Ohhh…its been quite some time since I’ve been on here. In regards
to what you said about Apatite I just wanted to give my two bits. I’m
glad to say I haven’t had the same experience with Apatite as you have
had. I faceted quite a bit 5-7 years ago…and dealt with Apatite
on several occasions and I came to realize Apatite was a lot
like…Kunzite and Diopside. If you get a nice compact piece you
will have no problem faceting beautiful gems. Now this is not to say
that a stone that is flawless is compact or a stone that is included
is not a compact stone. I bought a large lot of Kunzite once. It was
flawless stuff in awesome colors; however, whenever I tried faceting
it, it just wouldn’t stop cleaving. On the other hand I’ve faceted
several beautiful Chrome Diopside gems from Pakistan full of
inclusion with no problems. Afghani Apatite from my experience is
quite compact…while on the other hand I’m sure you would agree that
Madagascar material (at least what is available today) is very
fragile. David…this is the first time I’m emailed orchid in quite
some time so hope you don’t mind if i’m a bit off the topic
considering you were talking about beads and me faceting.
Thanks
Intimate Gems
Farooq