Rough and Ready Gems now offers ultrasonic drilling on our briolettes. Trimming the top cap and pin to size will give excellent results for setting briolettes when top drilled. We guarantee to replace any briolettes damaged or broken during drilling. We discourage externally notching or scratching briolettes with abrasive wheels or sand paper, as these methods create stressed areas prone to shear if impacted. We strongly discourage notching or abrasive scratching of the briolettes.
Citrine briolette showing air-abrasion prior to adhesion.
It is the strongest most durable method of setting briolettes when using a cap. External air-abrasion creates an excellent stress free surface finish optimizing the adhesive's strength and longevity. Air-abrasion increases the surface area of the portion of the briolette to be bonded. The same should be done to the interior of the briolette cap. External air abrasion removes very little structural material from the briolette, and thus does little to weaken it or instill any stressed areas.