I have been spending a little time at the Houston Gem and Mineral Society's Workshop lately learning to 'cab' my own stones. This means cutting, shaping, and polishing gemstone rough material into nicely domed and flat bottom pieces called cabachons. These are to be used in finished jewelry designs. Before learning to do this process myself, my jewelry was limited to designing around the stones that I would purchase mostly from the incredibly talented Lapidary Artist Ronald Talhelm. Now, I can design just about anything and then cut and shape my own stones to fit my custom settings. Granted, I am a beginner at this, but I am very excited about the possibilities on the horizon.






Photos include my first turqouise cabachons, plume agate doublet, my first heart shape cabachon, and leopard jasper.
The plume agate doublet was created using a layer of clear quartz applied directly to the top of a piece of plume agate to create depth.