Emerald is a difficult stone to be cut in all qualities.
There are considerations for color orientation, weight retention, and
complex clarity factors.
EMERALD MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. EMERALD ROUGH SOURCING
The extraction of emeralds is an intriguing procedure. Emeralds are usually found attached to other rock formations rather than as a standalone rough gemstone. Since technology and machinery creates heavy pressure on rock formations and may break apart heavily included emeralds, emerald mining is mostly performed by hand.
Each and every piece of rough, which we at Gems Park use to make these beautiful gemstones, is ethically and responsibly sourced from trusted Gemfields owned Kagem mines and Grizzly Mining Limited owned Kitwe mines which ensures quality control from mine to market.
2. PRE-ASSORTING
Pre-Assorting is performed to group raw stones of similar consistency, luster, formation, colour and clarity into three or four major groups. In this stage raw stones are majorly assorted into 4 groups namely cut stones, cabochons, carvings and beads. It provides a rough estimate to the manufacturer regarding the proportion of finished goods.
3. PRE-FORM (GHAT)
The pre-forming process is regarded as the most critical stage in the development of emeralds. Qualified craftsmen work under the supervision of a manufacturer.
The pre-forming process is regarded as one of the most crucial stage in the manufacturing process of emeralds. It involves deliberate and measured cutting and sanding of emeralds in order to evaluate the stone's preliminary shape, size and quality.
4. PRE-FORM CUTTING
Certain inclusions in emeralds, such as gas bubbles and large fissures, must be removed during pre-forming because they can damage the stone's luster and workability, causing stones to crack during polishing. As a consequence, these inclusions must be carefully sawed out. Since emerald is a medium hardness stone it is sawed by a cutting expert using a metal blade under running water to prevent the stone from cracking under pressure. With one hand, the specialist applies diamond cutting powder while balancing the stone under the blade with the other. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to mark the cutting line on the rough stone.
5. CUTTING
The method of applying facets to gemstones is referred to as cutting. These facets complement the appearance of the stone by adding a fire and sparkle to the pre-formed emerald. Cutters use a kandi to sand the stone with a special polish on a horizontal rotating, diamond coated cutting wheel. To ensure that the stones in a lot are uniform, quality control is critical.
Kandi(dop stick): A metallic instrument with an octagonal dial to which a pre-formed stone can be hot wax-attached. Instruments are used to keep the gemstone while it is being faceted and polished.
6. POLISHING
After the facets are cut, they are polished on the same horizontal spinning wheel to add shine and sparkle, making the gemstone perfect for use in jewellery.
Cabochons, drops, beads, and mandis are polished on a special green wool polishing wheel that is uniformly spun to maintain symmetry and add sheen.
7. ASSORTING
Assorting is performed to group finished stones of similar consistency, luster, form, scale, and origin into lots. Trained assorters are qualified to distinguish even the most complicated lots in order to arrange them in the most organized lots based on the qualities listed above.
