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Designers escape the mundane by
creating with gem art. By Marlene A. Prost

Jewelry designer Nancy Ellinghaus remembers her first visit to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show 18 years ago. It was there that she "bumped" into a booth displaying stones carved by famed gem artist Steve Walters.

"When I saw the lines of his stones, they were so similar to my design sense, it seemed perfect for me. We both like flowing, 3-D, curved forms," recalls Ellinghaus of Boulder, Colorado. The rest, as they say, is history. Ellinghaus started buying Walters' uniquely-carved stones and incorporating them into her jewelry designs. Over the years, the two became good friends.

An 18K gold and platinum ring designed by Gordon Aatlo with diamonds and an aquamarine cut by gem artist Tom Munsteiner; photo © Lee-Carraher Photography.

Many jewelry designers, like Ellinghaus, have become identified with specific gem artists. These relationships are based on a common style and usually blossom into genuine friendships. The collaboration also may lead to a line of designs and a joint marketing approach. But while a designer and gem artist may collaborate, they generally work separately, respecting each other's creative autonomy.

"[Walters] has said in an interview that it looks as if we get together [to work], but we don't, because we have such a similar design sense," says Ellinghaus.

That common design sense is what attracted Gordon Aatlo of Norma Jewelers in San Carlos, California, to his favorite gem artist, Arthur Lee Anderson.

Drawn by Anderson's reputation, Aatlo bought a few pieces and created designs around them. In 1997, Aatlo was displaying his work at a show

Aatlo says he and Anderson share an interest in "clean-cut, geometric designs. . . . The patterns are very geometric. He doesn't overdo it like some others. They tend to overload the pavilion with too much faceting. I like Arthur for that reason. He's more simplistic, but precise."

Two of Anderson's trademark cuts are the "blossom cut," in which "bubbles" in the bottom of the stone are multiplied by the adjacent facets, and the "webbed halo," a variation of his famous "web cut," in which a quarter of a 360-degree circle is actually cut and the rest is a virtual image created by optics.

Gordon Aatlo's 18K gold and platinum pendant with diamonds and a tanzanite in a "stepped blossom" cut by Arthur Lee Anderson; photo © Lee-Carraher Photography.

Which Comes First?
Jewelry designers generally take their lead from the carved gemstone. More often than not, designers will select a completed stone rather than commissioning one, which is why they build relationships over time with specific, reliable gem artists. The settings will be inspired by the stone's shape and color, and by the mechanical constraints of the carving.

"I don't usually come up with a specific design until I see a gem shape overall. I select the stone. I always work around the gemstone," says Aatlo.

"When I need something, I [call Walters]. Usually, I buy what he's carved, since our sense of form is compatible. I buy the stone and make the design to go with the stone," Ellinghaus says.

Conni Mainne of Mendocine, California, had just started working on her Jungle Dreams collection of botanical forms in 1999 when she visited Glenn Lehrer in his studio in Larkspur, California.

Mainne had been friends with Lehrer, a well-known gem artist, for years but had never worked with any of his fantasy cuts. On this visit, she admired his unique "Torus Ring" stones — circular, faceted stones with a hole drilled in the center — and decided they were just right for her new collection. "His Torus Rings suddenly fit, like a dream, into my new ideas," she says.

Rings from Conni Mainne's Jungle Dreams collection, which highlight Glenn Lehrer's Torus Ring gemstones in tourmaline (top) and rhodolite garnet (bottom). Photos by Ralph Gabriner.

Lehrer is the only gem artist Mainne has worked with, and she uses what he has available. "I'll often look at what he's got cut and [use] the pieces that jump out at me and grab me by the throat," she says. His carved stones also inspire the other colored stones she uses. "I work a lot in his rhodolite garnets and fancy sapphire. He calls them 'party' sapphires. They're from Montana and have several colors [mixed in a single gem]; he says it's like a sapphire is having a party in there. . . . Often, I'll set a complementary shade of sapphire, or with rhodolite I'll use the padparadscha, salmon color [of sapphire]."

But while gem artists and jewelry designers can collaborate with beautiful results, it's easier to cut stones for yourself than for other designers, says Robert "Art" Guyon of San Antonio, Texas. He's a gem artist who also designs wearable jewelry and sculptures using other gem artists' work.

Most designers he works with will take what he has available and accommodate it to their own design, Guyon says. He does get some requests: "They'll say, 'I'd like it larger or a different texture,' but they usually don't come up with the idea. . . . I don't like to try to conform a rock to a particular pattern the customer dictates. I'd rather let the 'rock' in my mind come out with a product that's aesthetically pleasing," Guyon says. "[It's frustrating when] you have to make the product come out the way the customer wants. A lot of people sit and sketch. I do all the designs and manipulations in my mind."

When he is working on a commission, Guyon uses larger stones with fewer flaws, like jade and chalcedony, because he wastes more material getting the product the way the client wants. "It's the biggest challenge for me — the process of cutting away, getting to the shape they like without losing more than you have to."

Another problem with commissions, he says, is the fact that "most people don't understand if you have one-of-a-kind pieces, it's hard to make a pair."

A pendant designed by Conni Mainne featuring an ametrine cut by Glenn Lehrer in his Torus Ring cut and a spessartite garnet set in the center; photo by Ralph Gabriner.

Harder to Set
Everyone appreciates a challenge. Jewelry designers can get tired of working with cookie-cutter faceted gems and cabochons, and relish a free-form, one-of-a-kind stone.

"Usually, you can come up with an aesthetically-pleasing design in carving that is unique, as opposed to faceted [gems or] cabochons of good quality, but normal," says Guyon. He does use cabochons and faceted gems for accents in his own designs, but finds them "boring, basically. They're too common. They don't interest my mind much."

Then there is the challenge of setting the stone.

"I love the engineering problem of setting Steve [Walters'] stones. I get a kick out of that," says Ellinghaus. She finds inspiration in the contrast of shapes, forms, and textures found in the "natural world." Before meeting Walters, she used free-form cabochons to achieve that effect. She still uses cabs for lower-end pieces, but for high-end jewelry, she relies on Walters' stones.

"You have to figure out how to set [carved gems]. They are very unusual shapes. They don't lend themselves to the obvious methods of prong or bezel settings. . . . With a cab, you take a round bezel and plop it in," Ellinghaus says.

Walters' carved stones often have "quite a bit of undercutting with an overhang . . . If you look at the edge, it's not sloped, but concave. An ordinary cab is a little convex." Ellinghaus has developed a setting technique that combines bezels and prongs, "but not in the normal way . . . I use two or three sections of bezel along with prongs. Part of the stone will have a bezel, but not all."

There are other challenges. Ellinghaus uses a lot of forging — hammering a round wire to change its shape. She wraps the forged wire around the stone to create flowing lines. But the forging has to be soldered against the backing before the stone is put in place, and it can be hard to slide in the stone after the soldering is done. "Once I had to screw the stone into a spiral forging," she says.

Gem artist Larry Woods of Blanco, Texas, knows it's difficult to set his abstract, asymmetrical carved gems. But he has also trademarked several combination cuts — which combine carved surfaces with traditional faceting — that can fit into a standard mounting. His best-known cut is the "Medicine Wheel," which combines polished grooves on the pavilion and a faceted crown to enhance the brilliance of the stone.

"Especially with the combination cut, my intention was making it more standard so it was easier to set. . . . You can make a mold and reproduce it," Woods says.

That's good news for his business partner and wife, Stacia Woods, who designs jewelry using his carved gems. "Larry understands the need for a stone to be set, unlike some gem cutters [whose work is] beautiful but I think, ÔHow can I set this?' " Stacia says. "With the combination cut, the girdle is a standard shape; it gives me more freedom."

Over the years, jewelry designers and gem artists have developed a creative rhythm and a close working relationship. You can't get much closer than Larry and Stacia Woods, and yet their studio is divided into two separate wings — the lapidary wing for him, where he cuts gems for her and other designers, and the jewelry wing for her, where she designs all the pieces for their company, Jewels from the Woods.

"We try to be respectful. We're both artists," says Stacia.

Mainne has developed a successful brand identity with her friend Glenn Lehrer's Torus Ring gems. She even markets her jewelry through Lehrer's gallery. "It's really working together. We're not collaborating. He cuts the stones; I'll put them in my work. I'll sell them, or we'll both sell. It was a happy coincidence. We've been friends for a long time, and these [gemstones] seem to work."

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: A hand-forged and fabricated 14K gold pendant by Nancy Ellinghaus featuring a banded agate carving by Steve Walters; photo by Ralph Gabriner.

READ MORE: See the inspiration behind the jewelry designed with gem art

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