[Jewelry making - Article 01067] - Re: [Orchid] Cabochon Backs: Polished or Unpolished

[Derek]

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    When talking about polishing the back of the stone and beveling, it
    depends. I should amend that. I can think of no exceptions to the
    need to bevel the bottom edge to prevent chipping. 

    As far as polishing though, while many stones lend themselves to a
    relatively easy polish, others don't. The most obvious and
    consistent exception would be opal because of the highly variable
    nature of how it grew in it's matrix. Of course standard white opal
    of relatively cheap and uniform rough will be relatively easy to
    polish and finish off on the bottom, but many many opals will simply
    not allow for an easy finish to the back. Obviously, if the stone
    will be set with prongs, then it does need to be smoothed on the
    bottom but a large number of opals will not allow for a smoothly
    finished bottom. This is certainly true with most boulders as well
    as many blacks. I've been cutting lightning ridge for days now and I
    can say that I consider it far better to leave a thicker more stable
    stone than try and completely even and smooth the bottom. Often
    these stones are nearly as much carved as they are cabbed.

    As far as other stones are concerned, there may be reasons not to
    polish the bottom completely. Jadeite for instance is difficult to
    polish especially on a flat so it becomes very time consuming to
    polish and it can also be irregular because of chips or etc. 

    The final reason not to finish the bottom completely is cost. Some
    people would prefer to pay less rather than have a polish on an area
    of the stone they never intend to show after it's bezeled. I think
    we should always work with people on this sort of thing.

Derek Levin
www.gemmaker.com
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