"Jewel Hunter" Huang Yuheng

Huang Yuheng was pondering at the gem scene. Courtesy of respondents

In the eyes of the world, gemstones symbolize money, wealth, status and power. But when a rough stone was held in Huang Yuheng's hand, some wonderful thoughts rolled through his mind: Where did it come from? When was it discovered? Who discovered it? What has it been through?

"Everything is full of unknowns." Huang Yuheng felt that the gem was like a time capsule, "How do I process it to refine its historical beauty?" ”

For Huang Yuheng, a teacher at the Jewelry College of Guangzhou Panyu Vocational and Technical College, his job is to use a cutting machine to cut the gem on a small square table and next to a small lamp, remove the cracks, cotton wool and blemishes in the gemstone, and rely on the diamond grinding plate to grind the gem blank out of the first shape.

At this time, he will take the gem close to the alcohol lamp, use the gem glue to glue the gem to the sticky rod, wait for the crown of the gem to slowly show the appearance of the design drawing, adjust the cutting angle, the pavilion grinding, polish the waist edge, the finished gemstone will be taken off the sticky rod, soaked with wine, cleaned, wiped, a brilliant gem was born.

The color, positive red represents purity, and is regarded by the world as the most valuable ruby. Green peridot, yellow tourmaline, purple amethyst, blue Hainan gemstone... Grains of natural rough are defined as different levels of beauty. Huang Yuheng wants to remove the "scars" entrained by the internal growth process of the gem bit by bit, retain the purest part, and use the purest side of the gem color as the "crown".

Angle, estimating thickness and diameter based on the shape of the gem crystal and the refractive index. Some gemstones undergo 40 facets before they can metamorphose, while others have up to 60 facets.

All the craftsmanship unfolds on a gemstone the size of a little thumb's fingertip: proportions, symmetry, coordination, polishing brightness are all refined. After calculation, the gemstone is characterized as a pear-shaped, marquise-shaped, emerald-shaped, heart-shaped, square planar profile, and on the surface of the crystal, a set of geometric dimensions of regular cut faces is cut.

"We rarely do a lot of processing of gemstones, and nature's gifts are the most precious." In 2008, Huang Yuheng, who was born in 1984 in Panyu, Guangzhou, began to engage in gem processing, hundreds of finished products, and more than 30 gemstones of different shapes were born from one of his hands.

He calls himself a "gem hunter" and "the cutting and polishing of each gemstone is both a microscopic creation and an adventure to pursue perfection." ”

And between perfection and imperfection, a balance needs to be found between weight and color. A precious gemstone retains its maximum weight after cutting its shape. However, the gemstone is born with uneven color distribution, the flawed part hides the pure color, after the opening, design, circle, blanking, rod, grinding, polishing, degumming, cleaning and other steps, a polished gemstone, in order to maximize the color of the dazzling through accurate angles. "At this time, we can often only rely on the experience and feel of the craftsman." Huang Yuheng said.

For a gem-polishing craftsman, the most relevant thing is the machine, and there is only one gem left in one world. Huang Yuheng is not good at expressing himself in words, and sometimes he can only say a few words throughout the day. But in the realm of gem-tinkering, his inner world is loud. When he was an apprentice, when he arrived at school, he locked himself in the training room to study processing technology, made tools when he couldn't buy tools, and went home to sleep upside down, "I have a very greedy heart for gem processing technology."

He has challenged the Top Ten Diamond Replica Series. It is said that the diamond, which is housed in the Apollo Art Gallery of the Louvre, is legendary throughout its life, and many kings have owned it. It was inlaid on Napoleon's coronation sword and was also embellished on the crown of the Queen of England. Mr. Wong flipped through all the materials, from old photographs from the gallery to traceable data on length, width, and height, but to his disappointment, there was too little historical information about the legendary diamond.

Huang Yuheng tried to rely on hand drawings and used design drawings to restore the diamond. He used the imitation diamond material cubic zirconia cutting, after repeated experiments, to find the cutting index and angle, the final finished product named "The King's Blessing".

In August this year, in the National Gem And Jade Testing and Production Skills Competition, Huang Yuheng, who is obsessed with gem processing, was awarded the title of "National Technical Expert".

He uses countless beautiful words to describe this craft: fortitude, tenacity, persistence... In his view, gem craftsmen always have a mission to constantly pursue beauty. For the craftsman, in the process of contemplation, calm and calm, in countless details to reproduce the brilliance of the gem, and a natural rough stone will also regain a second life in the hands of the craftsman.

Unfortunately, the slow profession of gem-tinkering has become incompatible with the fast-paced life. Huang Yuheng worries that young people no longer pay attention to the craft of gem polishing, and no longer like to spend time with diamond grinding discs. He wants to use the Skill Master Studio as a platform to admit new students every year to experience the mysteries of gemstones. In his view, gem craftsmanship is a lonely profession, "it takes a person to accumulate experience in the workplace, and it takes a person to focus and think." ”

But after 13 years in the industry, from the moment he started the machine and turned the grinding disc, it was the most relaxed and pleasant time for Huang Yuheng. Because he knew that the rest of the time would be entirely his own. The geometric facets of the faceted gem seem to have a mysterious attraction, the cutting moves along the trajectory, the surface of the gem appears points, lines, surfaces, the sense of line, rhythm, and sense of spatial depth will slowly appear in this process, "the mind involuntarily settled."

China Youth Daily, trainee reporter Yang Jie Source: China Youth Daily