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Transparent rhodonite is considered one of the most difficult of all gems to facet because of its perfect cleavage and brittle, uneven fracture. This article describes a technique for successfully faceting gem rhodonite that was developed through experiments on eight crystals from the North mine at Broken Hill, New South Wales. This was accomplished through a systematic structural, crystallographic, and optical analysis and the use of a nonconventional faceting approach—the “greasy lap” technique. This method uses a mixture of petroleum jelly and diamond grit to charge a non-embedded lap, allowing the diamond grit to “roll free” during the lapping process. |
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