Groh Ripp - The Magazine

10
Some complex projects
shaped with the aid of CNC
machines are given their final,
laborious finish by hand
in this department.
Cutting, sawing,
creation of the
basic form, cementing
the
stone on wooden
sticks and naturally
grinding on the many different
wheels all occurs here.
Jürgen Brunk selects the
rough stones and discusses
them with the cutters and
lapidarists. Each of the steps
that follows is a work of
hand craftsmanship. Time
and again, the cutters and
lapidarists apply the stones
to the grinding wheels at the
correct angle, carefully
checking the interim results
after each facet. Piece by
piece the precious treasures
of nature are transformed
into jewellery of irresistible
beauty.
The light breaks into the
various different angles of
the carefully-added facets,
revealing itself in a new
Time and
again Rolf
Cullmann
holds the
gemstone
to the wheel,
until the
required
perfection
is achieved.
sparkle from each different
perspective.
At Groh + Ripp the stones
are cut to perfection rather
than to weight or size, because
only when the relationship
between the facets
and the angles is right can
the full beauty of the stone
be revealed. The tour, then,
takes us from the uncut
stone store to the cutting
area and lapidary department,
with explanation
of the respective stages of
work that a stone must pass
through from uncut stage to
the perfect stone.
Not all stones are capable
of being faceted. Many of
the precious pieces are also
cut into cabochons. The
raw material typical has
inclusions and it is not the
precisely-angled facets that
breathe life into the stone
here — instead, it is hollow
channels, small needles or
a net-like natural appearance.
In many minerals this
cut even emphasises unusual
inclusions, lending the stone
a very special aesthetic appearance.
Stones of a particularly high
quality are cut in the lapidary
department. Full concentration
and an unbroken
fascination for the beauty of
the cut and uncut stones are
characteristics of the lapidarists
as they go about their
unique work. Rolf Cullmann
is a master of his craft —
there are few lapidarists that
understand their work as
well as he does. He carefully
guides a neon-turquoise
Paraiba tourmaline to the
cutting wheel and holds it to
the light, turning it critically
back and forth before applying
it. He repeats the pro cess
countless times, until he is
finally satisfied. He holds
the stone, now cut with endless
facets, to the light one
last time. And now the full,
breathtakingly majestic colour
of the Paraiba tourmaline
is finally revealed.
At Groh + Ripp they are
proud of every member of
staff, because their perfectionism
is impressive — but
they are also the prerequisite
for satisfying the demands of
the customers.
022 GROH + RIPP GROH + RIPP 023
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10. Perfection from the hand of the master: Rolf Cullmann after
a fruitful session at work 11+12. Applying facets to a fine Paraiba
tourmaline 13. Michael Strehblow examines the fine polishing of the
facets 14. Paraiba tourmaline, fully faceted 15. In their fully-cut state
the stones resemble small works of art. It is only now that their full
spectrum of colour and incredible radiance comes into full effect