Make your plans now to attend the Ninth Annual USFG-Franklin Faceters Frolic on July 28, 29 and 30, 2016.

 

FFF9 is part of the United States Faceters Guild and has expanded to a 3 day format to include more speakers and programs along with a broad array of dealers.

 

The Franklin Faceters Frolic is held at the same time as the Macon County Gemboree and several other gem and mineral shows in Franklin, NC.   

The Frolic will be at the The Factory, (formerly known as The Fun Factory: same location as FFF8) in Franklin, NC.

 

 

Dealers open for business in the Depot Room from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

 

This year, Robert Strickland will offer three GemCad classes: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The Beginner class will introduce you to the basic commands and features of GemCad. The Intermediate course will be a refresher on the basics and creating and modifying existing designs and creating new designs of your own. The Advanced course is for GemCad users who would like to explore the finer points of GemCad.

 

The cost is $25.00 per class. To register and pay for the classes, go to the website and click on one of the PayPal buttons:

 

 

 

If you prefer to pay by check, send $25.00 for each class you would like to register for, made payable to The Faceters Frolic and mail to Ken Michalek, PO Box 182, Greer, SC 29652. Any questions, email Ken: [email protected]

 

9:00 am to 11:00 am - GemCad for Beginners - For those who want to learn the basic How-To of GemCad Software. You should bring your Notebook with GemCad already loaded on it ready to go by 9:00 AM. You can down load a free trial of GemCad at www.gemcad.com 30 days before the class. If you do not purchase before you get there, you may purchase during the Frolic from Robert. Once you learn how to use GemCad, we believe you will realize the real value in this software tool for any level if faceting you do.

 

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Intermediate GemCad - For those who need a refresher on basic GemCad and further operations.

 

 

9:00 am - 11:00 am - Advanced GemCad - Robert will go into advanced capabilities of GemCad for the experienced user.

 

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Lisa Elser - "Going Pro" -Internationally known gem cutter Lisa Elser of Custom Cut Gems will speak about how she got started in business and her experiences as a faceter.

 

3:00 pm- 5:00 pm - Sue Lichtenberger - Kitchen Counter Rock and Gem ID. Sue will explain how to use readily available items to help identify gems and minerals. This is a hands on discussion and was a popular topic last year.

 

Lisa Elser

6:00 in The Depot Room - The Faceters Meet and Pretty Stone Contest. Come and enjoy meeting with the dealers, speakers and other faceters from around the world. Pizza and soft drinks will be available for $5.00 per person. Bring a stone that you have cut and enter in either the Natural or Simulated Gem division. Prizes will be awarded to the winner in each category. This is a "Beauty Contest" and the winners will be chosen by those in attendance.

 

 

Dealers open for business in the Depot Room from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

 

10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Master Gem Cutter Jerry Call will discuss some of his cutting tips and techniques for Maximizing Your Rough. Last year, Jerry's talk turned into a lively question and answer session covering a host of different topics. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best!

 

Thanks

Ken Michalek

FFF9

After the opening remarks, Maarten DeWitte - master diamond cutter - spoke about his career in diamond cutting. Maarten described how he got into the business, developed a mastery of his craft and then worked with others to build companies involved with diamonds and diamond cutting. Maarten demonstrated some of the tools of the trade and also shared slides and his professional experiences. Maarten also shared some thoughts about what the future for the diamond trade may be.

After a short break for lunch, Starla Turner, GG, FGA spoke about gem identification. Starla provided her insights into concepts important to faceters such as light, reflection, refraction and crystal systems. Starla described several tools used in gem identification and led the group through building a polariscope from common materials.

For the second part of her presentation, Starla set up stations with materials for the attendees to use the knowledge and gem id tools to identify several materials.

Attendees then received a complimentary pass to the 68th Annual MGSCV Show in Newark, CA. Friends of Faceting John Garsow and Rick Kennedy represented the faceting rough dealer community and had some wonderful material to discuss and offer to Frolic attendees. In coordination with the Faceter Frolic, John and Rick were kind enough to offer a small discount to the Frolic attendees - which was most appreciated.

Day 2 started off with attendees sharing some information about themselves, their favorite or least favorite gemstone material and why they are passionate about faceting.

The first presentation was delivered by MGSCV's own Roland Arajs as he led a Gem-Cad tutorial for the group for his design called the 'Brilliant Trilliant'. To assist with the presentation, Rennie Castelino created a step-by-step PowerPoint slide presentation as a hardcopy handout for the attendees to use as they created the design in Gem-Cad.

During the presentation, Roland shared his insights regarding optimizing light return and some design choices that the attendees may want to consider.

After lunch, the second presentation was really more of a discussion about attendee experiences with various components of faceting including transferring the gemstone. Roland spent time discussing concepts of shift and tilt in transfer as well as how Gem-Cad could be used to help with design updates for a stone that had shifted or tilted in transfer.

Day 2 wrapped up again with attendees being able to return to the MGSCV show or return home.

All things considered - everyone had a great time, made some new friends and folks were eager to know when the next event may take place.

Take a look.How'd you like some rough like that?!

Ultra Tec Faceter Ray Brandon and his wife, Brenda, are from Arizona, They stopped by to visit Ultra Tec on their way to the GIA Campus in Carlsbad.

David Sullivan stopped by to pick up his new machine.

Sam is the leader of SKYGEMSTONE, a jewelry company in Taiwan. They haved designed, made and sold jewelry for over a decade, and are also the only agent of Gemvision(Matrix) in Taiwan.

SKYGEMSTONE work hard on promoting jewelry making activities and over the past few years and have held several training classes in their studio which is really close to Taipei 101 and Taipei Song-Shan Cultural Park. A good location is more easier for people who would like to learn jewelry making skill to reach us! 

We are looking forward to you being an Ultra Tec representative! 

Once again, thank you as always for your interest in ULTRA TEC and our products. We'll be in touch again soon with the next Sometimes Newsletter.