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Heat treatment and gem cutting facility in Madagascar. While in Madagascar in July 2003, this contributor visited an ambitious heat-treatment and gem cutting facility in Antananarivo. Operated by an Italian father-and-son team, Antonio and Giuseppe Pocobelli of Magic Stone Madagascar, the facility initially opened in December 1999. Recently, they have expended from 16 to 30 gem cutters (see e.g., figure 41) who are being trained by an expert lapidary from Sri-lanka. Custom-designed machines enable the stones to pass through the entire preforming, cutting, and polishing procedure using the same stone holder. They are working only with Madagascar gems, mostly sapphires from Ilakaka, but also rubies from Andilamena and Vatomandry. After preforming and any heating that may be necessary to enhance the color/clarity of the corundum, the stones are sorted according to seven color grades and three clarities. For stone weighing less than 1 ct, once the cutting team is fully trained, Magic stone plans to generate 20,000 preforms/ day that will be polished in china. In addition, they plan to produce up to 2,000 carats/month of 1+ct faceted stones at their facility, which will be marketed primarily in the U.S strict quality control and production standards are maintained at the Madagascar facility bya computerized tracking system that monitors each step of the cutting process.Magic stone has purchased or independently developed five units for heat treating Madagascar corundum the company uses a variety of temperatures and atmospheres (but not be diffusion treatment) depending on the characteristics of the material and its locality. Eventually the team plans to cut calibrated tsavorite and color-change garnets as well. Considering the underdeveloped nature of the gem-cutting industry in Madagascar, this small but ambitious operation provides a good example of value-added activities and vertical integration in this gem-rich country. |