One World Gemstone – Custom Faceted Gemstones

Jim Foster never thought he would be able to go to college so in his high school days he took an industrial arts program with the goal of becoming a tool and die maker. Fortunately circumstances changed he was able to attend college and finally wound up being a chemist for both Shell Oil and DuPont doing crop protection research.

When he was nearing retirement Jim’s wife, Sandy, took him to a jewelry show where he encountered an elderly (really elderly!) man who was cutting a gemstone! It immediately became clear that this was machining, much like he aspired to do in his teens although this fellow was doing it in stone rather than metal and faceted stones were so much more interesting, lively and needless to say in demand..

So he enrolled in a faceting class at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts to learn the techniques and develop the skills needed to cut gemstones. This was 12 years and many, many stones ago.

Asked of his favorite materials to cut they are spinel, beryls and sunstones although other oddities such as sphene and chrysoberyl make the cut.