David and Annette, co-owners of D & A Treasures and members of the U.K. Facetor’s Guild, are following their lifelong passion for gemstones. David is a Registered Gemologist Appraiser certified through the International School of Gemology and Annette is currently working through the Graduate Gemologist program offered by the Gemological Institute of America.
They express themselves through the art of faceting where they skillfully discover ways to unveil the inner beauty they see in the earthy rough for all to enjoy and “be drawn in”.
They often find themselves off the beaten path in pursuit of these treasures. Their current collection being from gemstones they’ve mined while on a recent trip to Oregon, having just participated in Gemstone Artist John Bailey’s Faceting Academy. Before returning home, they stopped off to spend a few days sifting for the state’s official gemstone in its beautiful high deserts.
“When I am cutting the sunstones we’ve mined, I feel an inner joy as I’m taken back, re-capturing a piece of that day when David and I were out in the desert; it’s beauty and vastness; the feel of the wind and sun on my body; the way the sun’s rays would sparkle on the gemstones; and the new excitement I felt every time another revealed itself to me.” – Annette
Their newest collection, Colors and Moods of the Day, represented in Oregon Sunstone – from the dawn’s first golden silver rays of light to the subtle hues of blues and grays as your eyes just begin to adjust at dusk – will be available soon at DATreasures.com.
Colors and Moods of the Day
I can almost feel the warmth of the light that is glowing from within – and I know why they are called “Sunstones”. Oregon Sunstones get this glow and their many naturally occurring colors from the billions of tiny droplets of copper that are infused throughout the stone. Represented in just about every color of the rainbow: red, green and blue; champagne, orange and yellow; silver, gold, and unique copper included schillers; and every color in between – each is completely unique, custom, one of a kind.
A lot goes into choosing the piece. As much time or more can be spent determining how to orient and shape the stone or whether even to cut it at all than that spent actually cutting it. We sort through several hundreds of gemstones picking out the few here and there that look and feel like they have the potential to be – something more, better.
Orienting for the best color or presentation of a feature and compensating for the stresses the stone endured during it’s development will sometimes dictate the final shape and size. Most often size and weight are painstakingly sacrificed to best bring out the gem within. But when you find that one, and the shape starts to come together, it can become mesmerizing as you are drawn in.
Light pillars, sun halos, sunsets, and rainbows – these are some of the phenomenon created by the sun’s glowing light diffused through ice crystals and droplets of water in the earth’s atmosphere and the inspiration behind this collection. As I study and shape each one, I find myself taken to a different place and time where a mood is created as memories are sparked – real and imagined.