Here is a fabulous Starbrite-cut blue topaz with white gold and diamonds.  What could be better?

I could write a blog about the annual Tucson Gem Show.  After a day of looking at “gems”, it’s always fun to relax and also look at “rocks”.

A close friend of mine is a mineral collector.  His wife is a big fan of my work and is in her own right, a gem collector!  At this show, we found and brought home a beautiful Ethiopian opal for her ring collection.

We are all fans of John Dyer’s gem art.  His booths are always a stop on our Tucson agenda.  My friend’s wife had seen a photo of John’s work and had said, “I’ve always wanted one of those”.

At this last Tucson show, my mineral collector friend wanted to pick out something for a special anniversary.  He said that he had always wanted to buy a John Dyer gem for his wife.  My friend, Judith, often helps John when he comes to the Tucson show.  It was fun to work with John and Judith to pick out the perfect example of his gem art.  You see here the Starbrite-cut blue topaz that we chose.

I had total freedom to design whatever I wanted.  I knew that the stone would be turned so that the points would appear to be a diamond shape rather than a square.  I chose to set the stone in white gold with pave diamonds.  The setting would allow the light to catch the facets at all angles.

Voila!  My friend was able to present his wife with a very special anniversary gift.  The finished ring is a show stopper and now the favorite of her collection.