Below are just some of the Vendors I have used when purchasing some of the precious metals, gems, equipment, tools and supplies used for the craft. All vendors are based in the United States, and listed alphabetically.
CabKing – This vendor is strictly a supplier of their own brand of lapidary equipment and supplies, although they have sister companies such as Hi-Tech Diamond, Tumble-Bee and Inland Craft. They are the makers of the CabKing lapidary cabbing machines, which are in my opinion excellent quality machines that rival those of other brands in value and cost.
Contenti – A vendor based in Rhode Island dealing in precious metals, jewelry tools, equipment and supplies. They have good prices, and carry a large selection of “economy” tools and equipment.
Fire Mountain Gems & Beads – A vendor based in Oregon dealing in gems, beads and general jewelry supplies and findings.
Foredom – A vendor based in Connecticut dealing in flex-shaft rotary tools and supplies, handpieces, lathes and dust collection equipment. With a foot control to vary the speed of the flex-shaft, it provides so much more usefulness than a Dremel. Though I own and use both, when it comes to jewelry I use the flex-shaft 99.9% of the time.
Gearloose Lapidary – Manufacturer and vendor of the finest pre-polish and polishing laps for faceting that I know. I use cheap thin “topper” laps in the rougher grits to form stones and get their initial shapes cut in, and have used moderately priced and slightly thicker rigid polymer laps in the pre-polish grits, but these don’t last and you eventually find it takes forever to to get your pre-polishing done (so they are not really cost-efficient). With Gearloose laps you have top-quality full-thickness laps in various metal alloys and composites that last (likely longer than me), are wonderful to work with, and because you charge them with the diamond grit compounds or polishing oxides as needed, you can count on them cutting and polishing the same tomorrow or years from now as they do today!
Gem Cut Studio – This web site is home of the Gem Cut Studio application (Windows and/or Mac), which as they say, allows you to “Experience gem design in real time.” It allows you create or import facet designs, see what a particular gem material’s refraction index does with the light entering and exiting the gem, and optimize the design for that gem material if wanted. If you facet gems, it won’t be long before you find yourself hooked on experimenting with designs using this application!
Gesswein – A vendor based in Connecticut dealing in jeweler’s equipment, tools and supplies. They have very good prices on some things, so when it’s time to shop for a new tool or supply, they are definitely worth checking as part of your research.
GRS – A vendor based in Oklahoma dealing in jewelry equipment, tools and some supplies of their own design and making, especially those used for engraving and jewelry fabrication such as vices and gravers. Without a doubt, the GRS BenchMate vise has enabled me to set stones in rings that I’m not sure I would be able to do otherwise, at least without a huge amount of frustration and wasted material!
Joe Henley Rough & Gemstones – This vendor provides some premium quality gem material for faceting at a premium price. If you’re looking for truly exceptional gems that you can trust will be high-quality and “as stated”, this is a great place to procure them (just be ready to pay for having that extra care in selecting excellent quality gems for you to facet added into the cost!). He also sells some fantastic cabbing rough that you might not find anywhere else, so if you’re looking for top-notch risk-free gems and stones, this should be one of the first places you should check!
Kingsley North – A vendor based in Michigan dealing in jewelry equipment, tools and supplies as well as lapidary equipment, tools and supplies (and even rough cabbing stock), so if you like cutting your own stones as well as setting them, they’ve got both your backs covered!
Otto Frei – A vendor based in California dealing in precious metals, faceted and cabochon gems, jewelry tools, equipment and supplies. They sometimes have items other vendors don’t carry, and have regular sales, so subscribe to their emails to keep up with what they have to offer.
Pepe Tools – A vendor based in Oklahoma dealing in jewelry equipment, tools and supplies. I really like some of their tools and equipment, and they’re always coming out with new things to drool over.
Potter USA – A vendor based in Arizona specializing in hydrolic press equipment, dies and tools.
Rio Grande – A vendor based in New Mexico dealing in precious metals, faceted and cabochon gems, jewelry tools, equipment and supplies. Rio Grande is probably the one vendor I purchase the bulk of my equipment and supplies from. Good products and great customer service for the hobbyist as well as professional jewelers out there.
UPDATE: Rio Grande has now gone “Wholesale” and requires a Federal Tax ID… a HUGE strike against the many hobbyists (like me!) that actually helped their business succeed, but have yet to make an actual business out of their hobby. Shameful!! 🙁
Santa Fe Jewelers Supply – A vendor based in New Mexico dealing in metals, gems, beads, jewelry tools and supplies.
Stuller, Inc. – A vendor based in Louisiana dealing in precious metals, faceted and cabochon gems, jewelry tools, equipment and supplies. Unless you have a business ID, you may be restricted on what can be purchased to mainly supplies and equipment.
TheRoughStuff – Another one of my favorite sources of rough gems for faceting. I have been pleasantly surprise with the quality of material that I receive, and at a very affordable price. I have found that with some of the material I find from dealers on Etsy, sometimes you make a good purchase, but most often it’s just “OK” material. With this vendor the material has always been excellent!
The United States Faceters Guild – With a lot of resources available for free (but even more for a very low-cost $18/year membership), you have access to scores of faceting diagrams, documents on faceting machines and topics, videos and even access to their annual Single Stone competition where you can earn a certification in faceting as a Novice, Pre-Master, Master or Grand Master if you score well enough (which, BTW, I plan to enter one day)!
Thunderbird Supply Company – A vendor with outlets in New Mexico and Arizona dealing in metals, gems, beads, jewelry tools and supplies.
ULTRA TEC – This vendor provides exceptional faceting machines. I personally own and use the VL Classic Faceting Machine (Analog), and love it! Faceting machines are complex pieces of machinery, and after having done a LOT of research into those that were good, bad or “somewhat OK”, but have more drawbacks than they should (including some being manufactured by poorly-run companies that have already gone out of business), I settled on ULTRA TEC. My machine may be their base “entry” model, but with care it will likely outlive me and I’m confident the top-notch company will, too.