[Advise needed] Gem carving

I just received a moonstone cameo from a jeweler that I do work for,
it has a cleavage break on the girdle up into the neck area of the
head. I have carved, ground and sanded up to the neck area. The neck
and head areas look to be engraved, is this possible on moonstone? If
not what and/or how is this accomplished. Any info.on this would be
helpful.

Thanks in advance,
Howard Broderson
HLB Designs

Howard, Moonstone is a variety of Feldspar - soft on the Mohs scale,
and relatively easy to carve. The stone is neither malleable nor
ductile (and it is highly susceptible to cleavage from impact,) so it
couldn’t have been engraved with the sort of unpowered tools one might
use for metal. Most likely the “engraved” area was carved with a
high-speed rotary tool, such as a Dremel or Foredom, tipped with a
diamond point.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to email a photo of the stone
off-list if you’d like a more informed opinion. :slight_smile:

-Pete-
TripleRock Lapidary
Western New York, USA