Three Gems in Four Days: How Jason Found His Voice in Stone
- Michael Holmes
- May 26
- 5 min read
A student story from Oak & Stone School of American Gemcutting
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Jason arrived at Oak & Stone School as a photographer and artist — someone already fluent in precision, composition, and the patient pursuit of beauty. But he came for something more than a skill. He was in the middle of rebuilding his home, rebuilding his creative life, and looking for a craft that could go deep with him. Something that demanded both the hand and the mind. Something that could change how he saw.
He found it in gemcutting.
What happened over his four days at Oak & Stone wasn't just a class. It was a creative awakening — and he left with three finished gems, a new way of thinking about art, and the feeling of a door swung wide open.
Day One: Learning to See the Stone
Every journey at Oak & Stone begins the same way: with the machine, the rough, and the question of what's hiding inside.
Jason's first stone was a piece of synthetic spinel — a forgiving material that lets a new cutter focus on learning the fundamentals without worrying about wasting something precious. Before any faceting could begin, there was preforming to do: shaping the rough into a workable form using dop wax, understanding how the machine moves, learning to read the stone.
By the end of Day One, the pavilion — the bottom half of the gem — was well underway. The foundation had been laid, in more ways than one.
Day Two: A Finished Gem
The second day is always a milestone day. The pavilion was polished to completion, and then came the transfer — one of the most delicate operations in faceting, where the stone is flipped and re-mounted to begin work on the crown. It requires patience and precision, and for a first-time student, it's the moment the whole process starts to feel real.
By the end of Day Two, Jason held a finished, polished standard round brilliant in synthetic spinel — a gem he had cut from rough with his own hands. His first stone. A lovely success.
Day Three: Into the Deep End
With one gem under his belt, Jason was ready to work with something that mattered to him personally: a piece of Arizona peridot he had recently purchased. This was no longer a practice stone. This was his rough, from a place he cared about, waiting to become something.
Peridot is a more demanding material. Before faceting could begin, the rough needed to be preformed using the cabochon machine — eliminating concavities and inclusions that would compromise the finished stone. Together, Jason and I studied the crystal and made decisions: what shape would honor the material? What design would serve the stone?
The answer was a triangle — and from that shape emerged the design: Tribal, by the excellent gem designer Marco Voltolini. A bold, precise cut for a bold, precise student.
Jason moved quickly. There were moments where things went sideways — a cut on the wrong index, a decision that needed rethinking. But this is where gemcutting reveals its deeper lesson: there are almost always solutions. When you find yourself painted into a corner, the craft teaches you to problem-solve, to stay calm, to strategize. That's true of art. It's true of life.
By the end of Day Three, the peridot was nearly complete. Jason was moving with confidence.
Day Four: One More Stone (Until 10pm)
A student who finishes their second gem on Day Four and calls it done has had a successful class. Jason finished his peridot early in the day — and then decided he wasn't done.
He had a piece of topaz from Colorado. Beautiful material, his own, with meaning attached to it. He wanted to cut it.
Together we preformed the rough and weighed the options: a round or a square? Jason did what any good artist does — he asked for a collaborator's eye. His partner weighed in over text messages. They chose a round.
The design they selected was Nymphea, also by Marco Voltolini — a Portuguese-style cut, demanding and beautiful, with a complexity that most beginners don't attempt. Jason attempted it on Day Four of his first gemcutting class.
He finished it. He worked until 10pm, by my approval and his own determination, and he held a polished Portuguese-cut Colorado topaz in his hands before he went home.
Three gems in four days: a round brilliant in synthetic spinel, a trillion-cut Arizona peridot, and a Portuguese-cut Colorado topaz. Each one cut from rough. Each one his.
In His Own Words
Jason reflected on the experience with a generosity and depth that moved me:
Michael set up a four day immersion for me in crafting gems from rough to polished & I'm forever changed. I loved the meditation of it, I loved the design aspect to it, and I was so completely supported by Michael & amped by his motivation. Every time I painted myself in a corner he was right there to help me strategize and continue on the journey.
And later:
I just kept thinking I was so glad that Michael learned all of this & made it available to people like me to fast track me into the dynamics of the medium. He helped teach me to completely see the big picture of this art form & not be overwhelmed but to take action and get right into it. When one is talking about an art form, they really are talking about infinity & it takes a lifetime to truly learn these arts. I feel it takes an exciting & positively motivated teacher to give you a little bit of structure that leads to infinity in every direction. It's too easy to lock in on a recipe or a format within an art form & not really learn how the fabric of it all is woven… but Michael really kept encouraging me to explore and find what felt best for me & to mix it up a lot and see new perspectives. His comments & goals were structured to add confidence to exploration in finding my own voice. I can't wait to find some great lapidary tools to continue crafting gems.
Structure that leads to infinity in every direction. I couldn't say it better myself. That's what this school is for.
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Your Story Is Waiting
Jason came to Oak & Stone School as a complete beginner. He left with three finished gems, a new creative vocabulary, and his own voice in stone.
Whether you're a jewelry lover, an artist, a maker, or simply someone who has always been drawn to beautiful things and wondered what it would feel like to *make* one — there's a place for you here.
View upcoming classes and reserve your spot →
Weekend experiences start at $950. Four-day foundations at $1,600. Every class includes all equipment, supplies, snacks and drinks, and one-on-one instruction in our Arts and Crafts studio in the woods of Berks County, Pennsylvania.
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*Oak & Stone School of American Gemcutting is located in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania. Inquiries: [oakandstoneschool@gmail.com](mailto:oakandstoneschool@gmail.com)*
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