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Colored Stone and Lapidary Journal proudly announce the first round of winners in their brand-new gem art competition, The Gemmys.

The Gemmys were designed to honor masters of a difficult craft — creating beautiful art from rough crystals, working with each stone's quirks to make a piece that has the synergy of natural beauty and an artist's eye.

Innovative gem artists from around the world submitted pieces in four categories: Faceted Gems, Specialty Cut Gems, Gem Objects, and Man-Made Gem Materials.

The judges for the competition were: Richard W. Hughes, public speaker, gem expert, and author of Ruby and Sapphire; internationally-renowned gem photographer Tinnee Lee; and Sherris Cottier Shank, a gem cutter who has won multiple awards for her innovative style.

If you're a gem artist who is interested in entering the 2006 competition, go to www.colored-stone.com for more information.

Photos: Top left: Robert Weldon; top right: John Parrish.

Richard P. Homer, Nautilus Cut™
Richard P. Homer has spent much of his life in the lapidary field, working as a professional gem cutter since 1974. While studying for a degree in geology at Kent State University, Homer managed a lapidary shop, where he gained experience and knowledge of gem rough and lapidary equipment. After graduation, he studied at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where he received his graduate gemologist diploma.

Homer taught classes at GIA for four years before opening his own company, Gems By Design Inc., in Kent, Ohio. He believes that his qualifications as an accredited appraiser are essential to his "understanding as a gem cutter of the marketplace and true gem value."

Homer's unique approach to gem cutting has led to major accomplishments — he is the winner of 15 American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) Cutting Edge Awards. He has also set records cutting some of the world's largest gemstones, including the Adiel Topaz, a 20,769-ct. blue topaz.

Known by many as a pioneer of concave faceting techniques, Homer devotes time to creating new applications and designs. "My most recent application has been in the employment of concavo-convex facets, which then directed me to the concept of concave concentric rings as a single 'facet' on the crown."

This design can be seen in Homer's winning piece, the Nautilus Cut™. (pictured above). This 37.31-ct. citrine was "faceted into three segments imitating a chambered nautilus. The concentric rings . . . create an optical illusion that make the radiating culet pattern seem to curve and partition in a manner quite reminiscent of a chambered nautilus."

Photos: Robert Weldon.

Rick Stinson, Eye of the Dragon
Rick Stinson has always had a love for gemology: He was collecting minerals and rocks at the age of five. He's remained connected to the gem and lapidary world throughout his life.

"After serving in the U.S. Army, I established my first lapidary business in 1972, cutting custom cabochons and learning how to cut various species of gems," he explains. He started faceting for the trade in 1983.

During the '90s, he began carving gems and also established his own Web page and Internet catalog business. He was able to capitalize on the publicity to build his business, and in 2001 was able to start cutting full time. "I am currently doing custom faceting, concave faceting, carving and internal carving, inlay, and custom cabochons for designers, jewelers, and collectors."

When carving gemstones, Stinson's goal is to search for unique designs. "It's kind of like a quest. . . . I like to explore, as it often produces something that is quite new and exciting."

That's how Eye of the Dragon, a 33.6-ct. faceted ametrine, was born. Much of the design was created as Stinson cut the stone, without the use of any computer-aided design programs. "This design features a number of facets that sweep the corners like a wave. . . . The thing I like about this cut is that it is brilliant throughout, and also has a great viewing angle."

But Stinson's "quest" isn't over yet. He's already contemplating the next phase. "I think that I'll try introducing some concave facets as the next step in the exploration of this design."

Photo: Jeff Scovil.

Don Clary, Untitled
Don Clary is a jack of all trades. He holds a bachelor's degree in both physics and mathematics, as well as a graduate gemologist degree from the GIA. He is a principal designer at DuPont and has played the oboe in the Palos Verdes Symphony for over 25 years. He is also an experienced photographer whose images have been featured in various publications.

Clary began faceting in order to enhance the overall beauty of gemstones. "I first became interested in faceting after a few years into gem collecting, when I realized that most colored stones were poorly cut. I realized that a great deal more beauty could be released from the gem with attention to proper facet angles and fine polish."

Clary says that as long as he's having fun cutting gemstones, he'll continue with his lapidary work. His dedication has paid off — he's an eight-time AGTA Cutting Edge Award winner, and now, a Gemmys winner.

His winning piece, a 51.85-ct. feldspar, came from a flawless 160-ct. crystal from Chihuahua, Mexico. He says that while checkerboard-top cuts are fairly common, his gem is rather unusual. "Every single top facet has four 90-degree corners. It is nearly impossible to hold the facets square from the center to the corners. A small point, perhaps, but it's very difficult.

"It was faceted top first, which is opposite from normal practice," he adds, in order to "make a perfect transition from top corner facet, to girdle, to pavilion facet."

Photo: Don Clary.

first place

specialty cut gems

Richard P. Homer, Celtic Cushion Concave Brilliant™
Being of Scots-Irish descent, Homer has always been fascinated with Celtic motifs. Intrigued by the complex network of lines that seem to be woven into knotwork art, he was inspired to create and design Celtic Cushion Concave Brilliant™, a 36.45-ct. rose quartz.

"My intent in cutting this gem was not to copy a Celtic design, but to translate a general motif utilizing gem-cutting techniques, albeit non-traditional ones," he explains.

Concave faceting was an obvious choice, Homer says, given the unique shape that he had in mind to create. "My use of concave conical facets on the crown tease the eye to follow the appearance, disappearance, and re-appearance of the pavilion's concave radiating culet pattern as it moves in and out of the crown perspective."

Flat facets were also used on the sides of each girdle outline "point" to allow for a simple prong mounting. Since the interior curves of the girdle outline are not as thick as those usually found in the cleft of a heart shape, Homer says he cut the curves equally on the crown and on the pavilion so that the girdle thickness in these areas are essentially the same as the flat facet areas.

Photo: Jeff Scovil.

Larry Woods, Abstract Organic Amethyst Carving
Larry Woods began cutting gems as an apprentice at the Salt Mine Jewelry Store in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1980. Six years later, he established Pyramid Gems with his wife, Stacia, and began importing rough gem material from Brazil, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

As his business took off, Woods became interested in new cutting styles. Inspired by lapidary artist Bernd Munsteiner, he began "experimenting with carving and combining carving with faceted forms in gem material." His business is now known as Jewels from the Woods, located near Blanco, Texas, where he continues to work on original faceting, abstract organic gem carvings, and combination-cut gems.

Woods' experimentation in gem carving has paid off in his 103.3-ct. Abstract Organic Amethyst Carving. When cutting and carving the amethyst, Woods wanted to "maximize and reveal the inner beauty of the rough crystal." He defined the pavilion and a crown orientation in order to take advantage of the color and light reflection from the stone.

"Light enters the gem from the top and is reflected back to the eye along with the color of the material," he says, "and I took this into account when carving the stone."

His goal was to harmonize his design of concave surfaces with the features of the rough, including the external shape and inclusions. "Little of this process is planned in advance, but it evolved as the gem was being cut. I strove to achieve a harmonious flow and balance in the finished carving."

Photo: John Parrish.

Lawrence Stoller, Kundalini
"Kundalini is a Sanskrit term that refers to the latent source of energy residing at the base of the spine in each of us," says Stoller, "and activating this energy is the goal of those in the quest of enlightenment."

Stoller was able to release this "energy" from a 17,026-ct. orange citrine that he discovered on a recent trip to Brazil. The crystal was one of the most intriguing stones that he ever laid his eyes upon. "It was the darkest, most densely color-saturated crystal I have ever seen. I couldn't pass even a high-wattage halogen light through it," he says.

But Stoller also viewed the crystal as a fascinating challenge. "I suspected that if I were able to carve the crystal so that light could pass through it, the crystal would reward my efforts with the very unusual orange color tones that occur on rare occasion in quartz. The entire carving design was a quest to lighten the dense smoky [color] several color octaves to a deep orange."

Aside from the extensive work involved in creating the piece, he also created a bronze light base in order to flood light through the bottom and back of the stone. "The result is the activation of the visual energy of the crystal, allowing it to reach its enlightenment," he says.

Photo: Gary Alvis.

Nolan Dean Wixom, Celestial Shaman II
Nolan Dean Wixom's passion for gemstones began as a child when his father, a geologist, taught him the basics in gem cutting. He also taught his son the importance of the "love of things from the earth and the physical beauty of mineral science and gemstones."

As a professional gemstone artist for 30 years, Wixom's medium is gemstone inlay, expressed in two ways. "I inlay gemstones in gold and silver. . . . The second technique is to inlay gemstones together, producing intarsia, a mosaic of gemstones."

Born in 1939 on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, Wixom is technically influenced by Native American inlay artists and European intarsia masters. But he says his artistic inspiration also comes from his spirituality, explorations of Native American shamanism, and the expansive palette of gemstone colors that come from nature.

This inspiration led to the creation of Celestial Shaman II, a carving consisting of separate inlays using custom-faceted gemstones, including amethyst, tourmaline, garnet, and peridot.

"Celestial Shaman II represents a spirit that often comes to me in dreams and visions," he says. "To express that spirit, I used 39 individual gemstone types in 210 individual inlay pieces." To emphasize translucency, he used transparent crystal opal and numerous faceted stones to give a feeling of radiant light.

Photo: Steve Voynick.

Deborah Meyer, The Pearl Goddess
"When I became a lover, I thought I had gained the pearl of the goal; foolish, I did not know that this pearl lies on the floor of an ocean which has innumerable waves to be encountered and great depths to be sounded."

Deborah Meyer was inspired by this poem, written by the Sufi Hafiz, to create The Pearl Goddess, a 43-ct. man-made crystal with a very high refractive index.

Meyer used a six-inch diamond saw to slab the gem material, then ground and polished the crystal on a horizontal lap using a series of five diamond grits. The concave edges were roughed out on a horizontal lap and refined with a series of sintered burrs.

"I worked on the concave edges with sintered burrs at the same time the convex edges were being refined," she explains. "The slope of the cabochon's shoulder is similar to the way an opal should be cut."

Meyer then intaglio-carved the goddess and the pearl into the crystal using sintered and plated bits and a micromotor hand-piece, with parts of the carving, such as the wings, polished with pumice for highlighting purposes.

The Pearl Goddess is extremely symbolic for Meyer. "The pearl is a metaphor for the treasure of the heart. The power of the Goddess protects this treasure and the pearl's beauty is revealed through her beauty," she says.

Photo: Steve Gyurina, Artopia Imaging.

Enter the 2006 Gemmys!

January/February 2005 • Style: Gemmys Winners • Style: AGTA spectrum Awards • Selling: In the Pink - Retail Survey • News & Updates • In This Issue