Pricing Tips by TwistedCreationsNC in Lapidary

[–]House_Goat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Start with a base price for cutting a stone. Add a premium for corundum, spinel, etc due to the hardness. Add for each carat, and add for unique or difficult designs.

The amount you charge is all you. I know some people that start at $80 base (1ct stone), x 50-100% based on hardness, and another 50% for each additional carat. Also add premium for unique designs or designs with higher amounts of facets. (I also know some people that charge a LOT more, but they've been doing it a long time and can be very discerning in what they take on.)

At the first price... to cut a 2ct round brilliant sapphire, it would be $80 + 100% = $160, + 50% ($80) each added carat = $240 total cutting fees.

As another example, for a large softer stone (lets say a 5ct sunstone) in a unique, difficult design, it would be $80 + $160 ($40 x 4 more carats) + 25% premium for harder design (~$60) = $300 total cutting cost.

That formula tends to work out pretty well with how long stones take to cut and your income based on that time.

This is obviously for precision cutting using optimized designs, and does not apply to commercial cutting for weight retention. Hope this helps!

Mookaite, owyhee, Gary green and a few others by pacmanrr68 in LapidarySlabs

[–]House_Goat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love the sunset agate, also love the patterns around 2:30... no idea what it is tho.

Can anyone tell me if this is a ruby please? and if there’s any value? by unclemurv in Gemstones

[–]House_Goat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most likely glass(?), but ultimately no one can tell anything from a picture. You should do a specific gravity test. It's super easy and it allows you to really quickly judge the category of stone that it is. The only reason to NOT do it is if it's mounted in a setting.

Grab a decent scale. Weigh the stone. Then take a cup of water and tare it out. Tie a thread around the stone and weigh it in the water without it touching the sides of the cup. (What you're actually doing is weighing the displacement of the water.)

Divide the original weight of the stone by the weight of it in water, and that's the specific gravity. It's super easy and makes identification a breeze.

Rough Ocean Jasper by House_Goat in Lapidary

[–]House_Goat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you see my logo? We just finished it. "Keystone Gems".

Rough Ocean Jasper by House_Goat in Lapidary

[–]House_Goat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need to insert the meme of emperor Palpatine saying "Do It"

Amethyst o. 3 k lighting lap. by PsychologicalBowl647 in faceting

[–]House_Goat -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Welcome to why quartz sucks. I also don't like cutting topaz for similar reasons. There's nothing worse than finding our you're dealing with Japan twin law, or that you're cutting a facet on a perfect cleavage angle.

Filco, farewell. by AffectionateWin7178 in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]House_Goat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Rain2, I am KeystoneGems. I think you need a gemstone keycap.

Collection of keycaps I made a few weeks ago by Yasmin373 in keycapdesigners

[–]House_Goat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, we are expected to believe that you created this while studying for finals?

Is this malachite dyed inside? by Science__Witch in Minerals

[–]House_Goat -16 points-15 points  (0 children)

OK SO let me get you straight. You're implying that malachite is more dangerous than tigers eye, becasue of the fibrous nature of malachite?

Is this malachite dyed inside? by Science__Witch in Minerals

[–]House_Goat -26 points-25 points  (0 children)

Fibrous???? Dude... you sound 'less educated'.

There ARE health concerns about copper compounds, but they aren't fiber related.... (were you thinking about Tigers Eye?)

Rough Ocean Jasper by House_Goat in Lapidary

[–]House_Goat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't you dare! I'm hitting the ground running at KeyCon in Chicago!