Our
Story
Founded in 2012 by a group of enthusiastic gem cutters, NE1 Faceters aims to learn and share the art and craft of gemstone cutting in the UK. Our founding members were finding it difficult to find practical, hands-on faceting tuition and so they created our group and our weekend workshops so that anyone can come and learn about cutting a faceted gem. We now have a range of members who are professional and amateur alike and meet regularly to discuss and teach more about the wonderful world of faceting.
We are based in the North-East England, but are open to anyone who is interested in faceting regardless of location. We welcome all, at any skills levels and run a variety of activities to promote faceting, including workshops, meetings and demonstrations.
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We have grown so much over the past decade and we would like to thank all old and new members for your support and involvement over the years, long may this continue!
Browse below for an overview of what we do as part of NE1 Faceters.
What we do
Weekend Workshops
Our greatest enjoyment is running several faceting workshops throughout the year. These workshops are based in the Newcastle area and allow people to have a go at cutting their first gemstone or improve their faceting skills. Please see our Workshops page for more information.
Monthly Meetings
On the first Monday of every month (except on bank holidays) we hold a meetings at the John Willie Sams Centre, Newcastle (NE23 7HS) for our Full Members. We provide group updates, have discussions and demonstrations, share problem-solving, as well as doing quizzes and raffles.
Zoom Meetings
​Approximately every third Monday of the month we hold a virtual meeting using Zoom which is open to all members to attend. We have two halves, first is 6-6:40pm with a short 5 minute break (for those who want to make a cuppa) followed by second half 6:45-7:25pm. The Zoom links are sent to all our members via email on the day, so please keep an eye out in your inbox.
Demonstrations
We enjoy demonstrating at a number of shows each year. We started up our demonstrations again in 2022 by attending the Rock, Gem and Bead show at Newcastle Racecourse. It was lovely to be back in action, chatting about our group, gaining new members and seeing familiar faces. We will be back in 2023!
Magazine
We produce a bi-monthly magazine packed with articles and information on faceting from all over the world. These are sent to our members via email. If your interested and would like to learn more, see our Magazine page.
Competitions
We run an annual competition where our members can enter either the Novice or Open section. We celebrate the winners at our Annual General Meeting each year. For more information, or to see past winners go to our Competition page.