“The Romance of the Stone?!”

 

 

-        excitement at having found a special piece of rough that asks for faceting

-        carefulness to get the right design for the rough

-        caution by previewing the new design on GemCad first

-        fear to start new designs or try different types of stones

-        bravery to just do it

-        patience to remove the initial surplus rough and reach the centre point and stone size

-        decision-making, constantly, as how best to dop, size of stone, depth of cut, etc, etc, etc

-        trust to follow the diagram, sometimes with no clue as to where you are actually going

-        surprise and relief when suddenly a few cuts down the line, the whole design comes together

-        concentration on accuracy in cutting at all stages

-        thrill of cutting crisp tiers of facets on the stone

-        discipline to go back and re-cut when you make a mistake

-        tenacity to keep going

-        knowing when it’s time to take a break and go to water the garden

-        addiction to return to the lap to continue constructing your stone

-        boredom with girdles, particularly the polishing

-        frustration when unable to get a polish on a certain lap

-        self-encouragement to keep going, and to generate………

-        determination to get to the end

-        excitement when the first polished facets appear

-        self-control not to rush the polishing

-        irritation when you have to go back and find the scratched facets for re-polishing

-        joy when finally the finished stone is safely off the dop

-        pride when you show a friend what you have achieved, however humble it may be

-        love of gemstones to already be thinking of the next stone to cut.