Custom Orders and Commissions

Yes, I most certainly do custom orders and commissions.

If you have some gem rough that you want faceted and polished to the highest level, done in styles and designs that will increase the value of your gems and set them apart from all others, then that's where I can help.

I also have a wide range of rough available and if I don't have that right piece, I can certainly do my best to source it.

How It Works

Get in touch with me and and let me know what you are looking for. Email is usually the best way. There are so many different communications channels these days (like email, SMS text messages, Facebook, Instagram, phone, etc) that it's hard to keep track of things and enquiries can get overlooked. If you've sent me an enquiry but haven't received a reply after three or four days, please send me another email to follow up. I do my best to reply to all enquiries but sometimes things simply get overlooked.

I'll need to know the type of stone (eg. sapphire, aquamarine, etc) you have in mind or have that you want cut, colour, shape and/or design, size in mm (eg. 9x9mm, 10x12mm, etc). I'll also need to know whether you will be providing your own rough material. If you have examples of the type of gem or design, either as pics or links then please include them in your email. If you have a budget then that can be useful to know as well.

I have a wide range of top quality rough, some of which can be found here to whet your appetite. This is only a small selection of what I have available and new material is always being procured. However, whilst I try my best to keep my website uptodate, some of this rough shown may well have been cut since.

I also have a number of designs online to give you an idea of whats available, however this is only a fraction of the designs you can choose from. I have literally thousands in my library plus I can even create your own unique gem design if you wish.

Inspecting and Assessing Your Rough

If you are providing your own rough material for a job or wishing to get material assessed, say for example a piece of sapphire that you found, then one of the first things I'll ask for are some pictures of the material from a number of different angles. I'll need an idea of the size and weight if you know it. Please include a ruler in some of the pictures so that I can get an idea of the size and attach these pics to your initial email.

Understand that it is difficult to know just from pics whether a piece of rough is suitable for cutting and just what size and shape it will cut. Ideally I will need to see the rough in the hand before I can suggest any cutting options and and what the costs will be, however I can in some instances provide a ballpark figure but this is not final and is subject to change once I see the rough in the hand. I need to inspect and assess the rough to determine where any inclusions and flaws are located and to thus determine the best shape/design to suit the stone. I tend not to cut anything under 4mm for various reasons so you'll need a piece of rough that at a minimum is around 4 carats. Keep in mind that it may well be that your rough stone is simply not suitable for cutting, it might be too full of cracks and flaws and just not gem quality. If this is the case then that's what I'll tell you.

Once I've inspected your rough I will send you an email with cutting options (ie. best shape/design, estimated size, expected clarity, etc) and costs. If you decide at that point not to proceed thats perfectly ok. You are under no obligations to have your rough cut. There will be a fee for time, handling, inspection, return postage, etc which will need to be paid before your rough is returned. This also applies if your gem rough simply wasn't suitable for cutting due to low grade, flaws, cracks, etc.

If you only want your rough inspected and not cut then I'm happy to have a look at it and let you know what you've got, which ones are cutters and which are rubbish. There will be a charge for inspection and assessment. The charge will vary depending on quantity and other factors so when you get in touch make sure to include some pics and any details about the stones that you might have. This will help me work out a quote.

Cutting Rates

Cutting rates and costs are job specific. If I'm cutting your rough then I usually don't provide final quotes until I see the rough material and had a chance to assess it, however I can sometimes give a ballpark idea. Same if you are wanting a gem recut, repolished or repaired. I can usually give you a good estimate but final quote will be provided once I inspect the gem.

I do not charge a $ per carat rate based on finished cut weight with the possible exception for large stones. There are some gemcutters that do and that's their prerogative. If you've been looking around and contacting various gemcutters in Australia and around the world you will very quickly discover that every one of us will have our own way of charging work and associated rates. There will always be cheap gemcutters and those that are not. All gems are not cut equal. If you're asking why a particular gemcutter is more expensive then others, I'd say you're asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking yourself is why are the others so cheap. As with all things in life, you get what you pay for. I've seen gems that have been cut on the cheap and, well, the results are pretty much what you'd expect. I've had to recut more then a few of these gems to fix them up.

If you are looking for a gemcutter to work your material, some things you might ask or check are :

1. With round brilliants, ovals, cushions and the like, do they facet the girdle or smooth it around. Both are fine and a personal choice but faceting the girdle takes longer.

2. Do they polish the girdle? There are gemcutters that do not polish the girdle because they consider the girdle unimportant or think that it'll probably be hidden by the bezel setting. This is very poor practise. Additionally, look for a level girdle. A nice even level girdle is a sign of a well cut stone with the cutter paying attention to the process.

3. What do they do their final polish at? I use 100K diamond girt which gives a superb finish especially on sapphire. Many use 50K which gives a reasonable finish and they would say there is no difference but I think differently. Beware there are some which only finish at 14K. This is unacceptable and poor practise. This is the grade that you expect from overseas cutting factories if you're lucky, not precision cutters.

4. See if there are examples, pics, etc of their work. Have a look at their Instagram page if they have one. Check meetpoints on the facets. There will never be prefect meets on every single facet but they should still be pretty good. If the cutting and meets look sloppy especially around the table then that's a sign that they are not paying attention, not caring enough or simply rushing the stone.

If you have any questions please contact me.



Hope this all helps. :-)

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