A beautiful, stylish, and historic cut brought back to life using over 50 different natural gem materials. Their movement, fluid shape, color and play of light all make for a dazzling effect, adding a unique and historic look to jewelry.

Our briolettes come in a variety of sizes, shapes and proportions. We have from long and skinny to short and fat. From tiny to large briolettes for those unusual requests. Most of our cuts mirror the historic and traditional briolette. But some of our cuts are thoroughly modern and unusual.

NATURAL GEMSTONE BRIOLETTES IN VARIOUS SIZES AND PROPORTIONS

We recommend three methods to set briolettes. Two use adhesive and one does not. Each of the three setting methods has its advantages and disadvantages. They are all tried and proven, each works well for different applications. See our strength tests for more information about each method's advantages and disadvantages.

Proper surface preparation and adhesive type are very important to achieve optimum results when setting briolettes in two of the methods.

Our suggestions are based on information provided by some of the largest adhesive manufacturers in the world. By following these suggestions you can expect strong, durable, problem free adhesive settings.

In order to facilitate setting briolettes, we have designed a set of 6 caps. These caps come in a range of very accurate angles and are meant to be a starting point for your own design. Our cap system will enable you to fit briolettes accurately and easily, reducing labor time and increasing strength of the briolette to cap junction. Caps have the advantage of maximum adhered surface area with a corresponding increase in setting strength. Capping briolettes also offers a unique look in the finished piece. We supply our caps in ready to cast wax for free (no charge) with the purchase of any of our briolettes. Caps work best for larger briolettes.

Here at Rough and Ready we can accurately and safely drill briolettes and other hard, brittle materials: the quality of our work is unsurpassed. Our expertise with the ultrasonic drill is available to the Gem as well as other industries.

Our ultrasonically drilled holes have minimal chipping, come accurately sized and measured, are well centered, have parallel sides, and come in various diameters to accommodate a full range of briolette sizes. Drilling enables even the smallest of briolettes to be set with a maximum of exposure so that none of the precious gem material is hidden by a cap.

Ultrasonically drilled holes are necessary for two methods of setting briolettes:
1) Vertical drilling a small diameter hole 2-3 mm deep into the briolette tip combined with the use of a pin-cap/jump ring adhered into the briolette gives excellent results. This method is very strong and allows even the smallest briolettes to be set.
2) Cross drilling a hole through the tip allows the briolette to swing freely on a wire or pin, avoiding adhesive altogether. We recommend vertical drilling. See our setting techniques section for details and advantages of each method.

Over the years we have found that many of our clients have wanted matched pairs of briolettes in hard to find small sizes. Our briolettes come as small 4mm in length to as large as 35mm in length. If you need large or small, singles or pairs, sets or size progressions, we can supply you with your briolette requirements. See our briolette descriptions for more details.

Hello, let me introduce myself. I'm Steve Green, president and owner of ROUGH AND READY GEMS, INC.
I've been in the gem and mineral business since 1979. After years in the mineral specimen, rough gem, and "normal cut" gemstone business, I decided to specialize in just briolettes. Currently we exhibit at the world renown Tucson Gem and Mineral Show GJX booth #700, in February of every year. You may contact us via telephone or email.

We are a wholesale business to the trade, and thus require a sales tax number or other business identification.
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We guarantee that if for any reason you are not satisfied with the merchandise it can be returned in it's original form within 10 days for a full refund, less shipping costs. We want you to be 100% satisfied with our unique product.

Thank you very much for your interest, and be sure to explore our informational site.

Sincerely,

Steve Green