Intaglio on Gemstone material

I thought I would share this. I was experimenting (new owner) and though it would be interesting to engrave gemstone material. So, here is a polished aquamarine engraved with a rose. Very small and just an experiment. I was not successful in cutting a hole so I suppose that will need to be drilled out.

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Nice! You might like some of the other stone and tile projects here too, I remember one was agate based:

https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=Agate

And some others:

https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=Semiprecious

There are so many posts here it might give you some more ideas. :slight_smile:

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Thank you! Great stuff to look at.

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Nice! There’s things you could infill the engraving with, mostly acrylic paints.

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Hi Shannon!

That was some of the most fun I have had with this machine! It’s like a treasure hunt. :sunglasses:

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Can you add a photo to your top post for us rural sorts? Our back country Internet connection isn’t letting the video play for me. :frowning:

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In the meantime :slight_smile:
image

@shannon.hobbs -
Your rose is beautiful! If you made that unsuccessful hole into a solid circle it would help keeping the drill on the right spot!

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Very cool!

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Good point! I will try that. And thank you for adding the photo!!! Sorry about that.

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This is lovely! Perfect design for the piece as well.

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I don’t know how you are equipped, but with a rotary handpiece, Harbor Freight sells a set of diamond drills really cheap that work well, as long as you keep the tool cool. The grit on them is plated on instead of brazed like expensive bits. if you overheat it the grit will wipe right off. Keep a drop of water on the drill site, and when it starts getting thick, rinse and repeat. It will take a while to get through that, but it will be worth it.

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Thank you for the tip!

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Maybe diamonds? :rofl::joy:

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Diamonds might burn if your settings are too harsh :wink:

that being said, many diamonds are laser marked now to prove provenance/quality

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LOL who can afford diamonds? It was Glowforge or Diamonds…I think the glowforge was the better choice :wink:

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A CO2 laser will not make holes in any rock but it can mark it. You will want to be careful which materials you engrave as lapis, turquoise, malachite, or other copper based rock, as well as chlorine, or sulfur chemistry can damage your machine. A nice Amethyst will not damage the machine but the color will vanish. Agates in general are pretty safe.

Real Aquamarine is Beryl, the same as Emeralds, but a different color so is much harder than Agate and thus harder to drill. If you could make a setting instead of drilling it would save a lot of PIA.

I would suggest a real jewelers supply if you want to drill a hole in beryl.

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Wow! Thank you for that! I have studied geology and gemology but I did not even consider the possibility of metallic material base. What about silicates like tourmaline?

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Tourmalines would work but finding one that would hold together would be a challenge. That is why agates work well, no crystal planes.

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