Faceting Machine Survey


Recently, a survey was taken to see what kind of Facet Machines are being used by members of the Faceter's Digest . 246 people had responded to the survey.

2 Minute Read

We recently took a survey of the kind of machines used by members of the Faceter’s Digest. Our survey doesn’t have scientific accuracy, but the information is still of interest. I thought Graves would have been the most used machine, but it scored third. Over all, it might be the most popular machine and our survey may just reflect that Faceter’s Digest members are a bit less budget conscious than the general public.

There were some small surprises and some no-surprises. Probably the biggest no-surprise is that Zane Hoffman uses a Polymetric Scintellator and a Xristal Tech. 🙂 Among the surprises are that there are more machine being used, made by companies long out of business, than MDR or Alpha Taurus.

Almost everyone who commented on their faceting machines said they were pleased with them. On the other hand, several people told me what they have used in the past before trading up to their current favorite. The lists of machines traded off and the list of those owned by satisfied users are nearly identical. While I didn’t keep track of the exact figures, this is a telling fact. Faceting machines are a personal matter and what suits one individual,…


Donald Clark, CSM IMG

The late Donald Clark, CSM founded the International Gem Society in 1998. Donald started in the gem and jewelry industry in 1976. He received his formal gemology training from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Society of Gemcutters (ASG). The letters “CSM” after his name stood for Certified Supreme Master Gemcutter, a designation of Wykoff’s ASG which has often been referred to as the doctorate of gem cutting. The American Society of Gemcutters only had 54 people reach this level. Along with dozens of articles for leading trade magazines, Donald authored the book “Modern Faceting, the Easy Way.”

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