Author Archives: allan

Slipping Faceting Head Angle Problem

Here is another fix for the Omni-e as sent to me by another owner, Christa Starr (thanks and sorry for the delay in posting!) Her problem was that it seemed her encoder was broken, as the angle would change whenever … Continue reading

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Crap Customer Services from Bay Centerless

Well, I hate to do this but I’m getting totally frustrated and pissed-off with manufacturers who just have no idea about customer service. Back in the beginning of October I sent in a request to Bay Centerless, in Hollister CA, … Continue reading

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Avoid Sierra Gems – Unethical Ripoff Company

Okay, it’s been a while since something has gotten under my skin enough to deserve a post. But this weekend it was pointed out on the Gemology Online forum that Sierra Gems is trying to rip off customers as well … Continue reading

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The Omni-e Dop Problem

So this is something I haven’t written about yet, but has dogged me for years. It affects all owners of Omni-e, Patriot and Tom Thumb faceting machines as well. It’s almost impossible to find anyone who sells dops for theses … Continue reading

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New Tourmaline Site by Bruce Fry

I’ve been helping Bruce Fry make his own website featuring his outstanding collection of tourmaline. So for the past month he’s been very busy creating posts about each stone – his impressions, cutting experience and commentary around its provenance and … Continue reading

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Return to the Intertubes – eNom Sucks

Well, after over a year’s absence Omnifaceter is back on the internet! I am happy that this resource is once again available to those need to adjust and repair these machines. I was forced to change the domain from omnifaceter.com … Continue reading

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Back Online

Sorry, I’ve been offline since January 7 due to a hack attack on the site. It was a rather amateur attack, but bad enough in that it forced me offline for a bit until I had time to look at … Continue reading

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Fasscher Design for Tourmaline

A couple months back I found an interesting photo in this thread on the Gemology Online forum. The stone was a colourless YAG garnet in a design that looked very similar to an Asscher cut but with a simple pavilion. … Continue reading

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Gemstone Suite #2

In addition to the tourmalines that I posted earlier, here’s a pic of the other stones I managed to cut this past year. Clockwise from top left: 2.67 ct Pakistani Peridot; 6.40 ct Strontium Titanate; 2.95 ct Pakistani Peridot; 1.07 … Continue reading

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Tourmaline Suite

I took some pictures of the stones I’ve cut in the last year. This is a group of tourmaline from Afghanistan and Nigeria. Colours are pretty much spot-on with what I was seeing. Photo was taken in cloudy daylight. (no … Continue reading

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