Rough gemstone definition

An uncut un-shaped  gemstone of gem grade is called  ‘rough’. It is the stone in its natural form, often found in the ground, just as mother nature made. They are often called raw gems but the proper name is rough.
When selecting a shape, you try to imagine the facet shape of the stone based on its rough shape. If you do not do this, you will end up loosing much of the gemstone material and the end result will be much smaller than anticipated.
Good quality gem grade is often something you can spot with the help of a torch. Using your torch, you look for a stone that doesn’t have too many cracks or marks inside. However, if you do see a crack, you can plan to cut down this line and form two separate smaller pieces of better quality with no visible flaws.