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Jerry Burnell
Jerry Burnell has been a driving force in the jewelry industry of Kansas for the past 30 years. Jerry is a native of Wichita and a graduate of Wichita State University. He jokingly says that he had a degree in business, almost a masters in business, almost a degree in chemistry, with heavy studies in physics, math, and biology and he just quit college, that he figured that with 239 credit hours he should be able to make a living somewhere. Actually he was already deep into the motions of starting the most respected jewelry design team in this part of the country. Jerry is highly regarded and considered an expert in many fields, three of which are Precious gemstones, jewelry manufacture, and jewelry design. Jerry is presently president of The Kansas Jewelers Association and holds a position on the advisory board of Jewelers of America. You may contact Jerry at Burnell’s Jewelers, (316) 634-2822, or find Burnell’s Jewelers on the web at www.burnells.com
Gold, Silver, Diamonds & Jewelry
2005-11-01 16:19:00
Other gemstones of interest
: Can you tell me a little bit more about gemstones ingeneral?
ANSWER: Well, gemstones are one of nature's rarest products. The three attributes that a gemstone must possess are rarity, beauty and color. Even in prehistoric times, people were attracted to pretty pebbles, and when combined with translucency or even transparency with color, they were highly prized.The color is a gemstone's most important and individual characteristic. The color should be rich…not so pale as to give the stone a washed out appearance, nor so deep as to make it look dark or even black, particularly in artificial light. Too dark a color reduces transparency and a stone should retain a lively look with some sparkle, which is achieved by skillful cutting and faceting.In many stones the distribution of color is not even. When this results in clear divisions, as with tourmalines or agates, it is a much sought after effect. The blending of the various colors or tints of the same color and the various designs and patterns produced as they are by nature, give each stone an individual appeal that makes each one unique.Another sought after quality is a high luster. Amber and some garnet have a resinous luster, while turquoise is sometimes described as "waxy". Luster does not give a stone brilliance. In certain gemstones brilliance is produced by the skillful cutting of the stone's facets in such a way that they reflect light like mirrors, making the whole stone bright and shining when viewed from the top.These are the main characteristics which give gemstones their unique appearance, and which distinguish them from the great mass of other minerals. There is, however, a most important attribute which gemstones should possess, and that is permanence. Some stones have a cat's eye and/or star effect. Cat's eyes are caused by extremely fine hollow channels traversing the stone at right angles to the line. Inmost species the 'eye' is caused by solid fibrous crystals, and is therefore coarser and more diffuse. Accurate cutting is required to place the line exactly in the middle of the stone. Oddly, the half that is nearer the light looks darker than that half that is further away. These are produced in stones cut as cabochons with a rounded top, by fibrous crystals or channels within the stone. These inclusions give the stone a moving line of light across its center (cat's eye) or, when two or more such lines intersect in the middle, the appearance of a four, six, or even twelve-rayed star. Tiger Eye is technically called chatoyant Quartz due to the fibrous structure. It has iron oxide that gives it wavy, golden brown stripes, or a "cat's eye" effect.  More next month...
 
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