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Gemstones, Minerals & Fossils
Lapidary
Help regarding copper laps and other questions
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<blockquote data-quote="Lefty" data-source="post: 349425" data-attributes="member: 2976"><p>Cheers Debbie.</p><p></p><p>I've never had much of a problem with the cleavage in topaz but most of my topaz has been self-collected from a site where the stones are only just weathering to the surface and so are not rounded or stream-worn and the crystal shape - and therefore cleavage direction - is easy to discern. Despite what an old faceting book I have says, I have often just put the cleavage plane basically plumb through the stone - vertical from table to culet. The book says "this is not ideal as a sharp blow on the crown may split the stone". Topaz is <strong>hard</strong> and I doubt you would easily split a topaz in a ring if you punched a brick wall (assuming a person was silly enough to punch a brick wall <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ). I've never managed to split one anyway.</p><p></p><p>If you end up with the table on the cleavage plane you may have difficulty polishing it as tiny bits keep flaking off. Is your topaz stream-worn or does it have a definate crystal shape?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lefty, post: 349425, member: 2976"] Cheers Debbie. I've never had much of a problem with the cleavage in topaz but most of my topaz has been self-collected from a site where the stones are only just weathering to the surface and so are not rounded or stream-worn and the crystal shape - and therefore cleavage direction - is easy to discern. Despite what an old faceting book I have says, I have often just put the cleavage plane basically plumb through the stone - vertical from table to culet. The book says "this is not ideal as a sharp blow on the crown may split the stone". Topaz is [b]hard[/b] and I doubt you would easily split a topaz in a ring if you punched a brick wall (assuming a person was silly enough to punch a brick wall :) ). I've never managed to split one anyway. If you end up with the table on the cleavage plane you may have difficulty polishing it as tiny bits keep flaking off. Is your topaz stream-worn or does it have a definate crystal shape? [/QUOTE]
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Gemstones, Minerals & Fossils
Lapidary
Help regarding copper laps and other questions
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