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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 9510113" data-attributes="member: 9254">That is plausible, if you assume that all gem cutting is less about "sparkly" and more about "purity".  If a gem cutter is doing the equivalent of removing non-gem mass (quartz, granite, other impurities) that corrupt the stone and make it less useful for magic (think "negative value" material), then it works.Because those impurities would have the same "negative value" when in dust as much as a whole stone.  IRL, there are a lot of things we crush to dust first so we can refine out the impurities and then fuse the pure stuff together at the end.  That's actually how manufactured gems work.  Get pure materials then combine in a heated pressure chamber.  It's almost like magic.</blockquote>