Can someone in the know, please advise when the Competition Schedule will be released.
Hi Jim
All i can say, is that I understand the AFG Board is undergoing a total review of all aspects of running the AFG, including running competitions so i am sure they will let all members know when it is done
hope this helps
I think Faceting competitions are good even if the number of entrants drops off.
I’ve learnt a lot from entering competitions. The value comes from reading the results and seeking help on those areas that need improvement.
Competitions also allow us to benchmark our work and gauge how we are going. I’ve seen plenty of raves from people on Facebook about how good a very average stone is. These typically have an unsetably thick girdle, missed meets, a good polish, and at times little or no brilliance. It’s fair to say a good polish impresses, but a really good cutter strives for more than that.
Lastly the Guild was established to further the art of faceting and its objects include running competitions. Competitions are a form of exam to showcase what you have learnt. Imagine school or university without an assessment method (exams and tests) there would be no objective way of charting progress, it would quickly degenerate into a popularity contest.
We need competitions to benchmark our progress. But for competitions I would be churning out sub 80% stones and thinking they were great.
happy faceting
Hi Jim the 2026 competition is being run by Victoria this year and as the a Director has only just been appointed, it may take a bit of time for them to get around that. Hopefully not too far away.
Cheers
Hi Francis
I am replying to this with an open mind. Yes you are correct about Competition faceting and yes it will help you become a better Competition Cutter.
But your comments are not correct about other cutters, Thai, boat cutting as it is known, is what you are talking about.
But note they are cutting with no cutting instructions that is a skill many cutters will never have, and are cutting for maximum weight as some stones prices are well over $652.102.00 for a 16.58Crt Sapphire stone.
That works out to be $39,330.00 Au Per Crt so how do you tell your client that you just wasted over $60,000 with over cutting and it ended up with just 15Crt stone? So I don’t think your remarks about other cutters are warranted.
Please note many commercial cutters cut to a meet point faceting standard and understand the need to read cutting instruction if required, the type of cutting you do is up to the client and their judges are the person paying for the stone.
The AFG Aims was established to further the art of faceting yes but not just Competition, It was for all types of cutting, Including Re cutting, commercial cutting. A good commercial cutter could cut 6 or more 1+crt meet point faceted stones in a day.
May your meet points meet some wear
here is a link to see a great cutter do a step cut from his brain and please note NO 10X loupe used just a head Lense
Facebook
Hi Ed,
My remarks were primarily focussed on the stones put up in Facebook but equally apply across the board even to the Asian cutters you mention. They are based on the qualities of the result. Not on the method used for the cut.
There will always be skilled cutters doing things differently to how you or I would do the job and rightly so as otherwise we won’t learn anything.
Even with high end rough, there must be a premium for a well cut stone with a good light return.
Query whether a 16.5 ct sapphire with poor light return and scintillation would be worth more than a 15ct sapphire with good light return and scintillation. I would suggest the latter stone would be more attractive and command a significantly higher price than the former. Probably even more if cut to an investment cut.
In this regard I more than tripled the value of a zircon by recutting it to about 2/3rds of its initial cut weight. In the process I turned it from a lifeless, poorly cut stone sold at a discount to a pretty stone with good light return given the saturation of the material. Consequently I’m always on the lookout for similar badly cut stones at gemshows that are discounted because they don’t sell.
A wide girdle is the fastest way to add weight to a stone and I’ve seen a number of examples with girdles clearly greater than 10% of W. Sometimes this is from a beginner, but not always.
I also see a lot of Australian sapphires held out as beautiful with a good polish but not much else going for them. They are clearly cut for weight with little of no light return or scintillation in their presentation. There are even 10 ct+ Aquamarines and citrines in the better quality jeweller’s shop I last visited with my wife that you can read a newspaper through.
I expect they would be significantly more valuable if cut to maximise their appeal rather than weight.
My point was about using competitions as tracking tools to improve and benchmark cutting skills.
Thank you.
Yes. there are a lot of bad cutters out there in all types of faceting but when i read you first post about how if you do not inter into competitions then you will not learn to be a good cutter? or words to that effect. I think you should have said a better "competition cuter" and left it at that.
As Commercial cutting and competition cutting are not the same and never will be. as one cuts for looks and the other cut for looks with maximum weight return depending on the cut from the rough = more money for the customers.
That's all it is about more money, especially when it comes to stones in the price range above $5,000 and more around $250.000+
You have Commercial, meet point, freeform, skin polishing and concave cutting.
I have instructed over time on all the above methods, within Australia and Sri Lanka. Also, i am AFG faceting instructor and never had to inter into a competition nor do i wish too as i have better things to do then spend to many hours trying to cut a 100 point stone. But i must say, i never tried to put down other cutters or their stile of cutting.
What you have seen in markets in regard to poor cutting is not about the style but the induvial cutter.
Remember one of the Guilds Aims is to promote faceting not just one type of faceting
Also be aware over the last 4 years no more the 15 Cutters out of 640 AFG members inter into the AFG competitions?
Have you tried to cut a pear shape stone without any cutting instructions? try it, you will learn why many stones are cut the way they are as you don't get a second chance when the price of rough is worth over $20.000+ per Crt
Here is a link to what i think you to believe as a poorly cut stone have a good look at the 3D Image and also not the price in US dollars.
Loose Blue Sapphire - Oval 69.35 Ct. - #B2080 | The Natural Sapphire Company
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