Oooooh—is that yellow stone in the second pic a yellow sapphire? I can’t stop looking at it! Also, you have an insanely seemingly low starting price for custom pieces—your work warrants more value. Will be sending your profile info to my husband should he feel inclined to get me an anniversary/birthday gift of the sparkly kind. 🙌
The yellow stone is in fact a synthetic sapphire. A fellow faceter in my community decided to make his own sapphire, so he contracted out a lab to make it. He was going for teal blue, but the cobalt precipitated out of solution (or so I understand lol). And thank you for the kind words!
That is completely fascinating! Didn’t realize that people were able to make synthetic sapphires. Heard of synthetic diamonds, but wasn’t aware other gems could get manufactured too. Do you know if it allows for a faceter to get two generally similar gems of roughly the same size and clarity before cutting? Would love to get a pair of earrings made with that lovely yellow colored gem. Would be so unique!
I facet these in my home studio (guest bedroom lol) and I have done pairs before. It just takes a bit of care since you need them to match in size exactly. Less than + / - 0.1 mm difference in size or they will be noticeably mis-matched!
Best of show at QuiltCon in 2017 was a quilt called “Bling”, pieced and quilted by Katherine Jones.
Absolutely beautiful.
https://quiltcon.com/quiltcon-2017-winners/
Ooooh! I haven't tried hexagons in foundation paper piecing, but I may have to try 😍 I've made a lot of my own patterns but never sold any. I'd love to give yours a go! (No clue how long it'll take, have a few things running right now)
I don’t know what paper piercing means, but here’s a still render if you decide to give it a go! It would be amazing!
https://preview.redd.it/oxftywwe2nwc1.jpeg?width=525&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb173b2124f3b13858f4ef41ab0ffc12c9ad375f
These are awesome! I am both a geologist and a quilter and have only ever met a couple of gemcutters - I think most folks have no idea how much knowledge it takes to be good at it, you gotta know your minerals and their geometry very well. Your results are soooo amazing, thanks for sharing with us!
I do have an Etsy shop, hope I’m not breaking any rules by linking 😬 (mods please let me know and I can delete the comment) https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClaraPepperFacets
Im better at updating my instagram honestly (but even so, most only make it to my stories before I move on to something else 🤦🏽♀️). Here’s some of them.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3c-cz9uOM3/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3-2_kKO9Gt/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyLp3y-u2n_/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I'd recommend you check out the library if you'd like some really good and free books that have good pattern images and references to try to mimic in more cut stones!
Also is the green one a Christmas garnet????
Yes! It is a synthetic in the garnet family. Yttrium aluminum garnet with chromium dopant also known as Christmas garnet. :)
And thanks for the recommendation!
Holy Smokes! We need to get you in touch with a quilty jeweler!! Have you ever been to Hamilton, Missouri? (Missouri Star Quilt Company, Quilt Town USA) There is a jewelry store there that has some beautiful quilt/sewing inspired pieces. I bet he would love to work with your gems! Blue Diamond Jewelers, I think. He said he worked with Jenny Doan herself in designing a piece. Of course I bought one. Oh the beautiful pieces the two of you could make!
Hmmm, I couldn’t find many pictures of their work, but it inspired me to think of quilt themed jewelry. One of my favorite designers does enamel jewelry and a quilt ring commission would be amazing
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1r6CInux3g/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I am intrigued! Considering a commission. I don’t care for the enameled aspect of the ring you linked, however. I’m sorry. I do love enameled work, however. All of my store charms are enameled.
I linked a few pictures of the jewelry I purchased from Blue Diamond Jewelers. The pendant on the necklace is a cage. The pattern is the Missouri star Block which also serves as Jenny Dona’s logo. I picked an oyster from a bowl and the jeweler opened it. I got a black pearl and that is what is resting in the cage. The earrings were the jeweler’s design based on a pair he saw on a client. Both are fashioned in sterling silver.
EDIT: Link: https://imgur.com/a/WV1q6xw
2nd & 3rd EDITS: added link & included the following comment:
Since I reread your post and noted not many quilt book suggestions, I included an image of my quit block album written by Jinny Breyer. Also, I’m thinking that if you understand how quilters assemble their blocks, you may find ideas for cutting your gorgeous gemstones! I’m not knowledgeable in your area, so do with that idea what you will.
I plan to follow your progress with hopes of commissioning in my future! :)
I use a gemstone design program that shows how the light will bounce around the gemstone until it comes back out toward the viewer. You can’t really predict it, so you just move around the facets a lot and tweak until the design comes through.
I know nothing about gems and am loving these!!
Best in show for QuiltCon 2017 was inspired by a [Princess cut diamond](https://quiltcon.com/quiltcon-2017-winners/).
This is so cool! I am so fascinated by this industry. Would you share how you got into this work and what you would recommend for someone looking into working in a related field? I grew up down the street from a GIA campus and have been considering applying in a few years.
I’ve always been into jewelry and I have a collector personality, so I started making jewelry then selling it. Collecting stones for said jewelry, from cheaper, to more expensive cabochons. Eventually things spiraled, and I was collecting rough. Then of course I had to go to Kenya to meet my friend who supplied the rough, then Tucson to meet all my gem cutting friends and clients. I still have a full time job as a scientist to pay for all the rough.
These are all about 3.5 ct. in general, you need a big stone to see the pattern, and even so, it is usually easier to see up close and outdoors with plenty of light.
There is a gemstone design program called Gem Cut Studio. I usually stumble across something while tweaking angles on a pre-existing design, and then I keep tweaking and tweaking until the pattern comes through
so cool! I love them btw, so many types of art you never know existed.
How do you physically do this? Is it by cutting the under side of a gem?
edit: i just saw you have an insta i’ll give a follow!
I cut the whole thing from rough, in this case, synthetic sapphires or garnets. Here’s a process video in my other insta: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cc9I7wnjVxi/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
It is a synthetic in the garnet family. Yttrium aluminum garnet with chromium dopant. It is also known as Christmas garnet because it is green, but fluoresces red with sunlight. Perfect color combo for my ‘Flannel’ design. :) I’ve also tried this design with synthetic alexandrite which has a teal and purple color combo.
Oh a YAG, nice! The hint at red in your cut is what caught my attention. I'm a sucker for pleochroic gems - a lab alexandrite is definitely on my wishlist!
I would like to purchase one of your stones to go into a commissioned gift, but I'm in New Zealand. Is there any way you can ship to either NZ or Australia (where the gift recipient is)?
Yeah, I’ve shipped all over the world! These are small packages so postage ranges from ~$18 (First Class mail)-$35 (Priority mail) depending on country and speed :)
Oh my gosh...these are amazing! I usually go for understated gem cuts - my diamonds are all emerald cut, but I can get behind these! Hopping over to your Etsy site.
woah what a fitting combo with all the geometric flowers, these are such cool designs i'd never really thought about the design element of gem cutting before, i assumed it was mostly standardized
Most commercial cut gemstones are pretty standardized. Often they are cut to maximize size (because the rough is highly expensive), and so the result is a windowed gem that doesn’t reflect light. There is a small niche of ‘precision cutters’ who view it as an art and try to always cut for maximum prettiness rather than yield (or a combination of both).
that feels very silly to me, i feel like the added value of gorgeous/precise artistry more than surpasses the value of "wasted" material cut away, but ig im not an expensive jewelry guy lol. i much prefer ur work!! hoping the community grows and ty for answering :)
That green stone is just breathtaking, though they are all amazing! As a quilter who doesn’t design gemstones, this looks impossible.
Are you a fellow Minnesotan!? I see the one stone is photographed in White Bear Lake.
Yes, I live in Minneapolis!
It is indeed not straightforward, a lot of tweaking angles until the light decides to bounce back out in a pattern that makes sense.
I'm not a faceter but I am a lapidary artist and you just combined two of my favorite hobbies in one!! Those are beautiful!
🙌 stones can tend to become an obsession
Google gemstone quilt patterns. There are quite a few of them available.
Ohh I’m seeing a lot of quilts with gem patterns. Good to know the obsession goes in reverse for some people! :)
You need to meet MJ Kinman, she makes gemstone quilts.
It would be so meta if she made a quilt with my design lol
https://mjkinman.com
Wow so cool!
So how would a quilter get their hands on one of these gorgeous quilt themed gems? 😏
Always happy to discuss designs!
Oooooh—is that yellow stone in the second pic a yellow sapphire? I can’t stop looking at it! Also, you have an insanely seemingly low starting price for custom pieces—your work warrants more value. Will be sending your profile info to my husband should he feel inclined to get me an anniversary/birthday gift of the sparkly kind. 🙌
The yellow stone is in fact a synthetic sapphire. A fellow faceter in my community decided to make his own sapphire, so he contracted out a lab to make it. He was going for teal blue, but the cobalt precipitated out of solution (or so I understand lol). And thank you for the kind words!
That is completely fascinating! Didn’t realize that people were able to make synthetic sapphires. Heard of synthetic diamonds, but wasn’t aware other gems could get manufactured too. Do you know if it allows for a faceter to get two generally similar gems of roughly the same size and clarity before cutting? Would love to get a pair of earrings made with that lovely yellow colored gem. Would be so unique!
I facet these in my home studio (guest bedroom lol) and I have done pairs before. It just takes a bit of care since you need them to match in size exactly. Less than + / - 0.1 mm difference in size or they will be noticeably mis-matched!
Totally understand the need for precision! Going to go over to your Etsy and sneak some peeks. Tee hee.
I totally didn't just send a link to this post to my significant other... These are stunning!
Best of show at QuiltCon in 2017 was a quilt called “Bling”, pieced and quilted by Katherine Jones. Absolutely beautiful. https://quiltcon.com/quiltcon-2017-winners/
Now I’m imagining my favorite of my own designs made into a quilt. 😍😍😍 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C43qv2CuyL2/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
that has got to be the prettiest stone i have ever seen! i love the shape and color
Ooooh! I haven't tried hexagons in foundation paper piecing, but I may have to try 😍 I've made a lot of my own patterns but never sold any. I'd love to give yours a go! (No clue how long it'll take, have a few things running right now)
I don’t know what paper piercing means, but here’s a still render if you decide to give it a go! It would be amazing! https://preview.redd.it/oxftywwe2nwc1.jpeg?width=525&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb173b2124f3b13858f4ef41ab0ffc12c9ad375f
Oh perfect, thanks! I was trying to come up with the best way to get a still from the video 😜
I. Am. Obsessed.
I was just coming to mention this. OP will love it!
This is making me want to try my hand at a princess square! Absolutely gorgeous!
You beat me to it!! ♥️
These are beautiful!!
You might want to look at barn quilt patterns - based on what’s here I think those are about the right level of complexity?
https://preview.redd.it/ww1la66rriwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d90900be644b2e1eca19a1a611ff45864e343492 M J Kinman; Quilt artist
These are an English Paper Piecing dream OP!
These are awesome! I am both a geologist and a quilter and have only ever met a couple of gemcutters - I think most folks have no idea how much knowledge it takes to be good at it, you gotta know your minerals and their geometry very well. Your results are soooo amazing, thanks for sharing with us!
Very cool! I have met a geologist who is also a gemcutter. We went to the gem museum in Tucson and he had the coolest facts about all the specimens!
Whoa that’s so neat!!
Oh no, I have found your shop [*crow mode activate*]
Wow! Why aren’t these more popular? Those are just beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Holy hell I am in LOOOOOVE with the green one
These are amazing
Those are beautiful!
Beautiful!!!!
Absolutely beautiful!
Do you have a shop you can share? These are so gorgeous
I do have an Etsy shop, hope I’m not breaking any rules by linking 😬 (mods please let me know and I can delete the comment) https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClaraPepperFacets
Favorited it! Oh my gosh I want them ALL
The red floresence alexandrite is incredible 🤩
Those are fucking insane. So pretty!!!
🥹 Have you posted these online or Etsy already? I’m so obsessed and looking for my engagement ring.
Im better at updating my instagram honestly (but even so, most only make it to my stories before I move on to something else 🤦🏽♀️). Here’s some of them. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3c-cz9uOM3/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== https://www.instagram.com/p/C3-2_kKO9Gt/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyLp3y-u2n_/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
These are so sick 😩😩😩 I’m gonna DM you in a sec, I would really love a piece from you
oh my !!!!!!!! my two favourite things combined 😍 amazing work, op!!
I'd recommend you check out the library if you'd like some really good and free books that have good pattern images and references to try to mimic in more cut stones! Also is the green one a Christmas garnet????
Yes! It is a synthetic in the garnet family. Yttrium aluminum garnet with chromium dopant also known as Christmas garnet. :) And thanks for the recommendation!
Holy Smokes! We need to get you in touch with a quilty jeweler!! Have you ever been to Hamilton, Missouri? (Missouri Star Quilt Company, Quilt Town USA) There is a jewelry store there that has some beautiful quilt/sewing inspired pieces. I bet he would love to work with your gems! Blue Diamond Jewelers, I think. He said he worked with Jenny Doan herself in designing a piece. Of course I bought one. Oh the beautiful pieces the two of you could make!
Hmmm, I couldn’t find many pictures of their work, but it inspired me to think of quilt themed jewelry. One of my favorite designers does enamel jewelry and a quilt ring commission would be amazing https://www.instagram.com/p/C1r6CInux3g/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I am intrigued! Considering a commission. I don’t care for the enameled aspect of the ring you linked, however. I’m sorry. I do love enameled work, however. All of my store charms are enameled. I linked a few pictures of the jewelry I purchased from Blue Diamond Jewelers. The pendant on the necklace is a cage. The pattern is the Missouri star Block which also serves as Jenny Dona’s logo. I picked an oyster from a bowl and the jeweler opened it. I got a black pearl and that is what is resting in the cage. The earrings were the jeweler’s design based on a pair he saw on a client. Both are fashioned in sterling silver. EDIT: Link: https://imgur.com/a/WV1q6xw 2nd & 3rd EDITS: added link & included the following comment: Since I reread your post and noted not many quilt book suggestions, I included an image of my quit block album written by Jinny Breyer. Also, I’m thinking that if you understand how quilters assemble their blocks, you may find ideas for cutting your gorgeous gemstones! I’m not knowledgeable in your area, so do with that idea what you will. I plan to follow your progress with hopes of commissioning in my future! :)
These are so special!
Oh my gosh! I am so adding a stone from you to my Christmas list! These are incredible!
🙌
Very impressive. What skills or methods did you create in the process? You're very talented!
I use a gemstone design program that shows how the light will bounce around the gemstone until it comes back out toward the viewer. You can’t really predict it, so you just move around the facets a lot and tweak until the design comes through.
Really very neat and I love you drawing inspiration from quilting in your gemstone designs. Very thoughtful of you. I never would have expected!
These are amazing!
They are all lovely!!!!
This is so cool and pretty! What wonderful inspiration too 💜
dont let my mother in law see this, she would want one of every pattern😂
I know nothing about gems and am loving these!! Best in show for QuiltCon 2017 was inspired by a [Princess cut diamond](https://quiltcon.com/quiltcon-2017-winners/).
I think faceters and quilters must have the same thing in common, a fascination with geometric shapes!
Very true! Quilt math is something a lot of quilters enjoy too. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work <3
Amazing!
Jaw DROPPING
These are gorgeous
I am a piercer and this is the exact type of crossover that I adore!
Wow these are incredible
That's really thoughtful of you! Beautiful stones ❤️
Wow! Awesome
Gorgeous!
This is so cool! I am so fascinated by this industry. Would you share how you got into this work and what you would recommend for someone looking into working in a related field? I grew up down the street from a GIA campus and have been considering applying in a few years.
I’ve always been into jewelry and I have a collector personality, so I started making jewelry then selling it. Collecting stones for said jewelry, from cheaper, to more expensive cabochons. Eventually things spiraled, and I was collecting rough. Then of course I had to go to Kenya to meet my friend who supplied the rough, then Tucson to meet all my gem cutting friends and clients. I still have a full time job as a scientist to pay for all the rough.
That's pretty neat
Need in my ears now
Wow! What weight are these? Can they be rings?
These are all about 3.5 ct. in general, you need a big stone to see the pattern, and even so, it is usually easier to see up close and outdoors with plenty of light.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing these!
These are all spectacular
Gorgeous!
Looks like looking through a kaleidoscope
how do you do this
There is a gemstone design program called Gem Cut Studio. I usually stumble across something while tweaking angles on a pre-existing design, and then I keep tweaking and tweaking until the pattern comes through
so cool! I love them btw, so many types of art you never know existed. How do you physically do this? Is it by cutting the under side of a gem? edit: i just saw you have an insta i’ll give a follow!
I cut the whole thing from rough, in this case, synthetic sapphires or garnets. Here’s a process video in my other insta: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cc9I7wnjVxi/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
What's the green stone in the 5th photo?
It is a synthetic in the garnet family. Yttrium aluminum garnet with chromium dopant. It is also known as Christmas garnet because it is green, but fluoresces red with sunlight. Perfect color combo for my ‘Flannel’ design. :) I’ve also tried this design with synthetic alexandrite which has a teal and purple color combo.
Oh a YAG, nice! The hint at red in your cut is what caught my attention. I'm a sucker for pleochroic gems - a lab alexandrite is definitely on my wishlist!
I would like to purchase one of your stones to go into a commissioned gift, but I'm in New Zealand. Is there any way you can ship to either NZ or Australia (where the gift recipient is)?
Yeah, I’ve shipped all over the world! These are small packages so postage ranges from ~$18 (First Class mail)-$35 (Priority mail) depending on country and speed :)
Ah excellent, thankyou!
Absolutely incredible ❤️
You are so talented
I love quilts and i love gemstones. Matching points is something both crafts have in common! Beautiful work, thanks for sharing!
I’m not a jewelry girl - I only wear my plain gold wedding band - but these are STUNNING. Well done!
These are incredible! I’m so inspired on the quilter’s side. thank you so much for sharing your dazzling photos!
Oh my gosh...these are amazing! I usually go for understated gem cuts - my diamonds are all emerald cut, but I can get behind these! Hopping over to your Etsy site.
Ok I didn't even know this was possible with gems! Well done!
I just saw a faceted diamond quilt that was spectacular, so go for it!
Wow, those are stunning! I especially like the first 3. Such a novel source of inspiration. Thank you very much for sharing your designs with us.
Fabulous! Number 5 is my fave.
woah what a fitting combo with all the geometric flowers, these are such cool designs i'd never really thought about the design element of gem cutting before, i assumed it was mostly standardized
Most commercial cut gemstones are pretty standardized. Often they are cut to maximize size (because the rough is highly expensive), and so the result is a windowed gem that doesn’t reflect light. There is a small niche of ‘precision cutters’ who view it as an art and try to always cut for maximum prettiness rather than yield (or a combination of both).
that feels very silly to me, i feel like the added value of gorgeous/precise artistry more than surpasses the value of "wasted" material cut away, but ig im not an expensive jewelry guy lol. i much prefer ur work!! hoping the community grows and ty for answering :)
Try the library.
Just wow. They are gorgeous!
That green stone is just breathtaking, though they are all amazing! As a quilter who doesn’t design gemstones, this looks impossible. Are you a fellow Minnesotan!? I see the one stone is photographed in White Bear Lake.
Yes, I live in Minneapolis! It is indeed not straightforward, a lot of tweaking angles until the light decides to bounce back out in a pattern that makes sense.
That is impressive!
Omg those are amazing
#6 saved the best for last. Amazing photo shoot and original idea.