Hi Gaylen,
As far as I know, THE place for carved stones is Idar-Oberstein in
Germany. The streets are lined with gemcutters and dealers. I’ve
bought stones in the past from A. Ruppenthal – it’s a large firm,
but they were very welcoming when we, literally, knocked on their
door one day.
They have a website (http://www.ruppenthal.de), but it’s only in
german. If you go to their site, select KONTACT, then EXPORT, and
you’ll find some phone numbers. I’m certain that they speak english.
Good luck.
Cathy, Brelique@aol.com