Guides > Gemcutting

Cuttable Gems

Cuttable gems come in four varieties (amethyst, garnet, lapis, and turquoise), and are acquired from water mines. Detailed information on the operation of a water mine can be found on the Water mining page.

Cutting Gems

Cuttable gems may be cut into various shapes on a gem cutting table. Various types of cut gems are used in building many different structures.

Start by loading a cuttable gem onto a gemcutting table. Pin the table's menu for reference, but control the table using the keyboard. (Remember: to use keyboard hotkeys, press enter to disable chat and then place the mouse over the building to control.) Rotate the gem around to get a feel for the interface. It's easiest to control the table while using the explorer's camera (F6); stand on the far side of the table and look across it so the pole is located on the rear right. (See the image below.)

A cuttable gem is a 7x7x7 three-dimensional matrix of vertices. Each vertex may be present or absent. Facets form along the edges between present and absent vertices. Consider this gem:

The vertices on the outermost layer of the gem form a face, outlined in green. The outermost vertex at the point outlined in blue is missing, forming a divot in the gem. Holes like this are called "flaws" in the gem.

Each gem loaded into a cutting table will have a random set of flaws. Flaws always consist of a hole drilled straight into the gem from the outside in. You will never find a missing vertex deep within a gem that is not visible from the outside.

A gem may be cut using three sanding discs. Each disc will remove all the outermost vertices along a plane. Disc 1 removes the left side of the gem. Disc 2 removes the diagonal plane touching on the upper and front sides of the gem. Disc 3 removes the diagonal plane touching on the upper, front, and right sides of the gem. (All directions relative to the table image above.)

The goal is to sand a gem into one of a number of predetermined shapes. You may find an example of one of these shapes by using the gem catalog, available on the gem cutting table. The gem catalog will display a sample gem atop the pole on the table. Use these samples for reference while cutting.

Most types of cut gem can only be formed by taking advantage of flaws in the gem. For example, the "eyelet" cut requires a flaw two vertices deep, surrounded by unflawed vertices. The "full eye" cut is harder, requiring a three-vertex flaw. Before sanding any facets off a gem, examine it carefully to see what kinds of cuts can be made from it. Remember that there is no way to drill holes into a gem--the sanding discs will only remove planes.

Sculptors sometimes say that they see the statue hidden within a block of stone, and cut away all that is not a part of it. This is exactly how gems are made: The desired cut gem is hidden within the rough stone. Sand away all the vertices that are not a part of it.

When you have produced an exact match for a cut gem, complete the cut by selecting the type of gem you are making from the "finished cutting" menu of the cutting table. If your gem is an exact, vertex-for-vertex match for the sample in the catalog, it will be removed from the table. You may need to rotate the gem to the same alignment as the one in the catalog.

A gem cutting table could be upgraded with a "fine balance", which indicates the weight of the gem being cut. The weight of a gem is equal to the number of set vertices remaining.

Some gem cuts require flaws that are present in only a small fraction of rough gems. Zomboe, an expert gem cutter, provides this list of rare cuts: Tiki Mask is insanely rare. Others, in approximate order of decreasing rarity, are King's Tomb, Unity, Bridge, Lotus, Ring, Dragyn's Eye, Aidenn Mask. If you find a rough gem that can be cut into one of these, it's usually best to do it even if you're currently looking for something else -- you'll be glad of it later.

Complete Gem Catalog

If you want to practice cutting the standard cuts, there is a gem cutting school in RSO at 2170, 2290 (a short run west from RSO chariot). It consists of 26 Bijou tables, each of which has one of the standard gem cuts as the sample.

A short run of approximate rarities:

• All: all gems can be cut into this shape.
• Common: one in two gems can be cut into this shape.
• Uncommon: one in six gems can be cut into this shape.
• Rare: one in twelve gems can be cut into this shape.
• Ultra rare: one in eighteen gems can be cut into this shape.
• Ultra rare+: insanely rare.

Eyelet (16 carat)

Requirements: a flaw two vertex deep.
Rarity: Common.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
The flaw can commonly be seen from outside the gem, without making a single cut. Otherwise you may be required to cut areas that have slightly bigger or slightly smaller flaws using disc 1.

1. Using disc 1, cut all the "excess" parts around the flaw, creating a long "tube".
2. Cut the side of the tube without the flaw till you reach the other side of the flaw.

Notice you may be able to produce a Full Eye rather than an Eyelet, they are more valuable.

Thistle (12 carat)

Requirements: None.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
The thistle cut requires no flaws and a very small area of unflawed gem, along with the lens and corner heart, this cut can be used to salvage cuts which go wrong

1. Use disc 2 to make a 2x2 tube
2. Use disc three repeatedly to form the ends.

Lens (12 carat)

Requirements: None.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to plane the gem down to a single flat layer with as few flaws as possible.
2. Rotate the gem to lie parallel to the table.
3. Use disc 3 to cut the corners.

Choronzon (43 carat)

Requirements: A block of unflawed gem measuring 5x5x3.
Rarity: Common.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to make as large an unflawed plane as possible.
2. Use disc 2 to make the side planes.
3. Use disc 3 to make the ends.

Queen's Tomb (18 carat)

Requirements: A single flaw surrounded by a ring of unflawed gem.
Rarity: Uncommon.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
Although the flaw can be rarily seen without cutting the gem at all, many times cutting eyelet-like, double depth flaws will reveal that the inside flaw is indeed surrounded by unflawed space.

1. Rotate the flaw to face either downward or toward you.
2. Use disc three repeatedly to form the side of the pyramid (rotate once each side is complete).

King's Tomb (43 carat)

Requirements: A single flaw surrounded by a double ring of unflawed gem.
Rarity: Ultra rare+.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
Although the flaw can be rarily seen without cutting the gem at all, many times cutting eyelet-like, double depth flaws will reveal that the inside flaw is indeed surrounded by unflawed space.

1. Rotate the flaw to face either downward or toward you.
2. Use disc three repeatedly to form the side of the pyramid (rotate once each side is complete).

Full Eye (24 carat)

Requirements: A flaw three vertex deep.
Rarity: Uncommon.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
The flaw can commonly be seen from outside the gem, without making a single cut. Otherwise you may be required to cut areas that have slightly bigger or slightly smaller flaws using disc 1.

1. Using disc 1, cut all the "excess" parts around the flaw, creating a long "tube".
2. Cut the side of the tube without the flaw till you reach the other side of the flaw.

Corner Heart (4 carat)

Requirements: Intersection of three small flaws.
Rarity: Common.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc three repeatedly and work towards the most flawless area.
2. Rotate the disc and continue using disc three.

(The "flaw" in the middle will likely be there when you're done)

Another method is to look for the flaw on the outside of the gem. Loop for an inverted letter 'A' and a number 9.

Use Disc 1 to remove the unwanted areas. No need to use the other discs. Although you may not be able to see the other flaws immediately, it is usually present once you've finish cutting the gems.

Dalessi (25 carat)

Aidenn Mask (15 carat)

Requirements: Two flaws next to each other.
Rarity: Rare.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to remove all the gem not in the same plane as the two flaws.
2. Use disc 2 to cut around the flaws

Amanti (11 carat)

Requirements: None.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to create a flat area on one face of the gem.
2. Rotate this area onto the top of the gem.
3. Use disc 2 to plane to the center of the flat area. Rotate the gem 90 degrees about the Z axis, and again plane to the center with disc 2. Rotate and plane two more times. The point produced should be recognizable as one half of an Amanti.
4. Flip the gem upside down, and repeat the process to produce the other half.

Bastet (11 carat)

Requirements: A flaw two vertices deep.
Rarity: Common.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to remove all the gem not in the plane of the flaw
2. Use disc 2 to make the point

Cat's Eye (28 carat)

Requirements: A two vertex deep flaw surrounded by a double ring of unflawed gem.
Rarity: Ultra-rare.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to create a flat area around the flaw.
2. Rotate this area onto the bottom of the gem.
3. Use disc 2 to plane all 4 sides of the gem.
4. Use disc 3 to plane off the corners of the gem.

Unity (36 carat)

Requirements: One flaw three vertices deep with a flawless area around it.
Rarity: Rare.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
An easy cut of extremely annoyingly difficult rarity. It requires a flaw that is a hole 3 thicknesses deep and has a completely flawless area 2 thicknesses deep all around it. It is cut by shaping a cube around the hole (1 sander) and using the 2 sander to make the diagonal edges.

Reflection (14 carat)

Requirements: Two one-vertex flaws right next to each other.
Rarity: Uncommon.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:
The area between the two flaws makes up the reflection cut

1. Disc 1 is all that is needed to do this cut. Flip the gem so that the two flaws are facing up and cut to the middle of the flaw on each side

Appolonia (21 carat)

Requirements: One flaw with a large area of unflawed gem on one side of it.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to remove all the gem not in the plane of the flaw
2. Rotate the gem so that the flaw is at the top.
3. Use disc 2 to make the top points on either side of the flaw

Bridge (14 carat)

Requirements: A pair of two vertex flaws directly opposite each other.
Rarity: Rare.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to remove all the gem not in the plane of the flaws
2. Use disc 1 to make the points

Hexas Plate (9 carat)

Ring (13 carat)

Dragyn's Eye (17 carat)

Looking Glass (24 carat)

Requirements: An unflawed area of gem measuring 6x4x1.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 to remove all but a single plane of the gem
2. Use disc 1 to make the the gem the correct size

Symmetry (19 carat)

Requirements: An unflawed 3x3x3 cube.
Rarity: All.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

Lotus (19 carat)

Requirements: Specific pattern.
Rarity: Uncommon.
Difficulty: Easy.
Method:

1. Use disc 1 if necessary to expose the top flaw as in the pic.
2. Rotate this area onto the top of the gem.
3. Use disc 1 to plane to the edges of the flaw.
4. Flip the gem upside down, and use disc 3 to make the point.

Khufu's Ship (22 carat)

Sprocket (14 carat)

Tiki Mask (35 carat)

Additional Cutting Methods

Dalessi

This is much easier than it looks; you don't need a flaw for this cut, so most gems are suitable.

Using disc 1, cut a cube whose sides are 4 layers deep (if you get a perfect cube and have a Fine Balance, it should now be 64 carat). The cube does not have to be perfect at all; if it is not, one side is hopefully flawless - move this one to the bottom. Now cut with disc 3 until the side you are cutting aligns with the bottom corner. Rotate the gem 2 times on the X axis, and cut with disc 3 again. Cut this side 2 more times than the opposite side, and you have a Dalessi cut.

Dragyn's Eye

A rare cut. To cut a dragyn's eye, you need two flaws that intersect in the same plane. It is ok if they just touch. It is even better if one or both continues past the intersection as it may give you more cutting options. From a top view, the two flaws will form an L, T, or + shape. Pick two legs that form an L to work on.

The next condition to look for is to find a right triangle that surrounds each flaw. The long side of the triangle will touch the edge of the diamond shape of the flaw, the other two sides touch the remaining corners. This image shows a gem that was later successfully cut into a Dragyn's Eye. The green highlighted lines show the unflawed section that you need to cut out.

If both flaws have non-flawed triangles around them that join on one edge, then it is quite likely the cut will work. The last spot to check is the location between the non-touching points of the triangles, as it also must not have a flaw. If it doesn't then the gem can be cut into a dragyn's eye.

Use disc 1 to flatten the sides so your triangles are revealed (it is likely the gem starts this way and no sanding is necessary).

Use disc 1 again to flatten the bottom so the triangles are sitting on the base.

Rotate the gem so that bottom is on the bottom and both triangles are facing away from disc 3. Use disc 3 until the Dragyn's Eye is revealed.

Hexas Plate

A very basic cut. For gems that lack the flaws needed for less common cuts, find a diamond flaw of thickness two reletively close to an outside corner. Shave it off using disc 3 to create the inner "Bowl". At this stage check to make sure the bowl cut is not flawed. If it is, seek a diamond flaw on another edge and start over. If not, trim down all the excess gem with disc 1, then finish up the final cuts with disc 3.

Khufu's Ship

To do this cut you need a double facet which is 1 thickness deep:

Flip the facet to the top, use disc 3 to take away the material right up to the edge of the facet on all 4 sides. Next use disc 1 to bring the sides in as far as needed. Flip the facet to the bottom and use disc 2 to form the "keel". Use disc 3 to finish off the front section and disc 2 to finish off the back.

Ring

If while attempting a Queen's Tomb, you happen upon a hole through the pyramid. Never fear, you have a ring in the works. All you need to do is flip the top of the ring up and use disc 1 on shave off two of the corners on the top of the ring. Refer to the gem catalog to see which corners.

Sprocket

Not as hard as it may look, though it can be a litle tricky to avoid the flaws in the gem, as you need to turn it in basicly all diffrent angles. Aim for the least flawed area, and use _only_ Disc 2! At a first look, it might seam as it is a Disc 3 cut, but if one look closer at the template one will see (with the use of some logic) that all cut's are made by Disc 2.

It's basically an Amanti cut taken apart and rearranged, you can see in the image below which part of the Amanti relates to which part of the Sprocket:

Sprocket Step by step:

• Cut with disc 2 until you get a nice and smooth side (picture 1)
• Rotate the gem 180 degrees around the X axis (+x +x), cut the opposite side with disc 2 to get a thickness of 1 layer (picture 2)
• Rotate once around the Z axis (+z), cut with disc 2 to get the characteristic seam (picture 3)
• Rotate back (-z), then once around the Y axis (-y), cut with disc 2 to complete one side of the Sprocket (picture 4)
• Flip the gem around (+x +x), cut with disc 2 until the seam is in the middle of the gem (picture 5)
• Rotate once around the Z axis (+z), cut with disc 2 to complete the Sprocket (picture 6)

Tiki Mask

This cut is rarest of the rare, only a handful have ever been cut. Very approximate rarity is 1 in 1000. This cut was designed by Zomboe and is the second new cut (after Sprocket, by Ashmael) to be added in ATITD2. It is based on a prototype cut still displayed in Zomboe's museum. Because it was so popular, Zomboe attempted to refine the cut, and the Tiki Mask was born. Pharaoh saw it and was impressed enough to add it to the catalog for a special contest: for one week, anyone to give a Tiki Mask to him received an Amethyst Lightbox in return. If you do happen to cut one, it is worth asking Pharaoh if the offer is still open though. Pharaoh said that the cut reminded him of quartz skulls, and considered naming it Skull (or similar), but he was outvoted by Zomboe's friends, who preferred Tiki Mask.

Some advice for cutting is that the cut is seven vertices tall, so the eyes must be on the centerline of the plane. Two full eyes close together is the simplest pattern to look for, but the cut can actually tolerate a much larger number of flaws. For a good example of a very clever Tiki Mask bijou (thanks to Temm), check out the gemcutting school in RSO.

Useful Gems

Gem	Purpose
Any Gem, including Zircon
Eyelet	Automatic loom, Empty Hand Tower, Venery lock box, upgrade for Flax Comb or Hackling Rake
Appolonia	Chime Tower
Amethyst
Eyelet	Megalopolis, Charm of Flight, Reflect of Orbit
Eyelet (any gem)	Automatic loom, Empty Hand Tower
Hexas Plate (3, Amethyst)	Pathmaker puzzle
Lens (Amethyst)	Tower Of The Racing Mind
Looking Glass (Amethyst)	Ritual voting booth (Cartouche)
Queens Tomb (1 of each gem type)	Set's ladder
Queens Tomb	Set's ladder, Scholar's Gem Cutting Table
Kings Tomb	Lesser Sphinx
Unity	Lesser Sphinx
Khufu's Ship	Lesser Sphinx
Dragyn's Eye	Chime Tower
Garnet
Choronzon	Eastern Meditation skill
Corner Heart	Megalopolis
Eyelet (any gem)	Automatic loom, Empty Hand Tower, Venery lock box
Lens	Charm of Flight (Cartouche)
Looking Glass	Pathmaker puzzle Ritual voting booth (Cartouche)
Amanti	Float of Ghost (Cartouche)
Queens Tomb (1 of each gem type)	Set's ladder
Queens Tomb	Ritual voting booth (Cartouche)
Amanti	Chime Tower
Lapis
Bridge	Megalopolis
Choronzon	Megalopolis
Dragyn's Eye	Megalopolis, Chime Tower
Eyelet (any gem)	Automatic loom, Empty Hand Tower, Venery lock box
Hexas Plate	Megalopolis
Khufu's Ship	Shrine of Conflict
Queens Tomb (1 of each gem type)	Set's ladder
Queens Tomb	Ritual voting booth (Cartouche)
Thistle	Megalopolis
Unity	Megalopolis
Turquoise
Dragyn's Eye	Pathmaker puzzle
Eyelet (any gem)	Automatic loom, Empty Hand Tower, Venery lock box
Full Eye	Flax gin
Khufu's Ship	Shrine of Conflict
Looking Glass	Ritual voting booth (Cartouche)
Dalessi	Float of Ghost (Cartouche)
Queens Tomb (1 of each gem type)	Set's ladder, Scholar's Gem Cutting Table
Sprocket	Megalopolis
Symmetry	Pathmaker puzzle
Amanti	Chime Tower

If you update this table, please also update the table in cut gem.