[J. Sarayda]

Hello! I actual have not worked much with resin at all, but I am interested in a type of resin project I have not seen before. I have a lot of faceted gemstones that I have collected, and which are too small or irregular-sized to be worth putting into setting. I have some that have chips or scratches or poor color. So, I will start with those and it’s fine if I end up throwing those out in a resin design that didn’t work.

As an experiment, I tried putting small faceted stones into beads I made of moldable clay two-part epoxy. But, the backs of the gems were so smooth that they just popped out of the clay. I am wondering if there is a liquid epoxy that would work better.

I would also be willing to embed the stones in resin, but I’m not sure what the best way is to do that. I suspect the stones will roll over on their sides, unless I can find a way to keep them table-up. Are there resins that will set up partly, and be sticky enough to hold the gems in place? If so, then I could place the gems on the partially set resin, and pour another layer of resin over them.

If I try embedding gems, should I use a bezel cup where the resin stays in permanently, or a mold where the piece pops out when cured? If I use a mold, how do I attach a bail or other finding? (Or perhaps I should embed chain or wire in the resin?) Do I need to use a resin with a high refractive index, to match (as much as possible) the refractive index of the stones? I also think bits of gold leaf or other small bits of metal might work look nice with the gems, and I wonder if that will add any complications.

[J. Sarayda]

Oops! I really need to edit better before I post. In the first paragraph, I meant “which are too small or irregular-sized to be worth putting into metal settings. I am wondering if there is a way to put faceted stones onto or into a resin piece instead.”

Also, I am have some opal cabochons (flat-backed) that I would like to attach to backings with resin. This is a standard technique to use with opal cabochons, but I don’t know anything about it. Does anyone know of any articles or other resources about attaching opals using two-part epoxies?

[J. Sarayda]

Well, I seem to be replying to my own posts today! I learned how to search, and found this thread:
https://www.resinobsession.com/forums/reply/4394/

It notes that faceted gemstones will not refract light properly when set in resin. I knew that this would be a problem, but had been thinking that an resin with a high refractive index will help. No, it won’t. A high refractive index is good for resins that are used to fill cracks in faceted stones. But anything with a refractive index much above 1 will interfere with the gemstone’s sparkling.

And, I’m not sure any resin will bond well to the extremely smooth surfaces of a faceted stone, but if anyone has experience with this, please let me know.

I also have a new question. I read here that silicone molds tend to leave a matte (frosted) surface on the resin where it had contact with the mold. Does this matte finish occur just with silicone molds, or with all molds? Also, how matte is the finish on the surface of the resin that was exposed to air? Does that depend on which resin is used?

[Katherine Swift]

Hi, glad to see you are getting the information you need. Awesome!

It’s the surface of the template of the mold that impacts the casting finish. This video explains more: https://youtu.be/9wQIp4_mIRM

[J Sarayda]

Thank you! I have only watched part of the video, but now I have an urge to make the projects they are showing. There are some great resources on this site.

[Katherine Swift]

Thank you. 🙂

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