Stone : Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1622
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Scholar Stone
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 62.37 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 29.5X24X21mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

The curves and flowing nature of this carving allows the bright golden yellow colour to move and wash around within. This piece was hand carved from a gorgeous citine crystal tip and this is reflected in the finished shape and it's exceptional clarity. A very fine gem.

Stone : Chalcedony
Colour : Blue
Item : #1615
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Scholar's Stone
Origin : Turkey
Treatments : None
Weight : 115.5 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean Translucent
Size : 40X44X17mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

I do love the soft pastel blue hue of Turkish blue chalcedony, it is something quite lovely to behold. When carved in this style it really seems to accentuate the stone's glow and translucency. This is a very fine piece of chalcedony which, as I began carving it, brought to mind those striking naturally shaped and weathered stones that came from certain areas in China and were traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars. These scholar's stones were also known as Lingbi stones. So I decided to lean into that idea and tried to capture a feel of steep wind-swept mountains.

Stone : Chrysoprase
Colour : Green
Item : #1612
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Flourish
Origin : Marlborough, Queensland, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 111 Carats
Clarity : Transulcent
Size : 48X44X17mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

Australian chrysoprase is considered to be the finest chrysoprase in the world and is renown for it fabulous green hues and lush glowing translucency. It is an exceptional stone and often confused for high quality jade. This is a piece of chrysoprase from Marlborough in Queensland that I've had for many years and I finally decided to carve it. The original rough stone had an awkward odd shape that I had to try and work with so I pretty much allowed the stone to dictate the shape and went with that. After many days I finally finished the carving and I was very very happy with how it turned out. The luscious green hued glow is just divine, the translucency beautifully diffuses the light and colour to give it a rich, soft, soothing feel. The carving itself is done in a flourishing-flame style.

Stone : Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1571
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Firebird Unfurling
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 80.8 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 42X22X18mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

In it's original rough form this lovely piece of golden citrine had a natural flame like shape to it . I wanted to carve a flame from it but as I progressed I discovered a firebird began to reveal itself, unfurling from the flames. From that point on I could visualise the mythic phoenix rising from the fire and that was the spirit I felt this piece would embody.

Stone : Opal
Colour : White
Item : #1563
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Organic Carving
Origin : Coober Pedy, South Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 32.48 Carats
Clarity : Opaque
Size : 31X25X14mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This lovely opal has an almost porcelain appearance and feel with a beautiful play of colours. The colours were hard to photograph as they always are. The piece is lovely and smooth and I think it would make a good ring, pendant or brooch stone. It just has that feel about it.

Stone : Quartz Crystal
Colour : Clear
Item : #1363
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 224.15 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 35X19X17mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

There is something truly beautiful and mesmerizing in the way light moves and gathers within this gem carving, the way a perfect piece of quartz turns it into liquid silver. It moves as through honey, slowly, gently and feels alive. I carved this sculpture from a piece of optically clear quartz crystal, a picture of which can be seen. The process of gem carving is one that requires looking at a gem in a very different way to that of faceting.

If faceting is yang then carving is yin. Where faceting is all about precision, sharp crisp lines and angles, bright flashing bursts of light and brilliance, carving is about curves and fluid lines, where the light moves within to a deeper, slower rhythm washing around the inner surfaces. This gem carving invites you to touch it, hold and caress it's curves with your fingers, gaze within and to slow your thoughts and stimulate that sense of wonder.

I have named this carving, 'Bud' because of how it looks and the feelings that it evokes.

Stone : Smokey Quartz
Colour : Golden Smokey
Item : #1360
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Queensland, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 55.03 Carats
Clarity : Very Very Slightly Included
Size : 35X19X17mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

The movement of light within this gem carving of Australian smokey quartz is many things, it is like light moving through syrup, vicsous and soft, gentle as it flows and washes around within the smooth fluid curves. The colours are rich and decadent. This is a beautiful piece to hold and caress with your fingers, soothing and meditative. It was a real pleasure to sculpt this fine piece of smokey quartz, to hold and work it with my hands. As the polish got better and better towards the end, it revealed it's colours and play of light and it was truly a joy to behold. This carving could be either left as a gem netsuke, an object d'dart or it could be set as a pendant or ring.

Stone : Rose de France Amethyst
Colour : Lavender Purple
Item : #1313
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 111.35 Carats
Clarity : Very Very Slightly Included
Size : 42x22x17mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This was a carving that I did during the week I was doing a masterclass with Dalan Hargrave. It's quite astounding what one can learn when in an environment that is all about doing what one loves, without any interuptions and with a master who shares his knowledge and experience. It was one of those rare opportunities that, whilst short in duration, has had a profound impact.

At the moment this rose de france amethyst carving is not for sale. It is part of a bigger project that I have in mind, so stay tuned and see what develops.

Stone : Madeira Citrine
Colour : Madeira Orange Yellow
Item : #1414
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Uruguay
Treatments : None
Weight : 17.54 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 23.43X15.81X8.93mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

The beautiful deep rich colors of this madeira citrine come forth in this carving and move like light through honey, washing around the inside of the piece collecting in the curves for a moment and then moving on. It is a piece that I have in mind for a pendant or a ring.

Stone : Morganite
Colour : Light Pink
Item : #1433
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 61.4 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 43.5X19.5X14mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

Morganite is a wonderful stone to carve and it works so well with the soft smooth flowing curves that this piece has. This beautiful morganite has a light pink blush of colour and it is a very bright stone. This piece would make a stunning pendant and would really suit a creative design. This was a fun piece to carve and I really enjoyed the process of taking it from a rough stone to a lovely, highly polished and organically styled carving.

Stone : Topaz
Colour : Silver White
Item : #1416
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Queensland, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 16.61 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 20.36x13.37x9.70mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This little topaz carving will make just the most beautiful pendant setting, I can already see it and I think it will be the next one I set. The silvery white brightness of the topaz glows like a full moon on a clear night. It is a wonderful gem and I am very very happy with how this one turned out.

Stone : Amethyst
Colour : Purple
Item : #1413
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Matched Pair of Carvings
Origin : Uruguay
Treatments : None
Weight : 15.79, 15.72 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 16.59x14.42x10.74, 16.99x14.13x12.42mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

Here I have carefully carved these two pieces of gorgeous Uruguayan amethysts to be a matched pair of gems. The colour is just amazing, lovely and deep, a rich purple. My intention is to set them in yellow gold with diamonds as a matched pair of drop earrings to complement the pendant being made with #1402. I think these will be stunning and I can't wait to see how they will turn out!

Stone : Amethyst
Colour : Purple
Item : #1402
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 77.98 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 35X23X15mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

There is something quiet and gentle about how light and colour moves and gathers, flows and washes around the curves within this carving of amethyst. We are used to thinking about and seeing the outside surface of things, but here there is an inside surface that draws your gaze, captivates and is deserving of wonder. I especially like the reflected surfaces underneath.

I think that it will make a fine pendant stone and in the new year when things are a bit quieter after the silly season, I intend to set it as such. I already have the design in mind.

This beautiful amethyst has been set as a stunning pendant, see it here.

Stone : Prasiolite
Colour : Green
Item : #1391
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 40.89 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 41.5X15X11.5mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This groovy prasiolite carving is a mate for #1390. I originally intended them to be a matched pair of earring stones but I've since come to the thinking that they might be a bit on the heavy side for earrings. Instead they would be ideal for pendants. They are both finished with a frosted surface.

Stone : Prasiolite
Colour : Green
Item : #1390
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 40.99 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 42.5X13.8X12.5mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

As I carved this fine piece of prasiolite I really let the shape of the original rough guide me, allowing my hand and fingers to find their way naturally. It sort of looks like a clenched fist or some of those old-time stylised torches held aloft. I think this piece will make a good pendant stone and I gave the carving a frosted finished. This gives the carving a particular glow that is different to what a highly polished stone will have.

Stone : Prasiolite
Colour : Green
Item : #1389
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 57.41 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 39.5X18.8X14mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This was another experiemental prasiolite carving where I was really freeforming it, following the natural shape of the piece of rough and trying to draw out the best I could from it. I finished this piece with a frosted surface which nicely diffuses the light.

Stone : Prasiolite
Colour : Green
Item : #1388
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 50.88 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 23X18X23.5mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

This carving was alot of fun to do and it turned out quite an unusual sort of shape. I sort of had in mind some manner of five sided flower bud or even a peyote button. It's very bubbly and has a real personally about it. I think it would make a really cool and funky ring. :-)

Stone : Prasiolite
Colour : Green
Item : #1391
Design : Suite of Carvings
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Enhanced
Weight : Mixed Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : Mixed mm
Price : IN PROGRESS - ENQUIRIES WELCOME

One of the interesting projects that I have on the go at the moment is this suite of carved prasiolites and I thought I would share with you some insight into how this is done. Carving gemstones requires a very different skill set to faceting gems and is a process that takes alot longer to accomplish a finished item. Many many hours goes into turning a piece of rough stone into a highly polished gem. I have put together a series of pictures that show the suite in progress, from the original rough stones to their current state which just before the polishing process is to commence.

The first task was to find and source a matched set of rough prasiolites that would make up the suite of gems I had in mind. I wanted a pair of earring stones, a pendant stone and a nice big ring stone. It was a bit of a challenge to assemble the required rough but I managed to find the material I wanted in the end. I could see in my mind's eye the finished gems and how I wanted them set so I knew exactly the size and shape that I was looking for. You can see some pics of the rough stones.

The first stage is to work the shape of the gem with diamond sintered burs and my bench lathe. This is obviously a very important step as it defines the shape and curves of the gemstone. Something that directly influences this are any flaws, veils and other inclusions that need to be removed. With carvings, it is essential that the stones be as clean as possible as any flaws tend to be very visible. Thankfully this material is very clean however around the surface of the stones there were a number of flaws that had to be ground away and this influenced where the curves rose and fell and how they flowed. I began with the earring stones. I wanted to try and keep the flowing curves of the two stones similar while also making them a mirror image of each other... easier said then done. I also had to try and make then the same weight so that they were balanced. This took considerable thought and planning as I worked my way through the grinding burs from coarse to fine. Once the earrings were shaped I then moved onto the pendant and then the ring stones.

Once the primary shaping is achieved for the four stones and I am happy with how they are looking, I next move onto the fine sanding and shaping stage. This is a long slow hand-cramping process as it all has to be done by hand using sandpaper. This is the only way to work out those many small flat spots and really get those nice smooth flowing curves happening. It is a very satisfying process seeing those lovely curves and the soft glow of the light appear within the gems, but geez, my hands!!! This is a very crucial step and again you have to work your way patiently and methodically through the grits, from coarse to very fine. Each grit has to remove the scratches from the previous grit so that the surface gets ever smoother in preparation for the final polishing stage. It is very challenging getting down into the deep crevices between the curves and removing all the grinding marks. It's not easy at all.

This final polishing stage (pics not shown yet) is the next very time consuming process where I have to work my way through the diamond grit pastes, again from coarse to fine, and then onto the final cerium oxide polish.

Stone : Opal
Colour : Blue Green
Item : #190432
Design : Freeform
Origin : Lightning Ridge, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 18.93 Carats
Clarity : Opaque
Size : 37.5X31X4mm
Price : PRICE ON REQUEST

A beautifully carved piece of blue green opal from the world renown gemfields of Lightning Ridge. This is a really nice piece that would suit a pendant or brooch setting. Kind of looks a bit like Australia, a bit like a Scottish terrier. :-)

Stone : Rhodolite Garnet
Colour : Raspberry Red
Item : #1526
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2021
Design : Flame
Origin : Tanzania
Treatments : None
Weight : 9.19 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean with a touch of silk
Size : 15.36X8.12X7.40mm
Price : SOLD

This sultry 9.19 carat rhodolite garnet has been sculpted in the style of a single candle flame. The gem has a smouldering inner glow with those classically beautiful hues that makes rhodolite a favourite among collectors and wearers alike.

Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Colour : Blue
Item : #1425
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Nautilus Carving
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Queensland, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 30.16 Carats
Clarity : Very Very Slightly Included
Size : 23.38x17.03x9.73mm
Price : SOLD

I had this lovely piece of natural blue topaz from O'Briens Creek in Far North Queensland. This is an area that is world renown for the bounty of beautiful topaz that is found here. The shape of the rough stone leant itself to a nautilus style carving so I made the most of it I could. I can see this piece would make a very fine broach with some gold tentacles coming out from the shell. It could be stylised very nicely to make a very cool nautilus broach or other jewel. There are some very fine silver needles in the stone which are common natural inclusions in topaz.

Stone : Citrine
Colour : Golden Honey
Item : #1409
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2020
Design : Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 162.9 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 56X42X15mm
Price : SOLD

First gem of the year for 2020... 162.9 carat citrine carving! Did this one last week when I was at "work" but not really at work, if you know what I mean. I'm really enjoying the carving of hard stone but I'm realising how much more commitment and time it takes to achieve a highly polished result.

To give you some idea, let's say that with a regular faceted gem I might take 3 to 6 hours to finish it from rough to polished during which I'll usually go through four stages : 260 rough cut > 600 fine cut > 3k prepolish and finally 100k polish. With carving a decent sized stone like this one I could take something like 15 to 20 hours or more and I'll have to progress through 13 or 14 stages! It begins with roughing the shape in, removing all the rubbish and flaws and generally defining the shape the carving will take. This is done with diamond sintered and plated burs in a lathe usually with grits 70 > 170 > 325 to 600.

Then I move onto the fine shaping using hand sanding boards and wet/dry sandpaper. This is a slow and laborious hand cramping process but essential for getting the beautiful smooth flowing curves. Here I go with 180 > 280 > 400 > 600 grits. Once there are absolutely no marks and scratches on the surface I can finally move onto the messy polishing stage. This involves using various grit pastes that I have made up and wooden burs in various shapes. I begin with the 600 grit paste and progress through 1200 > 3K > 8K > 14K and finally cerium oxide with felt burs.

There are alot of steps to work through and I've found that you simply can't skip any because of the importance of removing the marks and scratches from each of the preceding grits. As you move forward the marks and grits get finer and finer until you achieve a highly polished finish. Discipline and consistency!

Stone : Golden Citrine
Colour : Golden Yellow
Item : #1276
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2019
Design : Flame Carving
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Heated
Weight : 15.56 Carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 18.57X12.71X10.14mm
Price : SOLD

Comments : Here is a gem carving I'm calling "Flame". This is a gorgeous golden citrine and it looks like someone took a tablespoon of the yummiest honey and shaped it just so. The way the light and curves flow within with liquid grace, how the colour washes around inside as you handle it in your fingers is just delicious. A wonderful citrine that I had alot of pleasure carving.