I haven’t done a gemstone post in quite a while. For those who regularly read the blog (and thank you for visiting), you know that I used gemstones in The Gemstones Chronicles series and how I enjoy searching for and polishing rocks. For those who are new to the blog, welcome and I hope you find interesting things and become a regular visitor. Now, back to the gemstones. As I showed in my posts about my rock polishing workbench, I have the equipment necessary to make cabochons from the rocks I find (and I have a lot of rocks). Though I have templates to make various sizes and shapes of cabochons, I like to work with the natural shapes, too. This post will have one of each. Check out my Tiger’s Eye Cabochons!
Template Tiger’s Eye Cabochon:
The stone below is an example of a cab I made from a piece of tiger’s eye using a template. It’s a large stone, as shown in the first picture, weighing in at 140 carats and 2 inches x 1.5 inches before I cabbed it and 69 carats and 1 5/8 inches x 1 3/8 inches after cabbing. I think it would make an awesome pendant. I might try my hand at wire-wrapping it (though my previous attempts at wire-wrapping weren’t exactly spectacular), Still, if at first you don’t succeed….
Natural Shaped Tiger’s Eye Cabochon:
The second stone I want to highlight today is another tiger’s eye. This time, though, I went with the natural stone shape rather than use a template for the shape. I don’t have the weight and dimensions prior to cabbing it, but it finished at 22.8 carats and 1 inch x 3/4 inches on the longest side. As with the first stone, this one could end up in a pendant. If I had the skills, I’d do a bit of silversmithing and create a custom setting for it, but, alas, I haven’t taken any classes on that yet, nor do I have the materials necessary. I do know how to solder, though, so maybe…
What do you think? Which cab do you like better? Leave me a comment and let me know!
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