Heart of Stone Studio Blog

Cabochons front to back

       One of the best things about running a website is that I get to dialogue with my customers, mostly by e-mail, but occasionally by phone, too. Sometimes it's a very educational experience for me.

     An issue came up this past week: A customer bought a stone that she thought was beautiful, but she couldn't use it because the back wasn't polished. Of course she was able to return it to me, but it made me realize something: "Tradition" is shifting yet again in the stone world. Here's what I mean:

    As long as I can remember, cabochons generally were never polished in the back. A lapidarist would slice a  1/4" thick slab from a chunk of rough, draw the outline of the stones he wanted to cut onto the slab, and then cut them out. Then he would meticulously grind away the excess and form the piece into a typical rounded cabochon with a nice smooth, graduated surface. But his work was far from over--He still had to polish the stone. This involved laboriously working the stone through a series of finer and finer polishing grits (washing one polishing compound off before applying the next), until he could bring it to a high shine.

     If you consider all the labor that went into producing one single cabochon, you would realize that polishing the back of the stone was not cost-effective for the cutter--After all, the stone would be bezel-set, and once that was done, no one would ever see the back of the cab, anyway. So why waste time (and thus money)polishing the back? In fact, one pretty sure way to tell a stone is hand-carved and polished is by the back.

    But as I learned from my customer, times are changing. In the past few years, wire-wrapping has come into its own as a way to set stones. Talented wire-wrappers are doing really fine, artistic work that can be more individualized and graceful than traditional bezel-setting. Problem is: Now you can see the backs of the stones, and they have to be polished. Strangely enough, this really didn't dawn on me until I corresponded with my customer this week.

    I still carry a few stones that don't have polished backs. And I will continue to carry them for a couple of reasons: First and foremost, they are really beautiful. Second, they were cut by traditional lapidary artists, and I want to continue to show support for this art form. However, as I post these types of stones to the website in the future, I will mention that they don't have polished backs, so the wire-wrappers out there will know.

    This doesn't mean, of course, that all stones with polished backs are not hand-crafted. In most cases, they are. If the entire stone has been polished by hand, then most likely that extra effort will be reflected in the cost.

    But another new lapidary development is that some of the top cutters are designing, carving, and shaping their cabs by hand, and then polishing them by machine. They do this by putting the stones in rotary tumblers, along with polishing compound. They have to rotate the stones among several different tumblers, each with a successively finer grit polishing media, and the whole process can take several weeks, with the tumblers running 24 hours a day. But they can put several dozen stones in a tumbler at one time, instead of working on them individually. It saves them time, and keeps the cost down for hand-cut stones that are polished on both sides.

     There are some drawbacks to this process: The cutter can't really mix stones of varying hardnesses, because the harder ones will scratch and possibly break the softer ones. Also, with all that tumbling, one or two stones per batch will most likely be lost due to breakage. Also, not all species of stones lend themselves to tumbling.

      But the biggest challenge is that 99 percent of tumbling media can't bring out the same high level of shine as individual polishing. Most lapidarists who have tried it, have failed. Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to find a couple of lapidarists who are not only artists at cutting, but who also have discovered the right recipes for tumbling media, as well as the right techniques, that will bring out that fantastic high shine. And let me tell you, those media recipes and tumbling techniques are closely-guarded secrets. They wouldn't even give me a hint. That's OK, as long as they keep selling me their fabulous stones, so I can make them available to you, I won't complain.

    So those are the ins and outs, front to back, about polishing cabochons. Perhaps you'll see yours with new eyes now. Oh, and if you are a wire-wrapper and need to ensure that all your stones are fully polished, please write me a little note to that effect when you check out from my website, OK? (www.heartofstonestudio.com) That way I can make sure you get the right stones for your needs.

   

Gem dealers you would like

    When you look at a gemstone, be it faceted or cabochon, it's sometimes hard to imagine where it came from, or the path it traveled to get to you. Often we forget that when we as jewelers examine our own stone collection, we are touching "souvenirs" from all over the earth.

   Lately, the gem trade has been sullied by negative stories about smuggling, "blood" stones, money laundering, and other illegal and unethical practices. While some of these may be true, they don't characterize the way the vast majority of small dealers do business. Most gem dealers are here simply because of their love of minerals. Working with these materials is an end in itself. So I thought I'd introduce you briefly to some of the wholesale dealers responsible for the supply of stones on the Heart of Stone Studio website.

     Let me start with Harry, my friend from Indonesia. He and his wife Mary work together, and it seems that Mary holds down the business end of things while Harry is the entreprenuer. He supervises the mining of material, he trains and hires the cutters, and he does the selling at the shows. He is constantly on the search for new gemstones. The fossilized corals and some of the natural drusies on my site are from him.

     I asked him how he locates new material, and he told me that he goes from village to village on the various islands, and asks the locals to bring in interesting stones for him to see. In one village, someone brought him some beautiful lavender chalcedony, and so he got permission from the local landowner to remove some rough material. After he had mined a small amount, the landowner told him that if Harry wanted any more of it, he would have to buy the land. So he did.

   The neatest part of the story is that after Harry had mined a vein of chalcedony and had what he wanted, he covered over the mine and planted hardwood trees "so the villagers would have something after I left," he said.

   Another dealer is John, who with his wife Karen owns a rock shop in southeastern Arizona. Their rock shop is a wonderland of mineral specimens, spheres, bowls of tumbled Apache tears and pebbles of Peridot, and cabochons. John does all his own lapidary work, and has supplied Heart of Stone Studio with a variety of Arizona minerals and natural drusies. John and Karen have an RV that they drive around the west, taking their wares to regional rock and gem shows. I carry a stone, cinnabar in quartz, that John mined himself: He found it in the earth, he took the rough home, he cut it, and then sold it to me so I can bring it to you. Now that's what I call quality control!

    Then there's Gabriela and her two brothers. They are young people in their twenties, and they are from Italy. They are part of a family coral business: Their father, Fluvio, has spent the past forty years working with local fishermen off the coast of Sardinia, harvesting red twig coral from deep in the Mediterranean Sea. They sell fabulous gem coral at reasonable prices, and they are a delight to talk with. Because of them, I will be able to offer top-quality gem coral on the website, coral that I've had to pass up in years past because I couldn't find a dealer whose prices I could afford.

    And back in Arizona, there's Keith and Alex, a father-son team who are master gem cutters. Keith used to work on a ranch breeding quarterhorses, then came into the lapidary business by way of turquoise. He now teaches lapidary at the local community college, and still cuts stones for wholesale. His stones have extremely elegant cuts that I really admire. His son Alex cuts transparent stones, his favorite being ametrine--the purple/yellow gem where amethyst grades into citrine. Alex not only artistically cuts these stones, he also sets them into gold, creating one-of-a-kind, stunning designs.

   And then there's Maxam, who with his wife and small sales team, run a wholesale gemstone business where I purchase most of my coated drusies. I was surprised to learn that Maxam started out in the gem business specializing in rubies. He didn't enjoy the cutthroat nature of that aspect of the industry, so he moved on, becoming the first major person to promote titanium, platinum, and gold-coated drusies in the U.S. Since then, he has specialized in designing and building totally new types of gemstones, combining carved and faceted quartz with other materials such as mother of pearl. Hopefully I will be able to carry some of his unique designs on my site in the future.

    And of course, there's Pat. Her lapidary workshop is set up on her back patio, facing her desert backyard where a nearly-tame bunny stops by every day to cadge a treat. Pat's the brave one who cuts the nastily-dirty but gorgeous Psilomelane. So much black gunk sprays off her grinders when she shapes the stone that she wears a raincoat, a shower cap, gloves and goggles when she cuts it. Yet she is able to coax beautiful cuts and patterns from the material.

    I have other dealers, too numerous to fit in here, from far-flung places such as Thailand, Namibia, and Australia, as well as nearer neighbors such as Mexico and Montana. What has been most fun about finding these dealers has been the opportunity to get to know them and find out how they came into the business and what makes them tick. The neat thing is, regardless of our home country or background, we all have in common one important thing: Our fascination and love for beautiful gems from the earth.

   

   

    

Colored stones: true and false

    I can remember the first time I was duped about a colored gemstone. I was sixteen, and a friend of the family who was a nun got to go on a trip to Egypt. She brought me back a ring that she had bought in a bazaar there. It was a carved turquoise scarab beetle, set in silver. I was thrilled, until after wearing it for a couple of weeks, my finger turned green from the base metal, and the shiny surface of the scarab wore away, exposing the chalk beneath. I was disappointed, and shocked that anyone would deliberately cheat a nun. It was my introduction to the problems involved in purchasing colored gemstones.

     A few years later, I dated a man who had a friend who owned a business in the jewelry building on South Wabash Avenue in Chicago.  I went there to look at jewelry, and became fascinated with a beautiful ring whose stone changed color--reddish purple under incandescent light, brilliant brown under halogen, and a teal green in daylight. The stone was marquise-cut and set in white gold to look like a leaf, flanked by three tiny branches set with diamonds. The jeweler told me it was a synthetic alexandrite. The real ones were the rarest gemstones in the world, he explained, but this synthetic one had the same chemical composition and behaved just like the genuine article. I was so taken with the ring, I didn't care that the stone was man-made, so I bought it (for about $30) and still have it to this day. 

    In both of the above stories, the stones were fakes. The difference between the two of course, is that in the second story, the buyer was informed. The dealer was honest and let me know exactly what I was buying, and the purchase price accurately reflected the value of the stone.

   Unfortunately, not everyone behaves this way. In my colored stone class at GIA, one of my teachers told the story of going on a gemstone-buying trip to Bangkok. He was examining a particularly fine (and expensive) sapphire in a roomful of buyers and sellers, when he suddenly figured out that the stone he was examining wasn't a real sapphire at all. He glanced around the room and realized that if he accused the seller of cheating him, who knows what would happen to him, traveling alone in a foreign country, so he quietly handed the stone back, told the dealer he had changed his mind, thanked him, and moved on.

   I myself had a similar experience. Right after my GIA courses were completed, my husband and I were spending the day in San Diego to celebrate. We strolled around an exclusive shopping district and I happened upon a storefront of a shop that sold estate jewelry. I saw a gorgeous diamond ring in the window, and went in and asked to see it.  The price tag was $28,000.00. I pulled out my newly minted jeweler's loupe to examine the stone, and when I looked at the back, I thought I saw lines of telltale color that betrayed that this stone might be an imitation. I gave the stone back to the saleswoman and left. Obviously, with such a cursory examination, I could well have been wrong, but it was enough to convince me that I would never buy a large diamond without proper GIA certification. 

     Colored stones are probably easier to fake than diamonds, and the equipment needed to accurately identify and assess colored stones is actually much more extensive than the equipment needed for diamonds. Unscrupulous dealers substitute colored glass imitations and pass them off to unsuspecting buyers. Or they glue a small amount of a real stone onto a larger portion of cheaper material, and charge for the combined weight at the precious stone's price rate. There are dozens of ways to doctor and fake colored stones.

     Nowadays, there are companies who specialize in making synthetic stones, and openly announce that their products are synthetic. Synthetic stones are identical in chemical composition to genuine stones, but they are made by machines. I have a friend who bought an emerald ring while on a cruise in the Caribbean. It's a real emerald all right--so occluded (cloudy) that I couldn't even see the internal faceting. She might have done better to buy a synthetic emerald. It would have had the same gorgeous green color, plus clarity and sparkle. (The one thing that makes synthetic stones relatively easy to tell apart from mined material is that synthetic stones are clean inside, where the real gem has tiny imperfections that can be seen with a magnifying loupe.)

    What adds to the confusion for the public is that many real faceted gemstones are treated in some way--they are often heated or irradiated to cause a color change (as in the case of all blue topazes or blue zircons). Many of these treatments are considered perfectly acceptable and legitimate--without them, we would not have the range of beautiful colors that we do in the gem world.

   The thing is, even with the heating or irradiation, you should still be getting a genuine stone. And, the dealer should be ready and willing to tell you about any of the treatments should you ask. If a dealer tells you that the stone is totally natural, that means that not only is the stone itself genuine, but it hasn't received any treatments of any type. But how do you know for sure, short of bringing the stone in to a certified gemologist? You don't. You have to trust the dealer, who is also trusting the person he bought either the stone or the rough from.

     The very last topic covered in both my diamond and colored stone courses was an overview of the many ways that gemstones can be faked. It was pretty overwhelming. The bottom line for both courses was that you increase the probability of avoiding fakes in two ways: 1) by becoming educated and knowing what to look for and 2) by buying from a reputable dealer whom you can trust.

    Dealers who are members of professional organizations such as the American Gem Traders Association (AGTA), or the Gem and Lapidary Dealers' Association (GLDA) and others, promise to sell only genuine stones and openly reveal any treatments those stones might have received. So buying from those member dealers is a way to hedge your bets. But even an honest dealer can be fooled, especially if your stone started out as part of a lot of several dozen or hundred that he purchased. In that case, the dealer should admit he was mistaken and either take back the stone or replace it for you.

      Buying gems is a risk. Yes, get educated. Yes, get a "feel" for the real thing. But also choose a reputable dealer and build a working relationship with him or her. The bottom line is: It's all a matter of trust.

Being a GIA student

   Being inside GIA to take a course is a great experience. Students are of all ages, from young people choosing GIA instead of a regular college, to jewelers already in the business and being funded by their companies to take courses for professional advancement, to people like me who wanted to learn all they could about gemstones.

    The lobby is expansive and built to impress--after all, this IS the seat of the gemstone business in the U.S. A circular room off the lobby contains ever-changing displays of fabulous jewelry set with magnificent gemstones, most of which has been donated to GIA by successful graduates and patrons. The classroom wing, where I spent most of my time, is also lined with displays set into the corridor walls behind thick glass. These displays are educational in nature, each devoted to a different group of gems, such as beryls, or tourmalines, or zircons. You can look through the glass and see large gemstones displayed with accompanying text informing you about the nature of those stones.  Some display cases would have miniature sculptures either carved completely out of gem material, or they would be encrusted, completely covered, with faceted stones in different colors.

    The classes I took each ran eight hours a day for an entire week, and when we took breaks or lunch, we would empty out into the corridor and the classroom would be locked behind us to protect the gemstones and equipment we were working with. Sometimes we would return before the instructor did and we would have to wait out in the corridor, but it was never boring because we could just gaze at the sparkling gemstones in the display cases.

    Or, we could stroll outside where a large patio and walkway overlooks the ocean, offering a bird's eye view of Carlsbad's colorful flower farms, planted just below. One day I walked the length of the classroom building and found myself in a small courtyard where a second building offered a blank face to the world. I approached and saw that the door was locked, and next to it, a guard posted behind bulletproof glass told me that this building was GIA's famous gem-testing lab. Only the staff enters there. So I returned to my classroom.

    As befitting the nature of the industry, the instructors at GIA were all top-notch professionals in their fields, most of whom held jobs in the jewelry industry before coming to GIA to teach. They dressed impeccably, as though they had just come from behind a jewelry counter at Tiffany's. No Birkenstocks and torn jeans here! Each of the courses I took had two instructors, and both had extensive experience in buying and selling gemstones. One also had lapidary experience--he had cut faceted stones for a living. These people can answer just about any question you can think of, and believe me, I thought of a lot. My two instructors were friendly, funny, informative, and extremely helpful, all while maintaining their professionalism.

     Each of the courses I took involved in-depth background information about the stones--their history, where and how they are mined, their distinguishing physical attributes (in the case of colored stones, these are many), and, their imperfections (and in the case of diamonds, these are many). 

   I found it amusing that instructors at GIA never talk about stones, even diamonds, in terms of "flaws"--you won't hear the word used. Instead they use the term, "characteristics."  This is because they are training the people who will be selling diamonds, and 99.99% of all diamonds have some imperfections. A perfect, flawless diamond is so rare that if you actually owned one, you would NEVER wear it--You would keep it in a safe deposit box so that it would never get accidentally chipped or damaged in some way, which would of course, cause its relative value to plummet. A flawless diamond is not a wearable gem.

   Diamonds and transparent colored gemstones are crystals, and those crystals come from deep within the earth. Being made of natural material, they all have tiny imperfections--inclusions of foreign material, tiny fractures, "clouds", "feathers", extra crystals growing on them, etc. Colored stones can have variations in color intensity within the stone as well. Add to that the human dimension of the cutter, who might set the facets not quite symmetrically, or who might cut the stone in less than an ideal, perfect shape so as to maximize its carat weight, and thus, its price--and you have gems that can look fine to the untrained eye, but which have a variety of imperfections.

    With diamonds especially, the public tends to assume that they are expensive because they are pure, clear, and perfect. Finding out about their imperfections can be quite a shock, perhaps even disillusionment. However, to GIA, these natural imperfections, these characteristics, are what make each diamond in the world unique. A GIA certificate is, at heart, a complete portrait of a gemstone, inside and out, and in their diamond grading course, we learned how to paint that portrait.

    The only way you can learn about diamonds, really, is to work with the real thing. I myself inspected, I would guess, several dozen different diamonds during the week-long diamond-grading course. But if there are any enterprising criminals out there reading this and thinking of planning a diamond heist from a GIA classroom in the future, don't bother. The diamonds the students work with, although real enough, contain so many flaws that you couldn't get much for them on the open market.

    The culmination of the course is a big exam during which you have two hours to grade two different diamonds that you have picked randomly from a pile of envelopes at the front of the room. In the exam, you have to fill out a diamond grading report which is identical to those your jeweler obtains from GIA for the diamonds he sells. In it, I not only had to weigh the stone, but also assess its color, the quality of its cut, and I had to plot out on a map of the diamond, the location and type of every single characteristic inside it and on its surface. Based on plotting all these characteristics, I had to evaluate and grade the stone's overall clarity.

    It was just my luck that the first stone I chose happened to be so included that I couldn't even see through it--It had a huge mess of problems, each and every one I had to identify, code, and plot in the correct position on a drawing of a diamond. (This, incidentally, is another reason a GIA certification is so valuable: It contains a detailed "map" of the inside and outside of your diamond, with the type and location of each characteristic accurately drawn--A one-of-a-kind portrait of your stone that protects you should anyone ever try to switch your diamond for one of lesser quality when you take it in to be resized or cleaned.)

    Anyway, to make a long and nerve-wracking story short, it took me an hour and a half of the alloted two hours, just to grade my first diamond of the exam. Fortunately, the second one I pulled was much cleaner and I was able to finish in time, and even get a 96% score on the exam! This exam gets entered in the GIA record, and it and my certificate show that I know diamonds.

next....a bit about colored stones

   

   

    

Inside the GIA

    In terms of learning about stones, there's no better place to go than GIA. The Gemological Institute of America sits high on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean above the town of Carlsbad, California. If you've ever purchased a diamond ring that was GIA certified, this is where your stone was inspected and graded. Most of the world's great gems pass through the doors of this place, emerging with papers that settle once and for all, their value.

    But there's a school here, too, a real college, with classrooms, courses, grades, and a diploma that is one of the most sought-after documents in the jewelry industry: certification as a graduate GIA gemologist. It means that the holder is a trained specialist who knows about diamonds, colored stones, CAD (computer jewelry design), and many of the different facets of running a jewelry business. Every jewelry store would love to have a certified gemologist on the staff--they're the people who are trained to pick out the best gemstones and can tell if they're real or synthetic. A GIA-trained gemologist can tell you if that purple stone in your great-grandmother's ring is a genuine amethyst or a piece of glass. They can inspect and grade diamonds and give you a realist estimate of their value. And they can come up with custom designs for jewelry, as well.

     GIA-certified gemologists are in demand in the retail end of the industry, something to think about if you love jewelry and are considering a new career. If you have a business mind, GIA offers a degree in jewelry business management. Or you can specialize in the manufacturing end, or even study to become a professional bench jeweler--the person who sits at the back of the shop, building and repairing jewelry, and setting stones.

       Training to become a gemologist is not a cheap or easy shortcut, however. Depending on whether you go full or part-time, the program can take three or more years and costs as much as a college education. And the classes are not easy--you really have to work. It's not just playing with sparkling baubles.

    However, it is possible to take courses at the GIA without signing up for their full program. The Institute offers intensive, week-long courses on diamond grading and colored stone identification, and I took both of these. It was a great experience which I highly recommend to anyone who is seriously interested in gems.

    GIA has branch campuses around the country and the world, but Carlsbad is its home. Due to its multi-functionality, GIA Carlsbad looks like a cross between a fancy corporate headquarters--and Fort Knox. Unlike a college campus, you can't just drive in, park, and walk around. The first time my husband and I came there, we were shocked to find that we couldn't even drive into the parking lot without a special pass. Guards were posted at each of the lot entrances. But it makes sense--hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gems pass through the doors of the GIA labs (which take up half the property) to be tested by staff gemologists and issued the famous GIA certificates. So security is tight.

    When you actually register for a course, however, they're going to be expecting you. Still, after you clear the parking lot and make it into the very impressive lobby, you still have to check in and get a badge which you must wear at all times. Bythe time I made it through all of those hoops, I was really curious about what went on inside the GIA, which I will talk more about in my next post.

   

Gem shows as learning labs

   Perhaps the most important thing about shopping for gems is being informed. There is so much junk out there cleverly disguised as valuable material, that you need to have a "good eye" to pick out only the best. You need to be trained in what to look for, so that you can recognize quality and avoid being fooled.

  The problem is: How to get educated. First let me say that this type of education has a price, and one way or the other, you're going to have to pay it. Possible routes include:

• buying and reading books on how to identify and purchase gemstones
• "apprenticing" yourself to a more knowledgeable person
• taking gem identification courses
• going to gem shows

  All routes involve making mistakes. I don't think there is anyone anywhere who has purchased gems who, when they got home and examined things more closely, didn't have the following mixed reaction:

• a) "I really got a GREAT deal on these!"
• b) "Wow, this really was expensive but so worth it"
• c) "Boy, did I get taken on this!"

We all want to maximize a, keep b under control, and minimize c.  And that only comes with experience.

   Surprisingly, going to gem shows can be very educational. Think of it: Say you want to learn about pearls. I would estimate, conservatively, that I personally saw at least several hundred thousand pearls at the Tucson show. Most were in strands, so many strands that they formed continuous foot-high mounds atop eight-foot-long tables in pearl dealers' booths. Other pearls were so expensive they were sold one at a time.  They sat in little rows inside the jewelry cases. Still others were in fabulous finished necklaces, with diamond-encrusted gemstone pendants.

  The pearls at the Tucson shows came in all colors, from dyed greens, through satiny whites, to the great oriental blacks, purple-blacks, green-blacks and deep golds. Under the same roof, you could buy a costume pearl strand for $10, and several booths over, you could buy a Tahitian pearl strand for $10,000.

    You can turn this bounty into a learning experience. First, I would suggest reading up on your subject, be it freshwater pearls, or Tahitian pearls, or just pearls in general. Learn the basic terms by which pearls are graded so that you come across as someone who's really interested, not just a gawker.

   Then scope out the booths carrying the items you want to learn about and stop by when the dealers are not busy. It's not fair to take up a dealer's time if you're not planning to buy and there is someone else at the booth who does. However, if things are slow at that moment and the dealer seems to be staring off into space, you can approach. (The best time for this kind of educational conversation might be in the late afternoon, when the show is winding down for the day. Don't try this on opening day or when the booth is crowded with buyers. I would suggest starting at the more modestly-priced pearls, or the smaller dealers, to begin with. You might get the brush-off from the more exclusive dealers).

    Start off by admiring their wares. Ask if they could show you a strand/pearl, and when they do, ask them to tell you about it. Where is it from? Is the color natural? What is the shape? Start asking good questions to show you've got some background knowledge. If you make/design your own jewelry, it's OK to tell them. That shows that someday you might become a customer, if not that day.

   One thing that I always do is ask the dealer to pick out the finest pearl or strand from among the selection he puts in front of me.  Then I ask him/her to tell me why they picked it, while I look at their choice. This really helps me to actually see what the books are talking about when they discuss luster and color. I try to learn as much as I can in a few minutes, and the instant someone else approaches the booth, I thank the dealer, and leave (unless, of course, I'm planning to buy something). Before I walk off though, I always ask for that dealer's card, and make a notation on the back--It will help me find that dealer again if I plan to buy from him in the future.

    Then I take that knowledge I've acquired and start looking at other pearls in other booths. If you do this, you will begin to notice how much the quality and price varies from dealer to dealer. After a couple of days of looking at pearls, I start getting a better idea of what is quality and value, and what's not. I also will be gathering cards from the dealers whose pearls impress me.

    After you've gone to a few shows and actually purchased some pearls, you'll know enough to be able to stop at a booth, compliment the exhibitor on his pearls and actually begin to engage in the type of conversation that professionals do. But even if you're at a gem show for a weekend, I guarantee that you can still pick up a lot of firsthand information about pearls by using this approach.

   The same is true of gemstones. Say you've read about some of the more uncommon gems such as paraiba tourmalines (which are a natural neon aqua color), or demantoid garnets, or color-change alexandrites--A gem show is the ideal place where you can see the real thing close up. Again, pick a smaller dealer who might not be busy and strike up a conversation about his stones. Make sure you've read enough to be able to either make an informed comment or ask a good question, and usually that's enough to get the dealer started talking.

   The third area that gem shows are excellent learning labs for is if you're interested in expanding your understanding about cuts. Master gem cutters come to these shows, and again, if they're not busy, they love showing off their work. While you're admiring it, you will soon realize that you're viewing some of the most unusual and spectacular gems in the world, as well as seeing some truly unique and artistic cutting styles. Many of these gems are actually affordable, and well worth the investment.

    The key is to begin to really look, and listen. It's amazing how much you'll learn. And when you actually buy, make sure it's from a dealer whom you have come to admire and trust. That's the best way to ensure that you get top quality for your money.  

Highlight of the Tucson Show

    Well, I've been back from the Tucson show and am recovering from not just walking eight hours a day for five days, but also from bending over jewelry cases, staring at stones, and standing and talking with dealers. Such an experience uses a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy, while at the same time, killing your back, neck and shoulders.

    But it was a good experience overall.  After a few days of doing such shows, the booths filled with sparkling gemstones and diamond-encrusted jewelry, the motel rooms stacked with mineral flats, the tables laden with piles of pearl strands, the racks of sterling and beaded necklaces, the water-filled pans of opals--all blend into a blur. But here and there, the faces of people stand out and become ingrained in my memory.

    Perhaps the highlight moment came when I walked into the Ida-Oberstein room at the Hotel Arizona. Ida-Oberstein is a group of German dealers who traditionally show their wares together. I had just planned to walk through, but my eye was caught by the first booth I saw. It was filled with the work of Bernd and Tom Munsteiner.

     For those of you who know fine art jewelry, the Munsteiners reign as perhaps the most famous art-gem cutters in the world. Their work is instantly recognizable: Instead of the usual symmetrical faceting on the top and bottom of a gemstone, the Munsteiners often leave the top of the gem smooth and do most of their carving from the back.  The usual star-shaped facets are replaced by an abstract design of lines, angles, even curves that explode across the back of the gem and are magnified by the polished front. Each gem is unique. If you are not familiar with their work, I urge you to stop by this web page which has a great writeup and pictures: http://www.khulsey.com/jewelry/atelier_munsteiner.html

     The Munsteiners are a family of cutters, and the man who pioneered this whole type of cutting was the father, Bernd Munsteiner. His sons followed him into the business, and the work I was viewing in the booth was primarily the work of son Tom. Bernd's work is the most famous; he has been named "the Picasso of gemcutters."

    So it's easy to see why I was immediately riveted. The cases held magnificent loose stones, as well as gems set into jewelry. The finished jewelry was simple and elegant in design, so as to focus attention on the stone, not compete with it. (I later learned that much of the jewelry is designed by Tom's wife. To go to their website, which has a huge number of photos of their work, click: http://www.munsteiner-cut.de/english.html)

    Everything other thought dropped out of my head as I peered into the case, drinking in the stones. I had seen jewelry by Bernd Munsteiner in Carmel, CA, at the Ladyfingers gallery, as well as some huge crystal carvings at the Exposures Gallery in Sedona, AZ, but I had never seen such an extensive collection as the one in this booth. There was someone standing inside the booth, but I didn't even look up at them. I was too entranced by the stones.

    Having taken in the jewels in the front of the booth, I went over to the side case to view those pieces. The person behind the case said, "May I help you?"  Gaze still riveted on the stones, I answered, "I just had to come look at the Munsteiner's work. It is so beautiful, it's like going to a museum. Like all great art, it feeds the soul, you know?" Finally I looked up at the man staffing the booth, and then at his nametag, and realized I was talking to none other than Bernd Munsteiner himself!

    I was floored. Mr. Munsteiner's English was impeccable, and he was very gracious, answering my questions and taking stones out of his booth to show me as we talked. He currently is semi-retired, but keeps a hand in the business, "helping out," as he modestly terms it. He told me that he started out learning gem cutting from his father, as his father had learned from his father before him. He learned the geology of gemstones, as well as the traditional ways of cutting them.

   "You were the pioneer in this new type of cutting," I observed. "How did you break away from the traditional way of doing things?" He replied demurely that he had a dream, and followed it. "How did you create your designs?" I asked. He said, "I know the crystal; I follow the crystal; the crystal tells me what I can do." This I took to mean that he understood the crystallography, the internal structure, of each type of gemstone with which he worked, and that determined the types of cuts he could make.

    When I told him how much I admired his work for its orginality, he replied, "There are no new designs. All designs originate in Nature. Nature is the great designer."

    All told, we spent about ten precious minutes together as he showed off his son Tom's recent work, including a huge round rutilated quartz pendant that included fine lines cut into the back to highlight and complement the bold grouping of red rutiles, as well as sandblasted portions that expanded the design. I walked away from the booth with my spirit refreshed and enriched. That was the highlight of my time at the Tucson show.

report from the show

    Reporting Live from the Tuscon Gem Show:  I noticed it first when waiting in line at AGTA...Last year there was a big crowd standing and waiting a half-hour before the show opened. This year, I was just one of a handful of early birds. A crowd did form in the minutes before opening, but it seemed smaller than last year. Then, looking around GJX and Riverpark Inn the afternoon of opening day, I was surprised that I could navigate my way through down relatively open aisles. Opening day attendance for these shows seems to be down this year, at least from my point of view.

        Today the G&LW show opens at the Holidome, so we'll see if there are packed aisles there. I heard someone mention that people might be waiting to come to Tucson until all the shows are opened so they can see them all in a short period of time, but I don't know about that. Another person said they've stayed for two weeks and they still haven't hit all the shows. Hard to tell about the big picture. But some of my favorite small wholesale dealers aren't here---They've built a base of customers who order throughout the year, so they feel it's no longer necessary to shell out the big bucks for a booth rental in Tucson. Other dealers have gambled big that Tucson will bring them customers, enough to rent booths at more than one venue.

    More than one buyer has decided to stay home. Motels routinely jack up their prices for the show, and paying $130 a night for a room is considered a bargain. Marriott's Starr Pass resort was advertising a show special rate of about $260 a night for its rooms. Stay five or more nights, include airfare if you're out of state, plus meals (including a $7 turkey sub sandwich at one of the venues), and things add up quickly.

     Hmm...Maybe it's smarter to stay at home and buy off the website of people like me!

More shows worth seeing

  So far, I've discussed four shows and I've just scratched the surface of what Tucson has to offer. Here are some others worth seeing:

   GLDA (Gem & Lapidary Dealers Association) Wholesale. This show is at the Starr Pass Marriott Resort, southwest of downtown. Marriott Starr Pass is a fairly new resort complex set into a hillside desert landscape and is quite spectacular. Although it is at the west end of Starr Pass Road, it's actually not that far from downtown. If you get there early, you can park in one of the hotel's remote lots (there are no visitor parking lots immediately adjacent to the hotel). A shuttle bus runs quite frequently between the parking lots and the resort complex.

   GLDA used to have its show at the former Holiday Inn next to the convention center. This is the third year at this new venue. The primary strength of this show is finished jewelry, although it does sell loose gemstones, including colored stones and diamonds, also fancy colored diamonds. If you are in the market for top-quality finished jewelry, this is the place to visit.

   Days Inn. Open to the public. I've been to Marrakesh and Fez in Morocco and this show is the closest I've come in the States to the experience of a souk, or outdoor market. It's a cross between a rock show and a bazaar, complete with food cooking on sizzling grills, music, jugglers and dancers, ethnic jewelry and statuary, and wares laid out on carpets on the ground. You might want to save it for last and come just for its entertainment value, but don't bypass it entirely because there are some wonderful small gem dealers here with beautiful stones at great values. The Days in is on the west side of I-10 close to downtown.

    Rio Grande's Catalog in Motion. Open to Rio Grande customers, which is open to anyone who wants to register. This is a cross between an equipment show and a major educational conference. For those who don't know, Rio Grande is one of the largest jewelers' supply companies in the country, if not the largest. Every year they rent out the lower portion of the Tucson East Hilton on east Broadway and invite all their customers to come see what they have to offer.

    If you are a jeweler with a fascination for tools and equipment, you will walk into the ballroom of the Hilton and thing you've died and gone to heaven. The entire place is packed with booths featuring everything from tiny saw blades, jeweler's files, and rotary disc polishers for Foredom tools, through pearl stringing tools, stone setting tools, engravers, wax-carving tools and injection machines, casting and soldering equipment and laser welders, all the way to CAD-CAM programs and machines that will automatically carve 3-D waxes of whatever you design on a computer. Just about every category of tool and equipment that Rio Grande sells has at least one product, often new, on display.

    But what is absolutely the neatest thing is that for every piece of equipment out on display, there is someone demonstrating how to use it.  You get to watch and ask questions, compare different models, and often save money because many of the items are slightly reduced in price for the duration of the four-day show. For people like me who love to learn how to work things, this is paradise.  From the proper way to hold an engraver, to how to use a mini-lathe, it's all demonstrated here at your request.  Plus, most of the books that Rio carries are out on racks for you to leaf through so you know what you're buying. Can this get any better? Well, yes, it can:

   In addition to the small sales-related demos going on in the ballroom, the lobby has an area set up as a lecture hall with a jeweler's bench on a raised platform and a special closeup camera set up so that you can watch a live video on a big screen with a closeup of whatever the lecturer is doing at the bench. And for all four days of the show, jewelry experts will be offering free demonstrations of special techniques, from texturing metal surfaces to carving wax seats for gemstones. There is seating in this area for about 100 people, and most every session is SRO, so make sure you get there at least 20 minutes early if you want to get a seat.

   In addition to the free lectures, there are also fee-based workshops on everything from pearl-stringing to beginning jewelry topics. So if your town doesn't offer jewelry-making classes, you can come to the Catalog in Motion and soak up a wealth of information on techniques and equipment. If you are new to jewelry-making, or you are a beader or wire-wrapper and want to get a better idea of what is involved in metalsmithing, you can come here and get a hands-on introduction.

   Rio Grande offers this event both to serve its customers and, of course, to sell more equipment and supplies. So you have to register, but you can do that at the front desk. I really don't know whether or not you must have a customer number to get in; if you are concerned about that I suggest you contact them at their website: www.riogrande.com or call them at their 800 number, also listed on the site. And while you can't buy anything directly at the Catalog in Motion, order forms are handy and you can place orders right there, which is really helpful if you want to save on their discounted show specials.

    Arizona Mineral and Fossil Shows, The Executive Inn Mineral and Fossil Show, and The Mineral and Fossil Co-Op  Even if you don't collect fossils or use them in your jewelry, I would urge you to stop by at least one of these venues before you leave Tucson. They are absolutely fascinating. Yes, they have flats of ammonites, slabs of fossil fish, piles of shark teeth and other fossil-y things for sale, but they also have the most amazing things on display. One year I saw full standing skeletons of a wooly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, a small dinosaur, and an ancient crocodilian on display. And the Chinese usually bring their restored baby wooly mammoth that was found frozen in an ice sheet somewhere. It's more fun than a museum because you can get up close to all the displays, and also talk to people who know all about them. A must for fossil-lovers.

    Lastly, there are several bead shows that are all worth visiting, as well as various mineral shows in the smaller hotels. You can easily spend five days here shopping continuously and still not see everything. But I hope this gives you a "taste of the Tucson show."  If you don't have the time, the money, or the inclination to come out here and fight the crowds and walk eight hours a day sorting through zillions of items until you find fabulous gemstones, don't worry, because I'll be there doing it for you, and bringing the best of the show back to the Heart of Stone Studio website!

    Next, tips on what to pack....

   

   

Other Tucson shows

     Here are some of my thoughts on other Tucson shows:

1. GJX, the Gem and Jewelry Exchange. Wholesale only. Talk to most wholesale buyers and they'll say this is their favorite show. Located across the street from the convention center, it seems to have just the right mix of faceted gemstones, cabochons, finished jewelry, pearls, chains, ethnic items, even a bit of small sculpture. Everyone is selling quality material and the prices aren't as high as across the street. To me, it also has a very nice "feel" and is relatively uncrowded and easy to move around in. If it's any indication, many excellent dealers who aren't located at GJX will tell you that they are on the waiting list to get in.

2. The Pueblo Inn, aka, the Riverpark Inn. Wholesale. The motel hosting this show seems to be always changing its name, but that's a behind-the-scenes issue. The show is located on the opposite (west) side of the freeway within walking distance of the convention center and GJX. The show is worth a visit because some top-notch international dealers are located there. In addition to the usual mix of jewelry and gems, it also has dealers offering mineral specimens and rough, plus dealers carrying findings and equipment.

3. The Holidome. Gem and Lapidary Wholesalers. GL&W runs several shows scattered throughout the city, and this one is on the far south end of the city. You can drive there or take a shuttle. If you drive, I suggest that whatever day you choose to go, get there at least an hour before the show opens, otherwise, you'll end up parking a half a mile away and having to hoof it through the dust just to reach the show.

   The Holidome has the usual motel venue, plus a huge tent with dealers carrying everything from fused glass jewelry, Swarovski crystals, and an amazing selection of sterling silver chains, to equipment like diamond-coated drill bits, even photography equipment---It's where I bought the studio setup that I now use to photograph stones for my website. The Holidome has more finished jewelry than anything else, and even has a booth where you can bring gemstones that you buy elsewhere and you can pick out a setting from that booth and they will set your stone while you wait.

   The problem with the Holidome is that it usually is a mob scene. On opening day the aisles in the tent and in the ballroom are so packed with people, you can barely move, and you certainly can't see much. I suggest going either early in the morning or an hour or two before closing to have the best experience.

    While you're in the area, there are several other shows you might want to visit, including The Best Bead Show at the Kino Sports complex, and other shows in that general neighborhood. Many of these other shows are open to the public; check your map and the designations in the Tucson Show guide or online at: http://www.tucsonshowguide.com/tsg/show_index.cfm. Be aware though that the smaller shows will be "heavy" on mineral dealers, which may or may not be of interest to you. To save your energy, if a show looks interesting to you, go online and check out its list of dealers. Often you can get an idea about whether it's worth a visit.

   Next, more shows you should know about...