Stone : Smokey Quartz
Colour : Smokey
Item : #1688
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2022
Design : Celestial Bubbles
Origin : O'Briens Creek, QLD, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 112 Carats
Clarity : Very Very Slightly Included
Size : 40x25x18mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

A big bold addition to my Celestial Bubbles series, this lovely natural smokey quartz comes from the O'Briens Creek gemfields in Far North Queensland. It has beautiful smokey hues with some wispy inclusions that are common to quartz crystals and fade out as they approach what was the gemmy tip of the crystal. The pieces in this series are related to my Psychonaut series and embody a celestial vista. I really like the optical effects that are created by the polished bubbles and are endlessly fascinating and everchanging as you move the gem around.

Stone : Ametrine
Colour : Purple Golden Yellow
Item : #1677
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Bubbles Beneath The Surface Carving
Origin : Bolivia
Treatments : None
Weight : 41.92 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 30X20.82X11.41mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Ametrine is a fabulous stone to carve, the nice naturally occurring parti colour combination of amethyst purple and citrine yellow blend playfully to create a piece that is unique and fascinating. With this carving I tried to represent waves on one side and on the other, bubbles. Like the roiling waves on the ocean, just beneath are bubbles racing to the surface.

Stone : Ametrine
Colour : Purple Golden Yellow
Item : #1586
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Spark
Origin : Bolivia
Treatments : None
Weight : 28.86 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 18.89x18.9012.28mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

Ametrine works so well with this sort of fantasy cutting. This is another of my spark cuts, the idea of which is that there appears to be dynamic living spark within the gem. These gems are best appreciated by viewing them in the hand so you can get the full 3D effect.

Stone : Ametrine
Colour : Purple Golden Yellow
Item : #1574
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Spark
Origin : Bolivia
Treatments : None
Weight : 31.39 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 20.57X17.54X13.62mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Bolivian ametrine is just one of the most fascinating and magical gemstones. The intense rich golden yellow and purple hues are a totally natural combination of citrine and amethyst. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me with her creations, just how does something like this occur?

This gem I carved so that there looks like a spark floating in space within. The spark's spikey appearance moves and dances as you tilt the gem around. This creates a very bold and striking gemstone that will really make an impressive cocktail ring or other statement piece. Definitely a gem for the adventurous soul.

Stone : Ametrine
Colour : Purple Golden Yellow
Item : #1536
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Sculptural Landscape
Origin : Bolivia
Treatments : None
Weight : 37.85 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 18.39x18.44x14.20mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

A fabulous piece of natural ametrine from Bolivia with a rich and striking combination of purple (amethyst) and golden yellow (citrine). I carved this lovely stone into one of my abstract sculptural landscapes to create something unique and to really play with the two hues. Each gem sculpture is carved by hand and takes many more hours to do when compared to traditional faceting. Painstaking effort and attention to detail combined with plenty of patience is required to bring these sculptures to completion from a rough stone to a highly polished gem.

Stone : Blue Topaz
Colour : Swiss Blue
Item : #1531
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Otsukimi Sculpture Series - Moonviewing from within the Fortress of Solitude
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Enhanced
Weight : 34.62 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 20.20X21.85X12.15mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

The inspiration for this blue topaz gem sculpture comes from a fusion of the Japanese moonviewing festival, Tsukimi or Otsukimi, and Superman's icy Fortress of Solitude. The sculpting of the topaz creates a striking internal landscape of ice columns, stairways and shards. The 2D photos don't really capture the full 3D dynamic nature that you get when you hold the sculpture in the hand. You are drawn within the fortress and standing within you look out to view a rising full moon. The profile of the gem is also reminiscent of Superman's "S" logo.

Stone : Amethyst
Colour : Purple
Item : #1437
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Mixed Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 64.39 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 33.8X21.26X17.5mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

A 64 carat amethyst in the munsteiner style. Its impossible to capture in a photo the interior 3D landscape of a gem like this. There really is a daliesque dimension that can only be appreciated by seeing it in the hand... a twisted stepped corridor, a pyramid with an all seeing eye, spiked peaks, just magic!

Stone : Ametine
Colour : Yellow Purple
Item : #1436
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Mixed Carving
Origin : Bolivia
Treatments : None
Weight : 62.81 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 33.5X21.0X17.27mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

The inspiration for this carving came from a Japanese inro, a small beautifully made container used for holding various items like medicine. I wanted to try and capture the waves, with a moon rising over them and Mt Fuji in the distance. This big gem is a natural ametrine that comes from the Anahi Mine in Bolivia. Ametrine is a natural and rare blending of citrine and amethyst and the best comes from this single location. I enjoyed carving this piece with the lovely flowing curves and the exercise of trying to capture the essence of an idea.

Stone : Citrine
Colour : Smokey Honey
Item : #1438
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Mixed Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 40.73 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 29.8X23.5X15mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

This is an awesome citrine that I have cut in the munsteiner style. If you are not familiar with the gem artistry of Bernd and Tom Munsteiner then I highly recommend that you partake of a little googling and have a look at some of their works, they are astounding. Bernd originated this style decades ago and truly opened up a whole new perspective on working with gemstones, albeit one that is surprisingly not that widely known. I have been trying to learn these techniques myself but I am very much at the early stages and I have realised there is a great deal of skill and complexity that goes into cutting gems in this manner.

The inner world which is created within these gems is mesmerising and endlessly fascinating and very much remind me of Superman's icy Fortress of Solitude.

Stone : Citrine
Colour : Maderia
Item : #1440
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Mixed Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 15.53 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 21.09X15.50X8.83mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

The deep rich hues of this maderia citrine are wonderful. This gem is a freeform design with deep grooves cut into the pavilion which creates an amazing 3D surreal landscape inside. This citrine gem would be idea for a modern ring setting or pendant. You will need a jeweller who is creative, imaginative and thinks outside the box to handle a gem like this.

Stone : Golden Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1374
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving Cut
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 8.08 Carats
Clarity : Very Very Slightly Included
Size : 14.46X12.45X8.47mm
Price : SOLD

Channeling some Munsteiner! One of the most innovative and recognisable gem artists of the 20th century was without doubt Bernd Munsteiner. His fresh and dynamic approach to the art of gemcutting was inspirational to many gemcutters and jewellers around the world and his gems were and still are highly sort after as collectable and wearable pieces of art.

After much study and thinking about how to approach this form of gemcutting I realised there is much much more to this then appears on the surface. The technical challenges are many and this style of gemcutting certainly involves alot of problem solving and patience. This is my very first piece finished in this style and in the doing I learnt much but it only scraped the surface and revealed how far I still have to go.

Stone : Smokey Quartz
Colour : Smokey Golden Honey
Item : #1157
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2018
Design : Liquid Light Carving
Origin : O'Briens Creek, North Queensland, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 50.88 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 24x20.92x15.8mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Comments : I love the way the light flows and moves like liquid honey in this carving. The hues are thick and rich like smokey golden honey. I carved this gem from a piece of beautiful Australian smokey quartz that I found at O'Briens Creek in North Queensland. It is eye clean and has a wonderful smooth organic feel to it. I have incorporated optic disks and grooves that enhance the visuals and does amazing things to the light and colour.

I created this piece with the idea in mind that, if it was set as a ring stone, it would sit flush against the finger because of the concave surface on the under side of the stone. A totally unique carving that you can let your designing imagination play with.

Stone : Amethyst
Colour : Purple
Item : #1348
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Nucleus
Origin : Uruguay
Treatments : None
Weight : 11.4 Total Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 14.8x12.1x6mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

Experimenting to see if I could create an atomic nucleus in this pair of Uruguayan amethyst. As is the way with amethyst from this location they ended up quite zoned and one a little lighter then the other even though they started off in the rough pretty much the same. I think I managed to get the neutrons and protons in the centre with electrons surrounding it reasonably ok. The idea was to do a pair for a set of earrings.

Stone : Amethyst
Item : #c109
Design : Fantasy
Origin : Africa
Treatments : None
Weight : 18.3 Carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included
Size : 19.2X16.4X8.4 mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Comments : This is a very beautiful amethyst from Africa with a nice rich colour, it is quite a stunning stone. It has been cut in a fantasy design and would be perfect as a ring or pendent stone. Very special amethyst.

Stone : Amethyst
Item : #c108
Design : Fantasy
Origin : Africa
Treatments : None
Weight : 11.9
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 18X13X7.1 mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Comments : A beautiful amethyst finished in a fantasy design.

Stone : Amethyst
Item : #c107
Design : Fantasy
Origin : Africa
Treatments : None
Weight : 9.5 Carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included
Size : 15.8X12.4X6.5 mm
Price : CLICK FOR PRICING

Comments : A very fine amethyst cut in a fantasy design.

Stone : Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1446
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Mixed Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 9.14 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 15.21X14.04X8.35mm
Price : SOLD

A bright and beautiful citrine that I have made with a mix of faceted surfaces and deep carved crevasses on the pavilion. Flip the gem over onto it's table and these look like a mountain range with tall peaks and deep valleys. This sort of design is very much in the munsteiner style and is a fascinating way to work with gems as it creates a totally unique gem with an amazing inner landscape. These gems can be set as rings or pendants. Polishing these deeply carved surfaces is very technically challenging and time consuming.

Stone : Tourmaline
Colour : Peach Pink
Item : #1514
Design : Cut and Carved
Origin : Africa
Treatments : Unheated
Weight : 16.07 Carat
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 20.30X11.03X7.45mm
Price : COMMISSIONED CUT

A beautiful tourmaline that I cut and carved in the Munsteiner style. This gem was cut from a piece of client supplied rough.

If you have some lovely rough stones that you would like cut in this style feel free to contact me.

Stone : Tourmaline
Colour : Green
Item : #1521
Design : Cut and Carved
Origin : Africa
Treatments : Unheated
Weight : 9.52 Carat
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 9.5X8.5X6.4mm
Price : COMMISSIONED CUT

A beautiful green tourmaline that I cut and carved in the Munsteiner style. This gem was cut from a piece of client supplied rough.

If you have some lovely rough stones that you would like cut in this style feel free to contact me.

Stone : Golden Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1160
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2018
Design : Fantasy Cut (with Emoji)
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 11.64 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 18.78x14.06x7.61mm
Price : SOLD

Comments : Here's something that doesn't happen every day... I captured the cool emoji in my fantasy cut. It really does look like he's in there. How about that. :-)

I've been experiementing with some new techniques and I'm really excited by what I'm seeing, it's a lot of fun learning new skills and just playing with stone with no expectations. Really happy with how this citrine turned out. It is a beautiful eye clean golden citrine and I cut some optical "bubbles" to see what would happen. The pics are a little more orange then the citrine is in real life... my cameras have real trouble capturing the yellow spectrum, yellow and pinks are very tricky. In the hand the gem is a fine vivid golden colour with some typcial zoning. Expect to see more of this sort of cutting.

Stone : Honey Smokey Quartz
Colour : Golden Honey Smokey
Item : #1167
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2018
Design : Fantasy Cut
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 15.71 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 24.09x13.35x8.38mm
Price : SOLD

Comments : A fantasy cut smokey quartz with what looks like bubbles floating up through honey. The pics on the greyish background where taken using filtered natural sunlight and very closely capture the gorgeous rich hues of this gem. The pics with the white background where taken under studio lighting and the gem appears alot more golden, very citrine like. This is because of the lighting and camera and I wasn't able to really capture the beautiful rich dark honey tones very well. It is an interesting and quite different design that would well suit a more creative and imaginative jeweller designer. I've also included a pic of my notepad where I was recording the index wheel and angle settings... it's a bit messy but I was making it up as I went. Totally original design. :-)

Stone : Amethyst
Colour : Purple
Item : #1171
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2018
Design : Abstract
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 9.35 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 17.29X13.12X7.27mm
Price : SOLD

An amethyst ABSTRACT that was alot of fun to cut. I'm really enjoying just being able to play and experiment with my gemcutting, it is quite liberating in a way. The finished gem followed the natural shape of the crystal and the amethyst crystal had that really cool 'nuclear' pattern zoning that is common in this type of material, that hexagonal pattern of three light and three dark alternating triangles... you know it when you see it. So i tried to take advantage of it when positioning the cuts and features. Curiously, I had it pointed out to me that the effect of the bubbles and circles in the stone is reminiscent of the Circular Gallifreyan alphabet, something which I had not twigged to. Fans of Doctor Who would know what I'm talking about. :-)