Lapidary

Art

​Interested in hands-on creative crafting?

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Lapidary arts involve cabbing, faceting, and sculpting fossils, minerals, and gemstones into functional, decorative, and wearable creations!  The club’s artists have a few recommendations on where to start...

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Subjects relative to lapidary art:

• Art
  • Jewelry Crafting
    • Faceting
    • Cabbing
    • Tumbling
    • Carving
    • Engraving
    • Intarsia
    • Inlay Stones
    • Wire Wrapping
    • Stone Setting
    • Wax Molding
    • Metal Casting
  • Architecture
  • Sculpture
  • Stone Masonry
  • Graphic Design
  • Photography
• History / Literature
  • Archaeology
  • Ancient Civilizations

  • Social Studies

  • World Religion

• Science

  • Chemistry
  • Earth Sciences
    • Geology

    • Gemology

    • Mineralogy

• Technology

  • 3D Modeling

  • Cartography

• Engineering

  • Manufacturing

• Mathematics

  • Geometry

Key search terms:

• lapidary art

• jewelry

• gemstone

• faceting

• cabochon

• cabbing

• tumbling

• carving

• engraving

• intarsia

• inlay stones

• wire wrapping

• stone setting

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Tools for creating lapidary art:

• vise (and/or loupe)

• scribe (and stencils)

• dop wax (and stick)

• saw

• grinding wheels

• sanding wheels

• cabbing machine

• faceting machine

• polishing wheel

• tumbler (with grits)

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Careers involving lapidary art:

• lapidary artist

• gemstone facetor

• diamond facetor

• jewelry designer

• bench jeweler

• fabrication artist

• sculptor

• stone mason

• graphic designer

• 3D model maker

• technical staff

• set designer

• museum curator

• teacher

• salesperson

Resource

Education

• Headwaters Lapidary

  • “Learn How to Cut Gems”
  • Offers lapidary services and lessons in faceting and cabbing gemstones into finished pieces.
• International Gem Society (IGS)
  • “[T]he world’s top resource for gem professionals, enthusiasts, and industry content.”

• Gemological Institute of America (GIA)

  • “A public benefit, non-profit institute, GIA is the leading source of knowledge, standards, and education in gems and jewelry.”

Jewelry

Organizations

• American Gem Society (AGS)

  • “The American Gem Society is the country’s preeminent jewelry trade organization dedicated to consumer protection.”

• American Gem Trade Association (AGTA)

  • “The AGTA is recognized within the jewelry trade as the authoritative source on natural colored gemstones: “The voice of the natural colored gemstone, pearl and cultured pearl industries.””