Roger Dery Gem Design

Ever wondered why all gems aren’t the same hardness? Hardness is something that actively impacts how we facet every gem: methods for cutting and polishing, different materials to cut or polish, and overall design. Directional hardness is another huge factor - two different axes having different hardnesses due to their atomic structure. This means that the gem will cut faster or slower on two different areas so it’s hard to keep it symmetrical! Hardness can also affect price.

We refer to hardness on the MOH’s Hardness Scale of 1-10, though the difference between the gems’ hardness is not equal!

Drop your questions about hardness below!

The secret is out!!! Ginger is all about people and connections and brainstorming, so she’s always busy talking and helping others when we visit mines which is why it took her many years of visiting mines with me to get into a mine herself…but she has!!!

Ginger loved color long before we married, so her people approach to color theory has been the best thing she brings to our work!

What surprised you most about Ginger?

Join us tomorrow in the famed Sapphire mining town of Ilakaka, Madagascar. We’ll bring you behind the scenes as we explore how it’s changed since Roger’s first visit to Ilakaka in 2008!

We’ve driven over 20 hours so far just to get here - Madagascar is big! 😁

Welcome to MADAGASCAR!

We’re excited to bring you all along on our adventures! We’ve been itching to get back to visiting gem mines, hearing stories directly from miners, and buying new gems right at the source.

We mostly source Aquamarines from Madagascar, but there are many fabulous gemstones mined here and we’re hoping to add more gems we’re buying directly in country!

Many of our days we hope to spend exploring the gem cutting scene in the country - as we did on Day 1! I spent some time with about 12 local faceters eager for more knowledge and gave them some tutorials.

Gem cutting for me is a finely tuned balance of art and science. The first few steps of really assessing the gem’s best characteristics and more challenging areas I’ll need to work around are key to the final design. While I can create a design that is all artistic and creative, it still needs to fit within the boundary lines of that gem types’s needs and that specific gems special circumstances.

Which part is the gem cutting process are you most curious about?

Part 2 😎

A gem cutter is a hoarder for all his favorite tools, like dopsticks because you always need JUST the right size…and sometimes you have a gem halfway done holding up a dopstick.

I use paper towels for wiping all through the process. I cut them into smaller sizes for ease of use and lack of wastage.

Different designs need gears with more of less slots to create the effect.

I’m also a faceting lap hoarder…listen, the best ones can be hard to come by!

Over the years my glove color has changed, but I always wear gloves to protect my hands from always being wet with the water spray and from the Diamond powder that can be hard to get off.

We know - April Fool’s has passed but let’s do one more GIVEAWAY just for fun!! Let’s see if the gems can fool you! 🧐

Comment once with three true or false guesses in order for each match up. We’ll pick one winner on Friday, April 5th to win a Gem Journal (free shipping in the US!). You don’t have to be right to win - just guess!

Good luck!

Happy April Fool’s Day! We’re doing a GIVEAWAY if you can prove the gems can’t fool you! 🧐

Comment once with three true or false guesses in order for each match up. We’ll pick one winner on Wednesday, April 3rd to win a Gem Mug (free shipping in the US!).

Good luck!

I’ve got some weird things on my desk. 😂

No, I don’t eat biscottis. I’ve been using the same container to catch the water runoff for 15+ years. We use water to facet to keep the gem cool and catch the dust.

I use the razor to remove wax off the dopstick after I finish faceting….and then I wipe the wax on the paper towel.

I promise…all the bottles have a purpose. 😬

As an only child, Rachel was always a bit of an heir apparent, but it took her some years to come back to the business! We’re so glad she did. She and Bjorn now spend part of their year in Bjorn’s hometown of Arusha, Tanzania, but it’s true Rachel’s sights are always on their next adventure. Europe is on their calendar for this fall!

What surprised you most about Rachel? What do you want to know more about her?

There’s, well, a lot of things on my desk! Thought I’d share a few with you:

1️⃣ sometimes the machine needs to be tightened and adjusted

2️⃣ all the machine’s nuts and bolts need lubricant and some bottles here are where gems go to break down any remaining wax after cutting

3️⃣ this is where I wipe off the wax when scraping it off while melting it when the gem is finished

4️⃣ I use wax to dop gems, but sometimes for a specific situation I use super glue!

5️⃣ one for alcohol to clean the gem off and one for water to help keep the lap wet so it is cool and collects dust

6️⃣ Diamond powder bottles and the sticks I use to embed the Diamond powder mixed with oil into the lap (with some leftover goop!)

7️⃣ my variety of wax that melts at different temperatures

8️⃣ on occasion I like to do a cabochon cut - it uses a completely different part of my brain and is totally done by hand using this handle

Hey guys! Bjorn and Rachel here - we arrive home from Tanzania next week with so many new goodies! Check out our stories today to see us buying live! Zircon, Rhodolite Garnet and Green Garnet, Tanzanite, and more! We love being here in East Africa and sorting through piles of gem rough fresh from the bush - check our stories to see a few of our favorite finds!

Faceting gems is very much a global work. In fact, most gems in the world are NOT faceted in the US. International cutting goals are generally speed and weight retention. My goals are beauty and intentionality in my design, which I hope is reflected in the final result!

The gem in the picture is a Blue Sapphire which I refaceted with these goals in mind. What do you think? What other differences can you find between them?

Thank you for being here and appreciating the artistry of bringing colored gemstones to light. We love sharing a peek into our studio, passion, and family. Thanks for being here!

We ARE still in Sri Lanka shopping for Sapphires, but pausing our usual posting to express our thanks. You can come behind the scenes in stories today!

Guess what? I never set out to be a gem cutter? In fact, it is my 3rd career! 😂 Mt first career was a pipe fitter (give me a shout if you know that career track!) before I sold (literally) all my belongings and went on a 3 month trip to buy gems in Sri Lanka and India. My second career was just as a wholesale colored gemstone dealer. In 1999, I learned how to facet gems and my favorite endeavor began!

Anyone else take a few decades to find their favorite career path?

Hobby or job? Both! 🤩

Did you scroll and read my “when I’m not cutting” favorite things to do? Did they surprise you? What did you think I would say?

Tell me your favorite non-work activities!

Cheers to 38 years! 🥳🥳🥳

Help us wish Roger and Ginger a very happy anniversary!

In 1999, I sold my entire existing inventory because I felt that I couldn’t put my name to the quality and learned how to facet myself so that each gem would meet my standards.

In 2009, I began traveling to East Africa consistently to visit gem mines and purchase gem rough so that I could give my clients confidence about their purchase’s impact.

Today with the next generation joining us, we’re still committed to these tenets…perhaps more than ever!

Which part of a gem’s journey from mine to faceting do you want us to share more about?

Join Bjorn and I next week right here as we share more of the Behind the Scenes of working and living the Tanzania half of our business and life! We’ll be answering all your questions about how we purchase gems, why we visit the miners we purchase from, and Tanzanite mining! Drop your questions in the comments!

If you’re new around here, we’re the next generation! I’m Roger’s daughter and I just happened to marry a Tanzanite miner and gem faceter so we’re truly all in the business together!

Join Bjorn and I in stories this week as we show you around Bjorn’s hometown: Arusha, Tanzania. Next week we’ll be sharing more about working and gemstones, but for now join us in stories to learn about our daily life here!

Behind us in this picture is the Clock Tower - a famed landmark in Arusha that marks the halfway point between Cairo and Cape Town. Arusha has long had a key place in East African geography and industry.

Karibuni! (Welcome in Swahili)

Only 2 more days to enter to win this 1.88ct Pink Tourmaline by buying raffle tickets as a direct donation to ! They’re $25 each and 100% of the amount goes to their worthwhile initiatives in East African colored gemstone mining communities! Ends July 29th so buy as many tickets as you want now at the link in bio! 😍

If you’ve been around a while you know that this cause is very near and dear to my heart and I’m passionate about giving back to the mining communities who work so hard. Thanks for supporting Gem Legacy! ❤️

Learn more at www.gemlegacy.org/entertowin!

Almost 40 years of marriage and 42 trips for me and 23 for Ginger to East Africa in search of gem mines and connecting with people along the supply chain. We’re back in the studio and you can find me cutting the next few weeks! 🤩

Follow for more behind the scenes of gem cutting and gem sourcing!

It just keeps getting better! To sum up the four of us, we love hunting for pretty rocks, using our skills to make them as sparkly as possible, and share them with new friends!

Let us know which milestone was news to you and we’ll share more about it!

A compilation of my favorite animal pics from the gem faceting friends who joined us on our visit (my 42nd) this summer. The animals really showed off and I have friends who are great photographers! 🤩

Home and digging into my gem rough! 👏 follow so you don’t miss any updates on new gems.

SNEAK PEEK:
Garnet in its many colors and the final picture is Zircon!

Things I have to watch for when buying gem rough:
❤️cleavage planes (for applicable gems)
🧡inclusions that won’t be lost during the cutting process
💛fracture lines or inclusions that are likely to become larger
💚size (the final gem will be about 20-30% of the original rough size)
💙crystal shape which will dictate final shape

Save and follow to see the process of faceting our new load of gem rough over the next few months.

More details about buying in Tanzania in stories today!

I do know what it’s like to start from scratch, but I did it as a single young man in a male dominated industry with nothing to lose.

Today we visited a female-owned mine of a widowed mom of 3 who is starting AGAIN in a male dominated industry. Her previous mine had issues with security and serious damages from animals so she has started over again mining for green garnet in the Kasigau region of Southern Kenya.

Esther is actually the wife of my long time friend and partner in doing good in East Africa who introduced me to so many of my initial contacts on the ground here.

Send her your best wishes in the comments for good luck and great success!!! May we never forget that great gems come from meager beginnings. 💚

This smile comes from the satisfaction of time spent with good people building powerful impact and life changing conversations. 42 years in the business will teach you that nothing lasts more than relationships. Well, gems I guess. 😉 But we wouldn’t have gems without people, would we? 👏

Every year our family makes a commitment to spend as much time as possible with the mining communities where we source our gems so that we never forget the people who make gems possible. More to come as we share details from our past few days in mining communities!