Hidden Treasure!
- meteorwrite
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 23
How does a rough rock become a beautiful jewel? In a quaint rock shop, just north of Dahlonega, Georgia, USA customers could once indulge in a guided gemstone cutting. I enjoyed my first taste of this in the Mountain View Rock and Gem Shop two decades ago. The following is a version of the article I wrote as a reporter for the Dawson Community News, highlighting my firsthand experience. My article was originally published on July 20, 2005. Come along on a behind-the-scenes fieldtrip with me…
HIDDEN TREASURE!
By Donna H. Bowman
Gem cutting (lapidary arts) begins with a grimy, purple piece of earth; an eye-catching rock to some, overlooked by others. A shrill, steel blade slices a neat corner out of the rock. The piece is fused to a post with wax and mounted to a mechanical arm. A straw carries cool dripping water onto a diamond, sandpaper turntable. The experienced craftsman lowers the stone to the coarse spinning surface. In a cloud of mist, he carves it into a small, raisin sized pebble.
Now, it’s my turn. My teacher waits…and watches. Sandpaper spins. Water drips. Eyes wide with anticipation, I slowly lower the stone. Long, rough, scraping interrupts the hum of the motor. The needle measuring the pressure doesn’t move. Adrenaline races through me. I bravely push harder. The needle vibrates. Afraid to unlock my eyes, I glance from the stone to the needle. Pressing even harder against the unforgiving surface, cool water mists my hands. The needle slowly edges to “zero”. A perfect cut (facet). I release pressure just as the needle skips past zero into the “red” zone. A bell warns - I cut a fraction too far! The bright lamp glaring down on the spinning surface feels warmer by the minute. The fan blowing my hair is now quite welcomed as I’m beginning to feel flushed. I catch a glimpse of my teacher; he appears used to this. He hasn’t flinched.
I dry the stone and hold it up to the light. I can see my first cut! It’s tiny, but it’s there. My untrained eyes are blind to imperfections: elation returns! I rotate the arm to the next measurement over and over. A diagram dictates the distance, height, angle and pitch for each of the 71 cuts. Playing tag team with Rick, my patient instructor, my skills improve until at last there appears…a finely faceted peak.
A pink polishing disk replaces the rougher sandpaper, signaling the teaching of another skill. The stone has less resistance to this surface. I’m instructed to ignore the alarm now which, again, has me jumping. I rush to dry my new creation. In the light the dusty little stone now has the most beautiful, purple, shiny sliver. Every intricate cut is realigned and polished until the whole peak shines!
The stone is inverted and the process repeated. Three hours later, the 71st cut atop the oval stone is at last polished. Each slice in the translucent stone acts like a mirror. Light rays enter the stone, hit the flat cuts, and bounce back out, creating a beautiful sparkle.
The post is held into a flame until the wax drips and lets go of its prize. Filled with excitement, I gingerly lift the treasure. The rock has now become an amethyst jewel shimmering light rays throughout! Nature’s gem was always there, but now more souls can see it.
I’m grateful to my dear friends Rick and Mary McGee for offering this challenging, fun-filled, experience to me and my family several times. Today, Rick has shifted to mentoring in-house apprentices at a Dahlonega gold mine, rather than to the general public. But classes are available elsewhere if you're searching. In 2025, I took a fabulous lapidary class taught by Larry Carby at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts (William Holland School)—also in north Georgia—for cutting gemstones into cabochons. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning this unique art. My two lapidary machines are from Cab King (CabKing), which I also highly recommend. Enjoy your treasure hunting journey!
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