[Jewelry making - Article 00564] - [Orchid] "Synthetics" Denver Gem and Mineral Show Poll

[Steve Green]

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Dear Orchidians,

    At the recent Denver Gem and Mineral Show I went around asking many
    different long time Gem and Mineral industry folks the following
    question: 

    Do "synthetic" gems need to have a natural counter-part? 

    In order to avoid influencing their answer I had the question typed
    on a piece of paper and handed it to them. In this manner they were
    all asked equally and influenced by the question and only the
    question. 

    Below are the answers, the names and the credentials of the people
    who I asked. All of the people I asked are folks that are active and
    make their livings from the gem, mineral or jewelry business. Their
    answers are printed and underlined  (with their permission of
    course). I thank them all for their participation and enthusiasm in
    this survey. 

    Tom Cushman of Allerton Cushman & Co.  Sun Valley, ID   well known
    gem dealer initially said NO then changed his answer to YES after
    talking with Mark Kaufman who was standing near by. 

    Mark Kaufman - Kaufman Enterprises in San Diego, CA   well known gem
    cutter and dealer 
	YES and NO with caveat 

    Tim Roark of Tim Roark Imports  Atlanta, GA   well known gem dealer
    NO 

    Herb Obodda    Short Hills, NJ   well known mineral and rare gem
    dealer 
    NO initially then said YES and added "a blanket definition is not
    possible" 

    Don Olson   of Donald K. Olson & Associates  Bonsall, CA  well known
    mineral and gem dealer 
	NO 

    Gloria Olson   of Donald K. Olson and Associates Bonsall, CA  gem
    and mineral dealer 
	NO 

    Ann Frazier   writes articles for gem and mineral publications 
	NO 

    Si Frazier   writes articles for gem and mineral publications said
    "Let me check the Oxford English Dictionary" 

    Merle White    Editor of the Lapidary Journal 
	Yes "according to the GIA" 

    Sara Stern  FGA  of Saraco Company 
	NO 

    Dudley Blauwet of Mountain Minerals International  Louisville, CO 
    mineral and gem dealer cited Zincite and said "how do you like that" 
    (zincite is an accidentally man-made gem) 

    Wayne Leicht of Kristalle  Laguna Beach, CA  well known mineral
    dealer 
	NO  (but added) "if word gem is not used" 

    John White of Kustos  Stewartstown, PA   past curator for the
    SMITHSONIAN 
	NO 

    Charles Key  well known mineral dealer and collector 
	NO 

    Bill Pinch  well known mineral dealer and collector 
	NO 

    John Rhoads  D&J Rare Gems  Salida, CO   gem cutter and dealer- 
    winner of numerous Cutting Edge Awards      
	NO 

    Bob Spomer  Buena Vista Gem Works  Buena Vista, CO  gem cutter 
	YES 

    Morgan Sonsthagen of Sonthsagen Design  Denver, CO  jeweler YES  and
    added "can see both sides of the argument - could be yes and no" 

    Don Hoover  FGA and Geophysicist 
	NO 

    Grady Harris of Creative Gems   Seagoville, TX    man-made rough gem
    dealer 
	YES 

    Leslie Bertoldi  GG & GJ  Denver, CO 
	NO 

    Jay Morley  jeweler   Boulder, CO 
	NO 

    Warren Pressler  GG, NAJA, ASA   Arvada, CO 
	NO 

    Larry Dalinka of Dalinka Design  jeweler 
	NO 

    Susan Dalinka of Dalinka Design  jeweler 
	NO 

    Lance Kanaby  Mine Design  cutter and importer 
	NO 

    Jonathon Passel  Natural Selection  gem and mineral dealer 
	NO 

    Carlos Vasconcelos  well known gem and mineral dealer  Governador
    Valadares, Brazil 
	YES 

    Peter Erdo owner of GRAVES   Pompano Beach, FL  sells synthetic &
    natural rough gems 
	NO 

    The results are 19 NOs  and 8 YESes . From this poll it is obvious
    there is some confusion on what a "synthetic" is. The question often
    lead to long deep conversations and thought. In the end most people
    I polled thought it was all semantics. The more scientific oriented
    folks seemed to favor that all man-made gems by definition are
    "synthetic". 

    I uphold and stick to my original statement that: "A synthetic gem
    does NOT have to have a man-made counter-part".    This leads to the
    next statement I also believe is true:    All man-made gems are
    synthetic. It seems that many people whom are very active in this
    business agree with me, but not all. 

    Sincerely,  Steve Green - Rough and Ready Gems    www.briolettes.com



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