The gemstones below are examples of my recent work. The first of the series are all natural stones while those toward the end are man-made material, typically cubic zirconia or synthetic corundum.

When I first started faceting stones in the mid 70s I would cut only natural material. Back then high quality natural rough was available at fair prices. Now, good quality rough is much harder to come by. The colored stone market is significantly larger, there are more cutters, both professional and amateur, to compete for the rough, and many countries will not allow export of rough gems, wanting to keep the cutting in-country. As a result I will occasionally cut man-made material, some of which has the potential to be more beautiful than natural stones as they are almost always inclusion-free and have better optical qualities. Cubic zirconia is a good example.

In addition to cutting with my faceting machine, I will occasionally add concave facets with my OMF machine. These stones are much more time-consuming to cut but produce a very brilliant stone.

I generally only cut for friends and for my own collection. However, I will occasionally take on a commercial commission, so if you see something you like or have a special request, contact me at bruce@gemscientist.com.