A REWARD is offered by the World Gem Society

Examples of the beautiful colors

We are sending this out to all segments of the gemstone industry world wide. The World Gem Society office has been informed that the good folks from the Sunstone Butte Mine of Plush, Oregon had their entire inventory stolen from a trailer at the Tucson Gem Shows earlier this week. This theft has taken away years of very hard work on the part of these folks, and we are asking the assistance of the world gemstone industry to help us get it back.

Mixed Oregon Sunstones Green schiller

As seen in the images shown, the Plush Oregon Sunstone produced by this mine is quite unique in color with many intense greens. This makes this material fairly easy to identify when attempts are made to sell these stolen goods either as a group or individual stones.

Amazing Colors

The World Gem Society is offering a US $1,000.00 REWARD for information that leads to the return of these goods to the mine owners. We are not concerned with the perpetrators as the Almighty has a way of dealing with people. What we do ask is the return of the goods as this has stolen the very livelihood from these good people who worked for years digging this material out of the ground. Actual images of the Sunstone Butte production are seen below from our ISG Rush to Plush event in June of this year. The Sunstone Butte material is quite unique. Please refer all leads to the Tucson Police Department at 520-791-4444.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICES: The World Gem Society has “in situ” gathered specimens from the Sunstone Butte Mine and can identify recovered gemstones from this mine by XRF, SEMS, and LA-ICP-MS elemental analysis.

More Oregon Sunstone

Actual images of the Sunstone Butte gemstones are below. The World Gem Society offers our specimen group for verification and identification of any recovered goods, and we will cover the cost of testing recovered sunstone that is suspected to be from this theft. Please contact the World Gem Society office for more details as to how we can help identify any recovered sunstone gemstones as being from the Sunstone Butte Mine. Images of the actual material from the Sunstone Butte Mine are below for your reference.

If anyone is offered Plush Oregon Sunstone material that comes from any unusual source (other than a mine owner) please contact the Tucson Police Department at 520-791-4444. Let’s unify as an industry on this. These guys are going to try to sell these goods. Stay alert, help your fellow World Gem Society member. The next time could be you and we will help you in return.

To the people who stole this material: You have hurt some good people who worked for years to dig this material out of the earth. What goes around eventually comes around.

We ask that you return these goods immediately so the Sunstone Butte folks can make a living out of their hard work. There is time to make this right if you simply return these goods.

Robert James

World Gem Society Logo

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1. Identifying Gem Materials

Hi there to all the Editors, Happy New Year to you all – all the best for 2012. Please find attached photos taken of last year’s competition as well as the report of the winners hereunder:
The stones went on show at the Pretoria Gem and Mineral Club “end of year function” on 3^rd December 2011.  On Sunday 27^th November, 2011 the three judges for the SAGCC sat to judge 12 stones that had been submitted by 11 contestants. There were three stones for the Faceting Section and nine stones for the Cabochon Section.

The winners were:

Faceting Section:

1^st place :  Martine van der Westhuysen, Cape Town - Ametrine
2^nd place:  Roy Brain, Durban - Citrine
3^rd place:   Colin Towers, Port Elizabeth - Amethyst

Cabochon Section:

1^st place: Angie Seale, Port Elizabeth - Brazilian Agate
2^nd place:  Colin Towers, Port Elizabeth - Botswana Agate
3^rd place:  Karien Grobler, Pretoria - Velvet Obsidian

Further Entrants Were:

• Diann and Stoney Hill: all the way from Austin Texas , USA -  Petrified Palm Wood and Rio Grande Moss Agate
• Colin Glover: Durban -  Chalcedony
• Donae Stone: Port Elizabeth - Banded Agate
• Reinhardt van Vuuren: Port  Elizabeth - Brazilian Agate
• Rob Morgan: Durban - Blue lace agate  (Rob’s stone nearly landed up in Siberia, but we managed to track it down to the correct address just on time, all part of the fun after all  !!) Once again, the judges felt the entrants had visibly poured much effort and energy in preparing their stones, they found the varied selection of stones interesting to judge. The standard of gem cutting is definitely improving from year to year, with the P.E. club taking the Honours. Colin is doing an amazing teaching job down there, well done Colin.

At this point we need to say Thank You to the following individuals :

Firstly, to all the entrants, thank you for the time and effort you put into preparing and sending your stones to us, and especially this year, we need to thank and welcome Diann and Stoney from Texas, who entered their stones at very short notice. Thank You to Jerry Bartlemay from Portland Oregon, USA , for allowing us to use his faceting design featured in the March 2011 issue of “Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist.” Jerry is a Master gemcutter and part-time Instructor , and Editor of “Facets”.

• Thank you to Merle White, Editor-in Chief of  ”Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist” magazine, for allowing us to use Jerry’s design.
• Thank you to judge Philip Alp, who works as a chemist running the laboratory at Lonmin Platinum Mine outside of Pretoria,  when he isn’t teaching gemcutting or cutting some fine specimen.
• Thank you to judge Kevin Hean, who owns an engineering company. When Kevin isn’t cutting his brilliant designs, he is practising gemmology, having developed his own gemmological lab to cater for his first love.
• Thank you to judge and Master Helmut Schunberger, who is a retired specialist glass blower, having worked for many years at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Helmut has been mentor and teacher to many of us over the years, and we value and appreciate his special talent and accumulated knowledge and wisdom.
• I have kept this credit for last, because it has been such a surprise and honour for us down here at the very tip of beautiful Africa.  Not to say that the previous thank you credits have been any less in our esteem, far from it. Diann Hill stumbled upon our club whilst searching on the Internet.  Her initial contact was naturally with Heidi our Editor, then with me after hearing about the SA Gem Cutting Challenge fairly recently. In keeping with the spirit of things, both Diann and Stoney hurriedly sent us two stones for judging, a kind and appreciated gesture. As if that wasn’t enough, Diann also sent us two CDs of her Dad’s faceting designs – for the first two2 winners of the faceting section of the competition. A further surprise came when I found out who her Dad was ?!! Charles Covill – no less – wow!. World famous Master Charles Covill.

Diann has kindly sent us a resume of her Dad’s long and distinguished life – due to shortage of space this is an abridged version of the Master ‘s achievements:

Master Faceter Charles Covill

“Charles Covill was born on March 2,1920 (Texas Independence Day) in New Mexico. He served his country during WWII in the Army Air Force, after which he married Patricia Griffin and moved to Seattle, Washington. He received his Civil Engineer Degree from Tri-State College in Angola Indiana. After moving to Austin Texas, he was employed by the Texas Highway Department – where he went on to design numerous bridges throughout the State of Texas, one of which, Devils River Bridge, he won a national prize for as the Longest Suspension Bridge in the USA at the time.

“Both Charles and Paddy were charter members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church. During the 60’s and 70’s Charles was also very active with the Boy Scouts of America, and went on to achieve high ranking positions there too. Charles and Paddy also raised and showed Great Danes for years, and also won many awards there too, all of which hang on the living room wall.

“Charles started designing and cutting faceted stones since his retirement in 1981 – and is still an active member (at 91) of the Texas Faceters Guild. He is also a member of the Columbia Willamette Faceters’ Guild as well as many other guilds across the country. Charles and Paddy owned “Custom Faceted Stones” and did numerous gem and mineral shows across the state.  His designs and articles have been placed in the Vargas books, Lapidary Journals, and numerous other club newsletters. His designs are now available for purchase in loose leaf form and on CD in either GemCad or pdf formats. Purchases may be made directly with Diann Diann @ Ladyfeathers.net

“Many of his early designs were hand calculated (slide rule and drafting tools) and drawn on paper, pre GemCad days. He has been a guest speaker for many prominent clubs and is also life-time member of the Austin Gem & Mineral Society, Texas Faceters Guild and Patron of the South Federation of Mineral Societies Inc. Endowment Fund. Charles still resides in Austin Texas, and has two children, Bruce and Diann, six grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild!

“Bruce has pursued his Dad’s love for photography and Diann has pursued his love for lapidary. Diann’s daughter, Valerie has also been taught to facet stones by her grandfather. Patricia (Paddy) Covill passed away on December 8^th 2009.”

Start Cutting for Next Year

We hope to be able to put on a much larger display of stones at the end of this year, so start cutting now. The cabochon rules remain the same always, and the faceting design for this year will be sent out asap. A personal Thank You from me to everyone involved in this completion as well as the “behind the scenes” assistance and support I have received from the Chairman of the Pretoria Gem and Mineral Club, Lex Krabbendam, as well as the entire Committee, much appreciated.

Regards Fay Pierides Fay Pierides

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Wire Wrapping course in Gresham, Oregon, July & August 2011

Wil Peterson is teaching two intensive wire wrapping courses in Gresham, Oregon. Workshops are designed to accelerate the time it takes for “anyone” from beginning level to intermediate level to master the art of wire jewelry.

Eight Projects Will be Covered

You will accelerate your skills by applying the basics to intermediate designs while accenting the jewelry with both intermediate & advanced embellishments. See the eight beginning projects at WireJewelryWorkshop.com

EVERYTHING needed is supplied including materials & gemstones for each project. You will also receive handouts for each project that will cover the step-by-step instructions for that design.

After every project is completed we will go over the design variations to expand your knowledge of the choices you have in creating one-of-a-kind art jewelry pieces from that template design.

I’ve taught over 20,000 students and have been creating wire jewelry for over 20 years now. I’ve won many awards and built up a reputation for exact skills and unique designs over the years.

This WILL be a very limited engagement with only 3-5 students per workshop and (2) workshops in total. Sign-up is on a first-come basis!

Beginning Level – July 16th & 17th, 2011
Intermediate/Advanced – Aug. 13th & 14th, 2011
Time: 10am – 5pm (with a 1 hour lunch break)
Location: 1615 NW 1st Street Gresham, OR 97030 (This is my parents house)

Beginning Level: $350.00 per person (8 Projects w/ 3-4 design variations)
Intermediate/Advanced Level: $395.00 per person (6 Projects w/ 3-4 design variations)

Call, email or visit WireJewelryWorkshop.com for more info… Wil Peterson (760) 294-8164 / wilp2001@yahoo.com

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1. Faceting Gemstones for Fun and Profit

It’s Been Too Long and I Forgot How to Facet

Many people learn faceting then get busy and don’t practice for a long time, and when they decide to get back into it, suddenly they think, “Hey, how did I used to do that?” Well, fear not. There are so many awesome videos, on YouTube for instance such as this one by John Bailey at GemstoneArtist:

Do a search on YouTube for faceting and you’ll find many videos.

Don’t Forget the Library

There are also plenty of great books that will help refresh your mind. Our club, Columbia Willamette Faceters’ Guild has an extensive library (if you are a member), and you can often find a few at the library. You may also just want to invest in a book or two. Some ideas to get you started (you may remember you already have these on your shelf at home?):

• Learn to Facet the Right Way, by Jeff Graham. Can be purchased at Faceters.com in the book section.
• Faceting for Amateurs, by Glen and Martha Vargus is also considered a good starter book

You can often find these books used at far lower prices than you may see posted on Amazon so don’t let those crazy prices scare you away from a book.  Here is a link to a search on Amazon for the single word “faceting.” Hopefully that’ll help get you started.

And lastly (for now) here is a “How to Get Started in Gemstone Faceting” tutorial that may help from GemCutter.com. If anyone has other ideas or suggestions please post in the comments.

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Rudy Tschernich, Curator of the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals has generously offered his book, Zeolites of the World for free at the Mineral Database web site called Mindat.org. Here is a direct link but if it is broken, look for it in the December 2008 issue.

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Columbia Willamette Faceters Guild sponsors the Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy

The Portland Regional Gem & Mineral Show is September 17 – 19, 2010. Exhibitors need to register their intent to exhibit by filling out the “Exhibit Application” for as many categories as they wish then sending it to Lamar Tilgner (address below). Accolades and the awe of your peers are to be had!

Win Faceting Trophy

Consider faceting a stone for competition. It’s fun and educational to have your gemstone looked at with that competitive eye. Every year the Columbia Willamette Faceter’s Guild sponsors the Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy. To enter, complete and send in the application below.

• Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy application, awarded for the best single natural or synthetic faceted stone by an adult Novice (to qualify as “novice” you must not have won this award in the past or a novice rosette for faceting in any other show).
• Portland Regional Gem & Mineral show Application for Exhibitors: Download this Application to Exhibit (Competitive and/or Non-Competitive) if you would like to have a display case in the  show. Please send this in no later than August 15, 2011 to ensure acceptance.

Applications should be sent to : Lamar Tilgner, 200 SE Olvera Ave, Gresham, OR 97080

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Gemology Project Faceting Design Contest

First prize, for contributor of most useful Design Collection

Receive an “All You Need Kit” containing:

• 1 BATTWING Lap
• One 3,000 Diastik
• One 60K Diatsik
• Three BATTSTIKS, 1 each CeO, AlOx, and Chromium Oxide

(Retail value: $258.00)

Second prize, for most popular Individual Design

You’ll receive a Professional Polishing Kit, containing:

• One BA5T lap
• Your choice of a 60K OR 100K Diastik

(Retail value: $205.00)

Check out the Gemology Project’s Faceting Design pages to see stones cut from the various designs

The Gemology Project is “a non-profit gemstone and gem science wiki-style database” about gemstones and gemology (gemmology). Every month a gemstone and a piece of gemstone identification equipment is featured.

Don’t need the prize? Donate it to your local faceting club!

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2. Puzzle, Faceting Laps

Every month in Facets we publish one or more gemstone designs. The April 2010 issue includes SpinWheel 3 by Jerry Bartlemay, March 2010, inspired by Wind Wheel by Charles Covill and Checkboard Oval OMNI Version by John Bailey, 2008.

We’d love to hear your experience cutting one or both of these designs. Post them here, or send comments via the Contact Us link at any time.

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2. Faceting Gemstones for Fun and Profit
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Yes, it is possible to make a living from your gemstone faceting and no one has done this faster than John Bailey of GemstoneArtist.com. This year, 2010, Bailey will hold ONE boot-camp-style Faceting class.

July 8 – 13, with over 60 hours of classroom instruction in a close, friendly environment. This course is perfect for the beginner and experienced faceters alike.

This course is so much more than just “how to facet.” John includes vital information on how to value rough, saving you time, money and frustration when you buy rough that you’ll never sell because you overpaid. You’ll also learn basic Gemcad (and if you know Gemcad John is more than happy to teach more advanced concepts). This course is highly recommended by Kathryn Martyn, our club’s secretary and webmaster who attended the boot camp in 2009 and plans to attend this year as well.

The course includes all of the following

• Faceting Machine Orientation
• Rough evaluation
• Rough Evaluation Lab
• Gemstone orientation
• Cold Dopping Methods & Tools
• Hot Dopping Methods & Tools
• Orientation & Cold Dopping Lab
• Hot Dopping Methods & Tools Lab
• Beginning Cutting & Polishing Sequencing
• Advanced Polishing & Repair Cutting
• Beginning Cutting & Polishing Lab
• Intermediate Cutting & Polishing Lab
• Training the Eye to See (Quality Control)
• Beginning Design & Geometry Planning
• Advanced Geometry & Design
• Beginning Design & Geometry Planning Lab
• Basic Gem Photography
• The Well Fed Artist (Getting Paid)

Complete details are found at GemStoneArtist.com

John has several videos posted on YouTube as well, including the cutting sequence when he faceted Oregon’s largest flawless red sunstone

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Seattle Fac-Ette for Sale

The Columbia Willamette Faceters’ Guild has a Seattle Fac-Ette for sale (SOLD). This machine is in excellent condition, having been recently refurbished by Bob Grove.

This package deal includes three used laps (180, 600 and 1200 grit) and an acrylic master lap. Also included are a transfer jig, target dop, 45 degree table dop and about a dozen Fac-Ette dops in a wooden dop block.

The price is $1,200. If interested contact Haden Olson, our property manager at 503 631 3132. Haden can bring the machine to a meeting or arrange for you to take a look.

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