. They are harder to cut and take some extra equipment to do. I'd rather cut moissanite.

[@shandusa]

Is that lap larger in diameter than others? Is seems large

[@w1ldn243]

Where did this stone origin from?

[@crucifyrobinhood]

KAL-SED-OH-KNEE for the love of god.

[@xonor13]

How much do the raw stones cost? Do you sell the finished stones after or just keep them for yourself?

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

I don't know how much raw gem silica costs. I haven't looked to buy any. These pieces belong to a guy who owns a rock shop here in Utah. I cut the pieces for him from some specimens that he had in his collection. And I don't know what the value of these pieces would be either. They went back to him so I haven't had a need to try finding a value for faceted gem silica. I do sell my own stones that I facet in my Etsy shop which has a link on my channel page.

[@JoyceChota-cc5iw]

How much per carat

[@amauripk6829]

😁

[@shahabdaryai1311]

👌👌👍👏👏👏👏🇮🇷

[@sulaimanachir5500]

is it the same as the type of Bacan stone, chrysocolla

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Gem Silica is a type of Chrysocolla

[@GeoRockNerd]

Bacan stone is Indonesian gem silica but is very susceptible to dehydrating and cracking. Gem silica is chalcedony colored by chrysocolla/copper mineral inclusions.

[@PotatoFaceBunny]

isn't silica like really toxic to inhale?

[@sgfwalterodimmm824]

Yes, he is risking silicosis.

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Yes, inhaling dust particles from silicas or quartz can lead to silicosis in the lungs. Using adequate water when cutting is important to keep the dust out of the air. This goes for more than just gem cutting. Construction workers run the same risk when cutting concrete which contains silicate materials. Using adequate water keeps the dust out of the air and basically eliminates the risk of getting silicosis.

[@szymonkierzenkowski7622]

what is that device he uses called

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Ultratec V5 Classic Faceting Machine

[@iyanmurdi3457]

Bacan???

[@sherlyquitat4858]

Can you cut my sunstone for ring?

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

That is something I can do. Message me through my Etsy. www.etsy.com/shop/MaxfieldLapidary?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=30124075&page=3#items

[@drknstodstny4141]

Good video and beautiful stones. One thought for your future videos. Instead of narrating and then giving us lap wheel grinding noises it might be nice to start by telling us a little and then as you grind/facet, mute that and narrate over that. Keep up the good work and I'll keep watching.

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Thank you for the suggestion!

[@zaubergarden6900]

looks like emerald with the inclusions

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Yeah, a little bit.

[@imansamisarengnurul4363]

Bacan Amerika

[@jekasolomon]

Is this not chrysoprase?

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Same family. Chrysoprase is chalcedony that gets its green color from the presence of nickel. Gem Silica is a more blue chalcedony that gets its color from copper.

[@kalyanbathula1657]

Hi sir

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Hi

[@benjaminmesa1089]

I think it's pronounced "Kal-ced-ony".

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

Do be careful with copper minerals. Copper (ii) is an inhalation hazard, as is silica!

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

Yep!

[@Beregorn88]

I honestly don't see the point of faceting a completely opaque gem...

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

I feel that, these pieces are translucent, not completely opaque. They don't have the transparency of what I typically like to cut. But I do have some people that have me cut completely opaque stones for them now and again.

[@anonymous-sus406]

Because he can

[@SpaceRanger187]

whats your email or contact info

[@MattsCornerofGemCutting]

That info is in the about section of my channel.