⭐ Show Us Your Cut Stones - Before And After Photos

[shivan]

The stone is dark but in good sunlight you get the same effect. With light from the top it looks red but with the sun at the back it looks purple. Was just very unexpected, but looks cool

 

[shivan]

Not a true before and after, but a little synthetic rough and a modified old mine cut i did from it.
Still need a bit more work on the meets, but i think i am finally seeing where i have been going wrong.

 

[silver]

Enough red there for a laser . 8)

 

[Kingsolomon]

Try a piece of tracing paper to diffuse the light when taking photos , takes out the glare and shows the stones features easier without the piercing glare the camera picks up nice work , keep at it . Thumbs up for new laps eh?

 

[shivan]

Cheers for the tip, will give it a go for the next photos.
The new laps feel a lot better than the old crystalite phenolic laps i had been using, but apart from that i do not have a lot to compare them to. So far so good though.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Try a piece of tracing paper to diffuse the light when taking photos , takes out the glare and shows the stones features easier without the piercing glare the camera picks up nice work , keep at it . Thumbs up for new laps eh?

The glare is hard. I use a large yogurt container with the bottom cut off. Going to try a polariser too. Next problem I have noticed is what looks like extinction but worked out it's the reflection of my compact camera. Scored an Olympus Pen EP-2 with lens for $140 off ebay last week. I need a good score on a macro lens now. Probably cost more than the camera.

 

[GallicProspector]

I love Zircon!
Found in GG, was around 3ct with a perfect shape for a pear, hence the 1.7ct finished stone (rough was like a preform).

 

[Kingsolomon]

Been a while since anyone put something up , so for interests sake I'll post this 2carat Malaya colour shift garnet . Can see a bit of the shift from reddish purple to orange gold in one photo , much more dramatic from daylight to indoor .

 

[Lefty]

Very nice stones. I gave up posting in these spots because I gave up trying to take photos of my stones that could even remotely give an impression of what they looked like to the eye.

 

[Little gem hunter]

Hi every one Very nice gems there don't stop putting them up here great to look at and always good to see . going gem hunting today so hopefully I will fine something .dad got told a spot .so I am hoping to show yous something tonight.keep showing those gems??
Thank yous
little gem hunter

 

[Mr Magoo]

Been a while since anyone put something up , so for interests sake I'll post this 2carat Malaya colour shift garnet . Can see a bit of the shift from reddish purple to orange gold in one photo , much more dramatic from daylight to indoor . https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/578/1470403761_image.jpg
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/578/1470403838_image.jpg

I like those Malaya with their colour shift. Aren't too badly priced either.

Very nice stones. I gave up posting in these spots because I gave up trying to take photos of my stones that could even remotely give an impression of what they looked like to the eye.

You have too diffuse the light. At the moment I use a yogurt container. As close in as you can get - but be aware the stone reflects the camera. And don't hold the camera, put it on something and use the timer.
Look at other set up's. KS has used a reflective surface which gives it more dimension - looks good. Then it's just practice and perseverance. I think KS would second that. Once you start getting those nice sharp images of the stones. You start to notice the nice sharp images of dust as well. Still trying to figure that out.

I've just recently upgraded from a compact to an ebay mirror-less Olympus with 120mm lens. So now when I take a shot the camera can be a decent distance away so reducing the reflection of the camera ,which makes dark areas on the stone, but I can still fill the frame.
Although this has generated a new problem as with the compact I could balance it on stuff using the macro setting and timer. Now with the the bigger camera that's not so easy so now I have to buy a tripod. . Then it's lights. But up til now I have only used stuff found around the house.

 

[Lefty]

Thanks Mr Magoo. I've heard a lot of tips but I've never really gotten round to trying them all out. My camera seems unable to perceive the stone the way the eye sees it. At a distance it comes reasonabley close but then the stone is too far away in the photo. Any attempt to zoom in - even the tiniest amount - immediately causes the camera to ignore the central object and focus only on the background. Move the camera physically close enough and it blocks the light. You can direct light on it from any other angle but the camera simply does not see it the way the eye sees it. I finished this little sapphire this morning, from a mate's old lease at Reward (same bloke who did the kookaburra shell). It's a little parti, a light, bright green-yellow with a flash of blue - it's a very brightly coloured, brilliantly reflective stone to my eye but the camera sees it as dull blackish green.

This is the best photo I could get of it...

 

[Mr Magoo]

Good point. Forgot to add that bit. I have to switch to manual focus for the same reason. So I think if you can't manual focus you will struggle.

The blocking the light thing is a problem. And part of my excuse of buying a camera with a big focal length so I could get back to allow light in. Which is perhaps what would help with the pic of the Saph.
TBH most pics of my stones are pretty average. I just keep banging my head against a wall until I get it to work - plain stubborn. Then usually I figure out what helps. Although remembering the next time seems to be the problem.

This is a dirty old CZ I cut and TBH the pic doesn't do it justice but still looks pretty cool - well at least in my totally biased opinion. Excuse the short and curly's. Compact camera and yogurt pot as a diffuser.

 

[Lefty]

Very nice stone there Mr Magoo What's the design? The little sapph and Barney's garnet are probably the same design - Squartugese - if not something very similar (Chrysanthemum?) but when I realized just how small it would turn out I didn't bother with the additional facets, some of them would have been tiny dots. Left the third tier of crown steps off as well. It would make a very nice stone for a thin, dainty ring.

I spend so much time faceting, cabbing and fossicking that I've never gotten around to seriously trying to improve my stone photography but I guess I can't really keep putting it off.

 

[Kingsolomon]

We'll .... I did ok with a smartphone , just put the stone on something white and use your faceting lamp over it . Not bad photos some pro facetors only use this ,yet , if you want better gear / photos , I find things get more difficult . After forking out a couple of grand you have to make it work time consuming , still phones can do ok . I'm still experermenting . A lot off stones I see are heavily lit and probably wouldn't look like that in person . I find that decieving and try and avoid it at all costs . Holding the stone in a grip will result in pot luck , support the camera and photo a still stone, not waving about in your hand . My two cents .

 

[Kingsolomon]

I had to wire up down lights to fit globes I wanted , and havnt found exactly what I am happy with yet .

 

[Mr Magoo]

It's called the 'Robin Cut'. It's actually an apex crown.

I'd like more time to facet but too many other things happening - or not. I have just bought one of R2C's sintered laps that I want to try out. Got a split boule of blue corrundum/Sapphire to give it a run on. Prefer the real stuff but this is a design that needs a stone way bigger than I could ever afford. And no chance of fossicking for it either, too far to travel.

 

[Mr Magoo]

That's the sort of set up I'm aiming for KS. Fortunately I got the camera stupidly cheap. I keep hoping to find a cheap, relative to the camera, tripod as well.

I agree you can get reasonable pics with cheap and/or convenient stuff. But I guess when I spend hours trying my best to get the cut right, I want it to look it's best in an image also. But sometimes the cutting is the easy bit.

 

[Kingsolomon]

No worries magoo, post was sorta aimed at helping lefty your stones and photos are looking good . Don't skimp on the tripod , I got a manfrotto three way head , definatly worth it for about $250 on ebay . Easy to adjust ever so slightly . Didn't think that would be necessary , but as the table faces up a different angles due to diff pavillion or size or whatever , I'm always tweaking it . So that's something to consider . Had a cheapo that was a nightmare , so essentially bought two . Don't make the same mistake ! I hang a counterweight from under it to get it to sit real steady too .

 

[Mr Magoo]

Rats... I have literally just bought cheap and nasty new Slik. Aarrhhhhh!! I only paid $135 for an Olympus PEN ep2 which was why I struggled paying more for the tripod. Trouble was didn't know something like the manfrotto will make that much difference. Guess I do now hehe. Thanks any hoo's for the heads up.