Please welcome our newest members!
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Audrey L Vesnefsky
Gold Diamond & Design, Inc.
Kenosha, WI. USA
I am co-owner of Gold Diamond & Design, Inc. in Wis. with my partner
John Langenfeld. We both are Graduate Gemologist (GIA) Jewelry
Designers (GIA) Cad Cam Operators, and John has won several design
awards 3 AGTA Spectrum, 1 Platinum Guild Honers and 7 Mid West (WJA)
Awards. We have been in business for 3 years as Gold Diamond &
Design but have 52 years in the jewelery business combined.
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Lyn I Simms
ArkLaTex Gem & Mineral Society
Shreveport, LA. USA
I am a retired nurse who is raising a now 15 year old grandson with
my husband of 41+ years. I am an inveterate collector and so is my
husband - though of widely varying tastes. About 5 years ago I
decided I had to find something “smaller” to collect, as our house
had no more room for the usual curios, plates, nativities, gun
safes, etc. I quite easily decided on loose, faceted gems. However,
my grandson was more interested in “plain old rocks” and was forever
filling his pocket or our car with “take home samples.” I finally
said, “at least take just the pretty ones!” Well, that meant I HAD to
LOOK at each one to help determine if it was “pretty enough” to take
home. This led us to the ArkLaTex Gem & Mineral Society Gem &
Mineral Show of 2007. Oh my! After each of us polished a small
cabochon, we were “hooked” on rocks in a new and wonderful way -
including my husband! Well, to shorten the story, we joined the
club, started lessons in cutting and polishing cabs with one of the
members, and I now have a lapidary shop in half of our garage with
more rocks and slabs on the shelves than I have lifetime left to cut
& polish them all! I am also the club Secretary and may be the club
president for 2010 (elections pending). SOOOOO…that is my past.
NOW, I hope to move on to jewelry making in cooperation with my
husband, who is will be taking his first silversmithing class later
this month. We shall see…
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Jack M Ogden
Gem-A
London, UK
Im currently the Chief Executive of the Gemmological Association of
Great Britain (Gem-A), the longest established, international
gem-teaching institute which now provides its highly acclaimed
gemmology courses in 28 countries around the world. Im the fourth
generation of a well-known British jewellery business, but after
gaining the Gem-A Gemmology Diploma (FGA) with distinction in 1971,
I combined my jewellery and archaeological interests and entered the
consulting field, working with museums, auction houses, dealers and
collectors worldwide advising within my specialist field of history
of jewellery materials and technology, with a special focus on
problems of authenticity " Ive written and lectured widely on these
subjects. I received my Doctorate from Durham University with a
thesis covering the jewellery industry in Roman Egypt. I was
Secretary General to CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) 1995
2000 and then, after a brief return to consulting, joined Gem-A in
2004.
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Ane Haugen
Porsgrunn, Norway
I am an young norwegian designmaker with all educational background
from the U.K. I have most experience in jewellerymaking, but my
interest lies in silversmithing which I have been specialising in
the past year.
The Norwegian landscape, culture and folk art inspires my work
pieces and I work mainly in silver. I love silver
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Darren Mitry
Orosurf
Manilva, Malaga. Spain
42 years old, currently living in Hurghada, Egypt (returning to
Spain soon) Self taught, I like to make accurate reproductions of
ancient jewellery in silver mostly,occasionally gold.
Started as an extension of my other hobby, metal detecting. I needed
to find a use for all the scrap silver I find. I have found almost 4
kilos of gold and probably 12 - 15 kilos of silver over 10 years.
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Gede Made Permadi
Denpasar, Bali. Indonesia
I’m an engineer who have interest in jewerly manufacturing