Gem carving is an awe- inspiring ancient skill.  My previous post showed a modern intaglio carver recreating an ancient Greek gem.   I was recently taken by this video of another intaglio carver at work.

Amber is a beautiful gemstone to use! Notice that the carver works from the back of the cabochon? This gives a natural "dome" to the finished work.


You can purchase such Baltic carved amber such as the one shown above as well as this lovely specimen below - both of which are from GemmaxMontreal.


Then there is hardstone carving.  This time consuming craft is very old, dating back to the Neolithic period. Carved gemstones were highly prized by many cultures and often had religious or ritualistic purposes or were considered to have special powers.

Many of the carvers in antiquity did not have magnifiers to help them in their difficult work. But they had simple drills and abrasive powders.

Today there are many hand stone gem carvers from all over the world. This carved labradorite cabochon is from piyagems which is based in India.


This beautiful little bird carved in succor creek jasper caught my eye.  The supplier is RocRockBeads.


China is the home of many outstanding gemstone carvers. DIYgem  is a Beijing supplier with an incredible variety of beautifully and skillfully carved gemstones such as the two shown below.


This pinkish-purple agate goldfish is lovely!


The gorgeous carved carnelian fox pendant shown below is from Canadian supplier, Maplebeads.


Before You Go:



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This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation.
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