VUE

"e gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." (Proverb) With the ever-growing demands of U.S. consumerism, it's easy to forget how much time and effort is put into a single product. It may even be hard for us to fathom how many individuals have touched the high-quality goods we sought by the time they get from the source to the consumer. This is especially true for the gemstone industry. Consumers look for artisan craftsmanship, and for the discerning individual, a stone's history is just as mesmerizing as the crystalline colors they're unearthed with. If you trace a stone back to its origin in East Africa—the gem-rich place on the planet—you'll begin to understand how many hands make its availability to our market possible. You'll find a miner who sells a rough (or an uncut, un-shaped gemstone) to a gem cutter who then delivers it to a manufacturer, who ultimately takes it to a retail jeweler. Despite the exotic chronicle of events that come with each stone, the gemstone industry has a problem—and there is a frightening reality in the hardships faced by those at the source. In Tanzania, there is very little heavy machinery, meaning most of the mining is done by hand—which of course, can be dangerous and sometimes even deadly. Even more so, stones such as Tanzanite—a blue and violet variety of zoisite found in the Manyara Region in Northern Tanzania—have only been discovered in the last 50 years or so. What this means is that the industry to cut the gems hasn't yet developed along with its country's mining industry. Gems are being mined and sold abroad where there are established gem cutting businesses. Though there are gem cutting schools in many of these East African countries, local students cannot afford the tuition. This is a tremendous roadblock standing in the way of these people getting the most out of their resources, and there is an urgent need to bring gem cutting to countries like Tanzania. This will not only help thousands make a living, but stop the exporting of their rough gems at the lowest possible value. While it may seem inconceivable for us half way across the world to assist, there are non-profits right here in the U.S. whose purpose is to change the status quo. In 2008, Nancy Schuring of Devon Fine Jewelry in Wyckoff, NJ—a top jeweler in the country—was on a trip visiting gem mines in Africa with colleagues Debbie Swinney and her husband, Joe Portale. During her foray with her guide and gemstone expert, Jim Fiebig, she learned a great deal about the sources of the materials that she sells. "We sell a lot of different gemstones here," Schuring told me one afternoon at her Bergen County storefront. "But when we went to Madagascar, we quickly noticed how primitive and poor the country was. So we visited a school there, the Gemological Institute of Madagascar, which was started by an American gem dealer. They were teaching the students how to cut gemstones there, but people that live in the country where the gemstones are actually from, couldn't afford tuition. We knew we had to do something about that." VUE ON GIVING V U E N J . C O M 71

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