Gemstone Recutting and Repolishing

 

Class Description

Taught by JUSTIN K Prim

5-day intensive, 9:30am-4:30pm

October 26th-30th, 2026

Master the Art of Recutting

What do you do when a gemstone is chipped, broken, badly proportioned, windowed, poorly polished, or simply not living up to its potential? Gemstone Recutting and Repair is a one week intensive workshop devoted to the skills needed to evaluate, redesign, repair, and recut existing gemstones.

Rather than following a predetermined diagram, you will learn to examine the stone in front of you, identify its problems and possibilities, and develop a cutting strategy that preserves weight while improving beauty, brilliance, color, and overall performance.

Whether you previously completed our Faceting Bootcamp or learned to facet elsewhere, this course is designed to expand your skills beyond cutting clean rough and teach you how to solve the more complicated problems encountered when working with existing gemstones. Over five days, you will complete practical recutting and repair projects that challenge you to work intuitively.

You will learn how to reshape damaged stones, remove chips and surface damage, improve poor proportions, and create or adapt designs to suit the material that remains. You will learn how to make informed decisions throughout the cutting process and develop the judgement required to turn a compromised stone into the best gemstone it can become.

Recutting In Theory and Practice

Successful recutting requires more than knowing how to place facets. The cutter must understand what is wrong with the original stone, what can realistically be improved, and what material must be sacrificed to achieve that improvement. Throughout the course, practical cutting exercises are combined with gemology, optics, color theory, and design analysis to help you understand why a stone performs the way it does and how to improve it.

We will examine how proportions, pavilion depth, facet arrangement, refractive index, tone, saturation, extinction, windowing, and orientation affect the appearance of a gemstone. We will also study the aesthetics and optical behaviour of 25 classic cutting styles to understand how different approaches can improve or diminish brilliance and color. Particular attention will be given to preserving weight during a recut. You will learn how to balance the desire for optical improvement with the practical realities of working from an existing stone, where every adjustment comes at the cost of valuable material.

Learning Objectives

  • Evaluate an existing gemstone and identify problems with its proportions, polish, symmetry, brilliance, and color performance

  • Develop a recutting strategy that balances optical improvement with weight retention

  • Repair chipped and damaged gemstones

  • Reshape and redesign stones without relying on a predetermined cutting diagram

  • Recut poorly proportioned gemstones to improve brilliance and reduce windowing or extinction

  • Understand the optical principles that determine whether a gemstone performs well

  • Analyse how different cutting styles influence brilliance, contrast, extinction, windowing, and perceived color

  • Use GemCutStudio to evaluate and modify designs for recutting

  • Develop the judgement and improvisational skills required to solve unexpected problems at the faceting machine

Who Should Take This Course

This workshop is intended for experienced faceters who want to develop practical skills in gemstone recutting, repair, and restoration. It is particularly useful for cutters who want to work with damaged gemstones, poorly cut commercial stones, old or worn gems, and stones whose original proportions or cutting style prevent them from reaching their full potential.

The course is also designed for faceters who want to become less dependent on diagrams and develop the ability to make informed cutting decisions directly at the machine. Gemstone Recutting and Repair teaches you how to analyse a problem, develop a solution, and execute that solution while preserving as much of the original gemstone as possible.

Prerequisites
Prior faceting experience is required. Students must already be comfortable with the complete faceting process, including rough examination, preforming, dopping, cutting, meetpoint faceting, and polishing. The course assumes competence in these foundational skills and builds upon them. Gemstone Recutting and Repair is taught on handpiece style faceting machines, although students with experience using other types of faceting machines are welcome.

What's Included in the Class?

  • Recut and Repair 3 faceted stones without a diagram

  • Daily lectures and practical exercises

  • All machines, tools, and stones provided for the duration of the course

  • Certificate of completion

  • Students will take home the stones they cut

Class size: 5 students.

Refunds & Credit

Please email us at info@bkmetalworks.com to withdraw from class. Withdrawals from class more than 7 days prior to the start of the class will receive a full refund for the class minus a 10% processing fee. If cancellation occurs 3-6 days prior to the class, we will provide a 50% refund. Cancellations 48 hours or less receive a 25% refund. Refunds will not be provided for no-shows or same-day cancellations.

We do not refund tuition for classes that students miss due to their own circumstances. There will be no refunds once the class begins in any circumstance, nor can we transfer you to a later semester. Students enrolled in multi-session studio courses (excluding workshops and intensives) may make-up missed class sessions during open studio hours through the duration of the session.

We reserve the right to cancel or discontinue any class, in which case you may choose to receive a refund, apply the class credit towards a different course, or receive a tuition credit for future use. Tuition credits are valid for up to one year. Refunds will be issued within 30 days.