JEWELRY GOLDSMITH GEMSTONES STONE CUTTING HOME
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Colored Gemstone Cutting Artist |
John’s studio workshop is in Lexington Kentucky where he lives with his wife and three daughters, all of whom make frequent requests for his jewelry!
John is gifted faceter, member of the United States Faceters Guild, diamond setter and colored stone setter. His precision cut colored stones distinguish his jewelry. John started his company first cutting gemstones and later expanded by crafting custom jewelry to complement the colored stones. John has refined his stone cutting and jewelry fabrication skill through a variety of training classes, workshops, and lots of hours behind the jeweler's bench and faceting machine. Some of his training has come from nationally recognized leaders in their fields and include instruction in Faceting from Jerry Call, Diamond Setting from Robert Wooding, Gold Smithing from Danny Barnes, Silver smithing from Alan Jewel & Ruthie Cohen, Lost Wax Casting from Fred Sias, precious opal cutting from Sara Lee Boyce, and Jewelry Photography from Ken Kipnis.
Who needs a paint brush ? Look at transformation of these rough tourmaline stones, (above) into these brilliant gems (below). Just goes to show what can be done starting with top facet grade stones. I just finished faceting these blue green tourmaline stones for a client in Colorado. Each finished stone shown below is in the same position as the stone I cut it from show above. May 2009
Oregon Sunstone, fresh off the dop April 2009. Photo above shows the rough stones. Photo below shows the finished faceted gems. Can you match them ? OK, the green one is easy. I'll give you a clue, the largest rough stone is turned sideways. And, of course only one has no copper schiller. So, that one's easy. What about the rest ?
John has been faceting gemstones since 2001 with more than 750 faceted colored stones to his credit. He personally hand selects premium facet grade rough gemstones from mines around the globe including Africa, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Russia, Thailand and the United States. The best finished gems come from the finest gem grade faceting rough. And, it is easy to see quality in colored gemstones - rich vibrant colors that sparkle. Gems cut By John radiate color from precisely cut highly polished facets: more Color - more Sparkle. John recently began cabochon cutting Precious Opals from Australian.
Here's the Big Guy - 97 carat Smokey Quartz, the largest stone I've cut (so far) sold 2009 to a client in Lexington Kentucky
All of John's jewelry is made from the highest quality karat gold, platinum, and silver. He has been commissioned to make more than 350 unique pieces of jewelry. He hand makes some jewelry and fabricates others using commercially made components, but always uniquely showcasing the colored stones.
John is an accomplished goldsmith. He melts gold grain or scrap gold jewelry, pours / casts the gold into ingots, and then mills the gold into flat bar or square wire stock with a rolling mill, and sometimes further into round or half round thin gold wire by hand drawing through drawing plates. John makes beautifully crafted pieces of jewelry from these hand fabricated pieces of gold, always showcasing his faceted colored stones. John has also developed a knack for making contemporary pieces of jewelry from antique, out of fashion, or broken pieces of gold jewelry.
SERVICES
STONE CUTTING PRICES
Round Brilliant Cut $45
All Fancy Cuts $65
STONE SETTING PRICES
Melee prong set less than 1/4 carat $10
Round, 1/4 to 2.0 ct $25
Fancy Shapes & Large Stones $40
JEWELRY REPAIR PRICES
Ring Re-size Down $25
Ring Re-size Up $30
14K Gold - per solder joint $15
JEWELRY DESIGN - CALL
Custom Designs
Handmade Jewelry
Remake New from Old Jewelry
Catalog Items
LAPIDARY CLASSES
1 Day Faceting Class - $125
1/2 Day Cabochon Cutting Class - $65
DO YOU HAVE ROUGH GEMSTONES ?
I CUT ROUGH GEMSTONES INTO FINISHED GEMS !
TURN YOUR ROUGH STONES INTO FINISHED GEMS
DO YOU HAVE BROKEN JEWELRY ?
I REPAIR BROKEN JEWELRY !
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ?
DO YOU WANT TO KICK AROUND SOME IDEAS ?
WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFORMATION ?
CALL OR SEND ME AN EMAIL
COLORED STONES !
MORE COLOR !
MORE SPARKLE !
I don't know if Laura told you, but the opal is my absolute favorite gemstone. I like opals more than diamonds, rubies or sapphires. In my opinion, nothing can compare with the exquisite opal, which glows with an internal fire. So when it came time for my wonderful husband and I to become engaged, I knew what kind of ring I wanted.
I knew that Mervyn's had quite a large selection of opal rings so I went over to the store and saw right away which one I wanted. It had four fiery inset opals in a gold band. I tried it on and it flashed on my finger. It was too big so I asked for a smaller size, but I was told that that was the only size the ring came in. This puzzled me since I knew that rings weren't one-size-fits-all, but I liked it so much I decided to get it anyway. The next day my finance and I went to buy it I figured that I would eventually find a way around the size problem.
First, I took my ring back to Mervyn's, hoping they could help me. The store sent my ring to its jeweler for resizing. Their jeweler promptly sent it back saying that he didn't want to attempt resizing it because of the way the opals were set in the band. They might pop out if the band was tampered with, he said. Next, I tried those clear plastic resizers that slipped around the band. They didn't work very well. Then, I tried one of those gold bands that wound around the inside of my ring. It was uncomfortable, but was the best I could do.
A few months later when my finance and I were formally engaged, I wore the ring continuously until one Sunday when we were in church. I glanced down at my finger and was shocked at what I saw. One of the opals was missing, leaving an empty black triangle where the stone once was. Needless to say, I put the ring away and didn't wear it again. This was in 2003.
I thought of one last option. Every summer I go to visit my family in Minnesota. In 20061 took my ring with me because I remembered a jewelry store there that did repairs. Unfortunately, the jeweler told me the same thing I heard at Mervyn's.
Then, your sister came to visit us in February of 2007 and told me about you. When she went home she took my ring with her. I talked to her later that year and she said that she hand-delivered it that summer when she and Terry went to visit you and your family. Finally, I had hope.
My ring arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I took it out of the box I put it on my finger. It gleamed and glowed once again, looking better than new. And after over four years, I can wear it proudly once again as a symbol of the love and commitment I share with my husband. I owe it all to you and to your dear sister, who made all of this possible! God has truly given you a gift, which I'm certain you are using for His glory! Thank you so very much!
God bless you, Carol