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William L. Stuart

author of The Gemstone Chronicles Series

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Cabochons – Beautiful Polished Stones!!

September 3, 2012 by Bill Stuart 2 Comments

Cabochons!

In today’s post, I am going to attempt to explain cabochons. The word cabochon comes from Middle French caboche (head) and the technique is usually used on opaque stones vs. transparent stones (which are usually faceted). Another consideration for cabochons (often called cabs) is the hardness of the stone (measured on the Moh’s Hardness scale). Softer stones (less than 7 on the Moh’s scale) scratch easily and may be more suited to cabs instead of facets. The cabbing process hides scratches more than faceting would.

The Basics:

Cabochon creation usually begins with a slab of stone. The slab can vary in thickness depending on the maker’s design or how the cab will be mounted. If the setting is closed, the back may not be highly polished and may be hollowed out to reduce weight. If the cage is open, the back may be as highly polished as the top. Cabs are often oval or elliptical with a domed top. Starred (asteriated) stones like cat’s eye or starred sapphire are cabbed so that the star or the cat’s eye will be highlighted. Faceting the stone would not show the feature.

To make a cabochon, a slab of stone of cut on a slab saw.

Cabochons Slabs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the slab is cut, a template is used to trace out the shape of the cab. A diamond blade trim saw is used to cut away the stone until the rough shape of the cabochon is created. After roughing out the shape, various grit shaping wheels grind away to stone to create the domed top. At the end, a highly polished beautiful cabochon is revealed.

Azurite Cabochon

 

 

 

 

 

 

While oval cabs are common, they are by no means the only shapes. As evidenced by the templates shown below, there are many different shapes that can be cabs.

Cabochons Templates

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want to make your own cabochons? Many local mineral societies and clubs exist and they can help you get started. I learned the basics at the Georgia Mineral Society and I can’t wait to make another!

In case you didn’t know, the carnelian in The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian, is a cabochon. What is your favorite cabochon stone? Leave me a message and let me know!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Gemstone Posts Tagged With: cabochons, gems, gemstone rough, Georgia, rock hunting, The Gemstone Chronicles, william l stuart, William L Stuart. Author

On the third day…

August 14, 2012 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

OK, this is the third day of this blog, I am going to stop with the day after day thing after today. Even though this is the third installment, I don’t want to overwhelm readers with blog posts everyday. First, today I wanted to thank those who have purchased my book. I hope you enjoy it and will come back and tell us what you liked (or didn’t like) or broadcast it to the world on Amazon.com or Smashwords.  Secondly, I want to thank everyone for visiting my little site here. I hope you come back often and leave comments. Lastly, here’s an update my author link to Amazon, which is: https://www.amazon.com/author/williamlstuart.

Third Day THE-GEMSTONE-CHRONICLES-BRAG-for-Web

I also wanted everyone to know that I am hard at work on the rest of the series and will be sending the second book, The Amethyst, to my amazing editor Abby. She will transform the raw manuscript into a polished book. I hope reading (and reviewing) The Carnelian will encourage you to read and review the rest of The Gemstone Chronicles series! And remember, the reviews don’t have to be long or detailed. Just a few words about what you liked or didn’t like is greatly appreciated! Not only does it tell me what readers think, but also gives me valuable feedback to improve my writing skills! Thanks in advance!

Connect with me:

Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or send me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog! Let’s start a conversation about books, submarines, gemstones, and other cool topics. I enjoy meeting new friends and discovering new things!

Filed Under: Book Posts Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amazon book, author, books, ebook, ebooks, fantasy, fantasy adventure, fiction, Georgia, Good Reads author, KDP, Kindle, magic, self publishing, Smashwords, The Carnelian, The Gemstone Chronicles, william l stuart, william stuart, young adult

On the second day…. the adventure continues!

August 13, 2012 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

On the second day on my fledgling career as an author, I sold my first book!!! I don’t know who the buyer was (unfortunately) so I can’t send them a big thank you, but if you bought it and happen to read my blog, thank you!!! And, if you happen to think of it, please consider leaving a review. I would love to know what you think of the book, and I hope it leads you to read (and review) the rest of The Gemstone Chronicles series!

Second day Carnelian cover

I am working on my Amazon.com author page and will post that link when it is available. Until then, just visit http://www.amazon.com and find The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian or go to http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ugak9s911. You can order the book there. For those who read on their iPad or Nook, you can also get the book for those platforms on iTunes or at Barnesandnoble.com!

So my second day was exciting! I will be posting updates as things progress in the series, so stayed tuned!! Never fear, the blog will be more than just my books. I’ll include reviews for books I read, and posts about things that interest me (like rock hounding and gemstones). Maybe you’ll find something new to read or a new hobby!

Connect with me:

You can also connect with me on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com! If you don’t want to miss a post, please subscribe to the blog! I look forward to meeting new friends!

Filed Under: Book Posts Tagged With: Amazon, amazon book, author, books, ebook, ebooks, elves, fantasy, fiction, gemstones, Georgia, Good Reads author, KDP, middle grades, self publishing, Smashwords, The Carnelian, The Gemstone Chronicles, william l stuart, william stuart, young adult

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