Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Spring 2013, Vol. 49, No. 1

Colored Stones Cut with High Precision

Tao Hsu

Download PDF
Tiny Precision Cut Stones
Figure 1. Tiny but precisely cut and highly saturated stones were offered at Tucson. Photo by Eric Welch.
At the AGTA and GJX shows, China Stone (Bangkok) marketed a selection of tiny, precisely cut natural gemstones. Sold as parcels, the stones ranged from 0.03 to 3.0 mm in diameter. Despite their small size, they were impressively saturated with a full spectrum of colors (figure 6).

The stones are natural and purchased directly from the source suppliers, then cut and polished in the company’s Chinese factories. With computer-controlled automation, the stones are digitally calibrated and precisely cut to be set into commercial jewelry. The company’s products include ruby, blue and fancy-color sapphire, amethyst, chrome tourmaline, and tsavorite. The matched stones can be used in graphic designs or as accent stones in fine jewelry.

Clients of China Stone’s high-precision cut stones include watch manufacturers, fine jewelers, and designers. The company developed its own inventory grading, stock management, and order processing systems to maintain the strictest standards of shape, size, color, and quality. For each type of gemstone, color grades are assigned with several different color codes. Customers can easily combine their favorite colors and sizes of a certain stone type and see whether the goods are in stock or need to be ordered. With the development of automated cutting technology, small rough can be easily handled and cut with very high precision, giving jewelry designers creative flexibility.