CUTTING OPERATION
A green-white layer stone is worked into the signet ring.
Where the magic happens
In the workshops of Groh + Ripp the precious treasures of nature are transformed into works of art. Devoted attention is required for them to reveal their full beauty.
The first step in the process is always the walk to one of the numerous uncut stone cellars of the company — a storage area that resembles a treasure chamber, bursting at the seams. Over the course of several generations stones have been gathered together here from all around the world, each of them unique. Entering one of these rooms, the silver-coloured shelves reveal true treasures: lapis, various kinds of jade, obsidian, quartz, malachite and numerous other materials are to be found here. The largely opaque stones peek out imploringly from the coarse jute sacks, waiting to be chosen.
Everything is in its allotted place. “With this immense inventory it is vital to maintain an overview. Only then can we provide our customers with optimal service and advice in the realisation of their requests,” says Jürgen Brunk, who has worked as a gemmologist and diamond assessor at Groh + Ripp for over 15 years. He is a dyed-in-the-wool “coloured gemstone person” — his eyes light up as soon as he begins to talk about the sheer inexhaustible range of coloured gemstones, of the crystals of the stones, of pleochroism, of the origins of the stones, of their cuts and how everything tails in to one another.
The cellars are divided into opaque and transparent uncut stones, with these subsequently chosen for their different uses. The opaque materials are mostly used for technical products or objects. The transparent rough stones are selected and cut for premium necklaces, pendants or rings. The variety of coloured stones on offer here is simply inexhaustible. The rough crystals in the cellars and the cut coloured stones in the safes display the entire spectrum of colours: kunzite, fire opals, rubies, coloured sapphires, emeralds, aquamarine, tsavorite, opals, moonstone, tourmalines in every conceivable hue, tanzanite, jade, turquoise — all are found here in select qualities, shapes and colours.
“The starting point for us is always the wishes of the customer. As soon as we know what the customer wants, everything moves very quickly. We recommend a suitable stone from our uncut material. We can choose from nearly every colour in nearly every material,” says Jürgen Brunk.
Cutting the precious stones -requires skill and composure.
In spite of the loud whine of the saws used to cut the stones and the drone of the various cutting and polishing machines, the workshop has a tranquil, almost magical aura. It smells of wood, of metal and of dust from the stones, of oil, wax and spirits. Everywhere in the brightly-lit workshop the precious stones sparkle and glitter, as if trying to outshine one another. Turquoise-coloured Paraiba tourmalines, orange-coloured mandarin garnets, imperial topaz, rubellite, kunzite, fire opals and many more besides — all appear to capture the light of the workshop and reflect it back. Over 100 different types of stone are gathered here, each with their own peculiarities and characteristics.
Touring the workshop it is evident that everything here is focused on the realisation of the wishes of the customer: at the grinding wheel sits budding master craftsman Mirco Galle, cutting signet rings and the matching layer stone. “Each job order is different and each individual stone has its own particular character,” says Mirco Galle, “This is why the work is so incredibly varied and each day so exciting.”
For over 30 years now Groh + Ripp has offered all of the work stages required, from the layer stone to the finished signet ring. In a painstaking procedure individual monograms, family crests and motifs of the customer’s own design are engraved into the layer stone, lapis, onyx or more unusual stone varieties such as sapphire, tourmaline or garnet, with the stones subsequently set in rings of different materials.
With the perfect cut the stone acquires an endless depth. No two glances at it are alike.
In the workshops highly complex cutting tasks are also undertaken: the finest rubellite, aquamarine, peridots and golden beryl are cut into bangles, but also highly intricate, detailed pieces for different items of jewellery are created.
Some complex projects shaped with the aid of CNC machines are given their final, laborious finish by hand in this department.
Time and again the master lapidary holds the gemstone to the wheel, until the required perfection is achieved.
Cutting, sawing, creation of the basic form, cementing the stone on wooden sticks and naturally grinding on the many different wheels all occurs here. Jürgen Brunk selects the rough stones and discusses them with the cutters and lapidarists. Each of the steps that follows is a work of hand craftsmanship. Time and again, the cutters and lapidarists apply the stones to the grinding wheels at the correct angle, carefully checking the interim results after each facet. Piece by piece the precious treasures of nature are transformed into jewellery of irresistible beauty.
The light breaks into the various different angles of the carefully-added facets, revealing itself in a new sparkle from each different perspective.
At Groh + Ripp the stones are cut to perfection rather than to weight or size, because only when the relationship between the facets and the angles is right can the full beauty of the stone be revealed. The tour, then, takes us from the uncut stone store to the cutting area and lapidary department, with explanation of the respective stages of work that a stone must pass through from uncut stage to the perfect stone.
Not all stones are capable of being faceted. Many of the precious pieces are also cut into cabochons. The raw material typical has inclusions and it is not the precisely-angled facets that breathe life into the stone here — instead, it is hollow channels, small needles or a net-like natural appearance. In many minerals this cut even emphasises unusual inclusions, lending the stone a very special aesthetic appearance.
Stones of a particularly high quality are cut in the lapidary department. Full concentration and an unbroken fascination for the beauty of the cut and uncut stones are characteristics of the lapidarists as they go about their unique work. Our master lapidary is a true master of his craft — there are few lapidarists that understand their work as well as he does. He carefully guides a neon-turquoise Paraiba tourmaline to the cutting wheel and holds it to the light, turning it critically back and forth before applying it. He repeats the pro-cess countless times, until he is finally satisfied. He holds the stone, now cut with endless facets, to the light one last time. And now the full, breathtakingly majestic colour of the Paraiba tourmaline is finally revealed.
At Groh + Ripp they are proud of every member of staff, because their perfectionism is impressive — but they are also the prerequisite for satisfying the demands of the customers.