Faceting is full of interesting and very smart people. A few of these people, many of whom had day jobs as engineers of one sort or another, were compelled to innovate new products, and even new machines, to make faceting easier, better, and more consistent. Their collective influence on North American faceting can not be underestimated, and the hobby owes so much to this generation of passionate faceters and inventors. Sadly, there is a flip side of this stunning creativity. Because so often a tool or even a machine is reliant on one individual, a retirement or death can cause the complete disappearance of products, replacement parts and support.

We can not overstate how much this reality influenced our choice of machine. Not only is UltraTec considered to be one of the highest quality machines made, it has been around for decades, has already gone through generational transference, and as a company, it is supported by a revenue stream separate from faceting (they’re primarily an optics company). This stability allowed us to know our investment would come with a company that would be around (for needed accessories, for the warranty, for repairs, and for parts) for as long as we were faceting. If you can make buying an UltraTec work for you, you won’t go wrong.