I had some time over the weekend to cut a couple of new stones – a horrific Mahenge Spinel that was a nightmare to cut, first having a hidden crack and then shedding chunks while cutting. It survived but with a few scars, not the least of which is a severely over-cut table. But it is a very pretty and sparkly pink. It also gave me an excuse to use my new RedWing+5 lap, which worked with flying colours.
The sadistic 1.2 ct Mahenge Spinel from hell...
The other stone is a completely stunning Afghan blue tourmaline. The piece of rough was gorgeous but as I was cleaning and skinning it, it started to show stress fractures developing. I quickly preformed the stone, dopped it and proceeded to cut it as fast as I could. The result is the breath-taking stone below.
Rough 9.19 ct Afghan Blue Tourmaline from Lisa Elser
3.2 ct Faceted Afghan Blue Tourmaline
Not sure what I’m going to do with this tourmaline, but it definitely deserves a place of honor in my collection.