Roger Dery…

Roger has traveled the world in search of precious gemstones; from the back waters of Sri Lanka to the bazaars of New Delhi, from hand mining in Tanzania to busy market stalls in Madagascar. But always, after he finds his treasures, he returns home to unlock their beauty, to make them sparkle. At his cutting machine, Roger takes the treasures of his travels and works his magic with the art of faceting. His fabulous gems inspire the creation of heirloom jewelry that will be cherished for generations.

Roger has been in the gemstone business since 1981. His fascination with colored gems began on a three-month journey to Europe, Egypt, India and Sri Lanka. He was hooked and has been ever since! In the early years, Roger operated as a general colored stone dealer carrying a full line of calibrated gemstones.

In the 80’s, Roger recognized the importance of jewelry industry education. He served on the Gemological Institute of America Alumni Association Board for six years and on the GIA National Committee for two years. He was the first vendor to serve on the Michigan Jewelers Association Board. He served as the Education Chair and was instrumental in bringing gemological classes to Michigan on a yearly basis. In addition, he was part of an industry consortium that developed a four-year jewelry arts degree program at Kendall College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Roger developed educational tools for the jewelry trade: the Durability Guide, the Color Grid and Gem Info Cards. He created a seminar for jewelry professionals, Colored Gems 101, and a fun, interactive game “Who Wants to be a Diamondaire?”

In 1998, Roger and Ginger designed a pair of earrings that were manufactured by Bruce Campbell. The earrings won First Place in the Michigan Jewelers Association competition. Later that year the earrings also won First Place in the prestigious Jewelers of America national competition.

In the 90’s Roger was recruited for a project with the government of Namibia that would promote jobs for the Namibian people by developing two gem cutting facilities. This once in a lifetime opportunity led to many contacts that would be instrumental in his faceting career.

It is often said that it’s the teacher that learns the most. For Roger, the more he learned, the more he became intrigued by the cuts of various gemstones and the way they reflected light. He was no longer content with average gemstones; it was now time to embark on the journey of faceting his own gems. The journey has taken him to South America, Southeast Asia and throughout Africa, including Madagascar.

Roger considers himself a purist. He admires the classic cuts. His favorite gemstone is sapphire, a rich cornflower blue, in an antique cushion. His passion is re-designing a classic cut; making it come alive!

Roger is also enamored with unusual gem materials. He enjoys cutting the traditional sapphire, aquamarine and garnet, but is most captivated when working with out-of-the-ordinary gems. Some of his favorites are golden beryl, morganite, orthoclase, iolite and the many colors of zircon, to name a few. In fact, it was his golden scapolite that won a coveted American Gem Trade Association “Cutting Edge Award”.

Roger’s desire is to facet gemstones that will be passed down through the generations as they commemorate special occasions and mark rites of passage.