- uk facet cutters' guild -

membership

UKFCG Members enjoy a range of  benefits.

As well as joining a community of like-minded faceting and gem enthusiasts, UKFCG members enjoy a range of benefits. These include access to our mentorship scheme, a bimonthly newsletter, plus the opportunity to enter our annual competition.

Annual membership is currently free, but this is being kept under annual review. New members pay £10 to join the Guild and are given an E-copy of our manual Training Cuts, Novice to Advanced Cutter

Read on to learn more about what we can offer. You’ll find our application form at the bottom of the screen.

faceters'
stonechat
magazine

The Guild used to produce its own magazine, Stonechat. Members themselves submitted articles and it is these contributions which gave it a rich and diverse range of content. Members are currently kept up to date with Guild activities by an informal Newsletter which also carries articles on other topics of interest.

Stonechat contains a wealth of useful technical information and E-copies of the full set of 137 magazines plus index can be purchased for £10 by contacting the membership secretary. membership@ukfcg.org

Learning
support

The UKFCG runs a mentorship scheme for both new and current members who would like help and  advice to improve their faceting. The Guild contains a wealth of expertise and if you encounter a problem there is a very good chance someone else has also experienced it. 

We also publish a manual titled Training Cuts, Novice to Advanced Cutter, which is free as an E-copy to new members. Whilst the manual is designed to help novice faceters along the learning curve to Advanced Cutter, experienced faceters may also find the contents useful.

Gem Show
Particpation

As part of our educational objective the UKFCG demonstrates at a number of gem and mineral shows during the year. We normally have two  machines demonstrating and visitors are invited to use the machines. By doing this we can frequently dispel some of the mystique surrounding the activity of faceting. It can be a fairly straightforward operation to cut and polish a stone, which needs only some time, concentration and good eyesight, assisted by glasses where necessary. We also display stones cut by members, to show what can be achieved, together with the selected competition stones.

Competitions

The UKFCG holds a faceting competition each year, with sections for various skill levels. The competition stones are judged by qualified judges, and the stones are subsequently displayed  at various Gem and Mineral shows throughout the country, before being returned to their owners.

For those members who do not wish to compete in competitions, but do wish to know, from an objective source, how they are progressing, we provide an assessment program where stones may be cut and assessed in exactly the same manners as the competition stones, including full anonymity. An assessment report, with constructive tips on how to improve, is  returned to the cutter with the stone. In this way the member may check their progress without getting into competition mode.

The Guild runs two competitions per year; one, “The Regular”, for members who have not yet achieved their “Advanced Cutter” award and a more challenging competition for members who are already an “Advanced Cutter”, although this competition is “The Open”, since any member may enter it.

To apply for your membership, please read the Articles of Association and Privacy Policy and then fill out and sign the printable form.

Details of how to send the form and payment are shown on the form. If you encounter any problems, just email us guild@ukfcg.org