Resources · Sourcing

Buying Rough Stones

Best first material

Quartz, affordable and forgiving

Check before buying

Clarity, size, and any treatments

Where to start

A local rock shop, in person

Good rough is the foundation of every cut on this site. Knowing what to look for, and where lapidaries actually buy their material, saves you from wasting time and money on a stone that was never going to cut well.

What to look for in rough

Evaluate before you buy

Clarity

Hold the piece up to light and look for internal fractures or heavy inclusions before anything else.

Size relative to your design

Make sure a clean area large enough for your intended cut actually exists inside the rough, not just on its surface.

Hardness and treatments

Know what you are buying. Treated or unusually soft material cuts and polishes differently than untreated rough.

Where lapidaries source rough

Three reliable places to buy

Local rock and mineral shops

The best place to start, you can inspect material in person before buying anything.

Mineral and gem shows

Often the best source for variety, and a chance to talk directly to miners or other cutters.

Reputable online dealers

Useful once you know what to look for in photos and listings, less forgiving for a first purchase.

Start cheap while you’re learning

Start with inexpensive, forgiving material like quartz while you are still learning. Save the material you are genuinely excited about for once your technique is reliable, a mistake on a low-cost stone stings far less than one on something rare.

Where to go from here

Ready to start cutting

Review the basics

Make sure you have the right equipment before your first stone arrives.

Plan your first cut

The Round Cut guide is the best match for a first, forgiving rough stone.

Size a design to your stone

Model your design in GemCad once you know your rough’s clean dimensions.

Check your equipment

Make sure your machine and laps can handle the material you’re about to buy.

Found a stone you like?

Model it in GemCad to check sizing before you commit a single facet to the lap.

Model Your Stone →