Stephen's Stones

Cabochons












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Cabochons were one of the first gemstones cut by man. Beads were probably the first form dating back several thousand years. Today, the term cabochon refers to any gemstone cut shape that is not facetted.  It also includes cameo and intaglio cut stones.



























































































































Below is an assortment of cabochons I've cut over the years. 

montage.jpg

1st row: Maury Mt. Purple, Charoite, Priday Plume, Mexican Crazy Lace.
2nd row: Brazilian Agate, Biggs Jasper, Maury Mt. Red Moss, Mexican Crazy Lace.
3rd row: Priday Plume, Brazilian Agate, Mc Dermitt T-egg, Unknown Blue Jasper.
4th row: Wild Horse Picture Jasper, Priday Plume, Blue Tiger Eye, Maury Mt. Purple.

moncab2.jpg

1st row:Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian gate, Brazilian Agate.
2nd rwo: Laguna Agate, Idaho Moss, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate, Mc Dermitt T-egg.
3rd row: Richardson's Ranch T-egg, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate.

moncab3.jpg

1st row: White Rock Springs T-egg, Brazilian Agate, Brazilian Agate, Eagle Rock Moss.
2nd row: Maury Mt. Brown Moss, Indai Green Moss, Utah Red Moss, Richardson's Ranch T-egg.
3rd row: Labradorite, Brazilian Agate, White Fir T-egg, Brazilian Agate, Richardson's Ranch T-egg.

carvingset.jpg

You might ask why this picture is on the Cabochon page, however, each stone for the handles is considered a cabochon.  This carving set is made from Maury Mountain Moss Agate.  It took one month to find the right stone and three months to cut and polish the handles.  They were a Christmas present given to a friend who is a professional chef.  Fortunately, he likes the heavy handles as these are definitely not well balanced.

There are many decisions and steps involved in cutting a cabochon.  Most people don't cut cabs as an investment or for profit.  The money does not compensate for the time involved.  Mostly it's done for the love of the art and to show your skill as a lapidary.  There are a number of books written about cabochon cutting on the market today.  If you are seriously interested in leaning how, I would invest in at least one of the books.  I would also contact a local rock club.  The people there are usually friendly and very helpful, and they may even teach classes on the various lapidary atrs.  I have taught many students over the years and seeing their eyes light up as they remove their first stone from the dopstick is almost as rewarding for me as cutting the stone was for them.
 
Some things to think about when deciding to cut a cab:
What am I going to do with the cab when I'm done?
What color of stone do I want?
What pattern or shape, if any, do I want?
How hard should the stone be for the piece?
What type of stone should I use?
Do I skip steps and buy a slab? Sometimes you have no choice here.
How large or small do I want the piece to be?
Do I want a shallow dome or high dome?
Where do I find a slab or piece of rough?
 
A lot of these questions should be answered before you begin your adventure or they will slow your progress as you go.

Steps for cutting a cabochon (cab):
1. Choose your desired rough.
2. Slab the rough using a rock saw.
3. Decide if you want a freeform or a standard form, oval, round, rectangle, cushion...
4. Trace the shape onto the slab using an aluminum scribe.
5. trim the slab near to the outline using a trim saw.
6. Grind the preform just to the line, don't remove the line or it will be too small.
7. Attach the preform to a wooden dowel, or dop stick, using epoxy or dop wax.
8. Starting with a rough wheel (100 grit), grind the preform starting at the edges eventually forming the dome.
9. Once the desired dome has been achieved, sand the cab on a finer wheel (220 grit).
10. After removing all of the grinding/sanding marks from the previous steps, move on to 400, 600, etc... grits.
11. Next, polish your cab on a leather or felt wheel using one of the many type of polish. I have used cerium oxide and tin oxide.
12. Now you have your finished cabochon!  You can either attach it to a clasp and wear it as such, or set it in silver or gold to make a piece of jewelry.