I have been doing a proof of concept for fitting a chosen faceting design to a piece of gem rough using 3D software and an automatic algorithm. Yes, I probably have too much time on my hands, but I do a lot of 3D modelling in my paid work, so it doesn't hurt to have a play. The aim is to get the best yield possible from a design-rough geometry perspective.
The fairly random facet design I used for testing purposes is
"Watch" by Dan Starr
The gem rough is a chunk of smoky quartz. I painted it in ochre to reduce reflections which allows a better 3D model to be created by the software.
34 images of the rough were taken at different angles. A patterned "Zebra" base was used which allowed the 3D processing software to better understand the orientation.
The set of images were first processed into a point cloud, and then a mesh object.
The gem design and the rough were imported into 3D software and then enmeshed together.
The challenge is to see if doing the best-fit step can be automated. This is the key point in the whole process, it can be done manually with the software as I have done in the picture above, but full automation is the aim.
RC