In his sun-drenched
office high above Manhattan's jewelry district, Jerry Green places a 16
carat natural Kashmir Sapphire between his slender fingers and slowly
lifts his hand towards the light. As the stone literally glows a
brilliant, clear blue, a visiting gem dealer looks on in awe, recognizing
that he is in the presence of a world-class jewel-- a rarity of nature
that most gem dealers are privileged to see perhaps only once in a career.
But for Green, who is widely regarded as the industry's premiere
lapidary, close encounters with the extraordinary are a daily occurrence.
His boyish appearance belies more than two decades of romancing these
stones: first as an apprentice to the legendary gem importer Reginald C.
Miller, who taught him the ancient art of stone-cutting and polishing; and
later as heir apparent to R.C. Miller Inc., taking the company reins upon
his mentor's retirement in 1989. Today, gemologists, importers and
collectors the world over come to him bearing treasures and seeking his
expert advice. "Lapidaries are involved with these stones in an intimate
way, like no one else," he explains. "After all, we formed them..."
Green's passion for his chosen field grew out of a lifelong love
of art and sculpture. After a high-school art teacher kindled his interest
in stone-carving, the teenager routinely went from class to class toting a
small slab of alabaster, a knife, and a towel to place on his desk. "The
teachers didn't mind because I did well in their classes anyway," he says,
"and by the end of the day, I had a finished sculpture."
He was
accepted in the prestigious Cooper Union College's architecture program,
but opted instead for a degree in studio art from Harper College, majoring
in sculpture. After graduation he went to work for his father in the
garment industry, taking drawing and painting classes in his spare time.
In a studio located in Carnegie Hall, Green found a celebrated teacher who
would shape his views on art and life: the painter Norman Raeben, youngest
son of the famed storyteller Sholom Aleichem. Raeben trained his students
to use all of their senses along with scientific approaches to develop
their powers of observation. "In addition to painting, he had us reading
Proust and writing about our sense memories," says Green. "He encouraged
us to talk about objects not only by using their standard names, but by
finding new and original ways to describe them-- a skill that has been
extremely helpful in looking at, and talking about, the color of a stone."
Green's determination to make his living as an artisan brought him
to Manhattan's Kulicke Stark Institute, where he studied classic
jewelry-making techniques and styles such as cloisonniere, cameo, intaglio
(the convex of cameos), and gem engraving. After a series of jobs in the
industry, he and his portfolio caught the attention of of Eunice Miles,
the venerable head of education of the Gemological Institute of America
and one of its founders. It was she who sent Green to the exclusive firm
of Reginald C. Miller.
Green's first assignment was to polish a
40-carat yellow sapphire that Miller himself had cut. In fact, it would be
years before the novice lapidary would actually be allowed to cut one of
Miller's world-class stones. "It takes years to develop your eye for these
miniature items," he explains. "At first you build your instincts by
copying-- by perfecting the guidelines that someone else has laid out for
you."
After joining Miller's elite stable of stonecutters, Jerry
Green soon realized that "you're only as good as the person you are
fortunate enough to sit next to." Green was schooled in the art and
science of his new field by a Japanese master lapidary with 40 years of
experience. First he learned to see any "problems" that might be inherent
in cutting a particular stone, and then he learned how to solve them, to
enhance the stone's unique beauty. How to sustain the extraordinary degree
of meticulousness required? "It has to delight you to create it…you have
to get real pleasure out of every step."
Green's natural aptitude
and devotion to his craft caught Reg Miller's discerning eye. In the
mid-1980s, he began accompanying his boss on buying trips to Sri Lanka,
Bangkok and Hong Kong. There he saw first-hand the reputation that Miller
had built over the decades, since virtually creating the market for
natural colored sapphires in the late 1950's and early 1960s. "It was
considered an honor to sell to Mr. Miller," Green recalls. "From the mines
to the markets, they knew he had an unparrelled eye for fine material. And
unlike many merchants, he was always generous with exchange of
information-- suppliers were able to learn from him how to get the best
out of the material they were showing, whether he bought it or not."
What Jerry Green learned from his mentor (who still calls in
regularly from his home in South Carolina) remain the hallmarks of his
business today: "When someone submits material to you, regardless of its
quality, treat it with respect, and them with respect. And when you are
presenting your own stones to a client, let the material guide you, and
bring out the very best you can in it...never skimp. And above all: your
word is everything. Be fully involved in every link of your chain of
supply, so that you are able to stand behind your merchandise."
Unfortunately, says Green, such high standards are no longer as
common to the gem trade as they once were. In the late 1980s, scientific
breakthroughs such as the advent of heat treatments opened the doors for a
"science of deception" that caused, in Green's estimation, both quality
and integrity to plummet industry-wide. "I'm not negating the beauty of
heated stones...some stones are traditionally heat-treated, like
aquamarine and amethyst," Green points out. "But there is a pyramid of
quality, and if someone wants to spend a considerable sum, I believe it's
best put into untreated materials." And of course, full disclosure is a
must-- something that does not always occur, he says, when a dealer or
retailer has a "corporate mentality," or focuses more on brand-names and
cache than on genuine knowledge of gemstones.
Green's lifelong
passion for the fusion of art and technology is reflected in his alliance
with CherryPicked. He hails the website as "a unique opportunity for me to
make personal contact with true enthusiasts the world over...and for them,
in turn, to 'pick the brains' of industry leaders to whom they would
otherwise never be able to gain access." Using CherryPicked's exclusive
CherryScore™ system, he has found a new way, he says, of building on Reg
Miller's legacy for a new millennium: "The more experts who willingly
share their knowledge, the higher the level of the trade."
Green's
exacting standards ensure that CherryPicked will feature only the finest
precious materials on the market ("as opposed to anybody's old
inventory"). Every day, the world's leading traders bring him new finds
from fledgling mines in faraway places -- Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Burma,
Madagascar, Orisa, Tanzania. Many of these one-of-a-kind pieces, he
promises, will go "fresh" to the website, where they may be easily
accessed by both seasoned collectors and first-time buyers. In either
instance, he emphasizes, "a client's purchase can only be as good as the
materials he or she has been allowed to see. Also, it's widely known that
the best way to assess a stone's quality is through comparison with other
pieces. In this way, the CherryScore™ comparison system will give clients
a clear frame of reference, so that they can buy with confidence."
While the tools of his trade have expanded to include his high end
Apple computers, Jerry Green still spends hours of each day hunched over
his lapidary table, painstakingly carving precious stones so that every
facet will catch the light.
"The stone you should purchase is the
one that causes an emotional reaction, a feeling in the pit of your
stomach," he says. "When you get that feeling, that flood of
delight...then that's the right one for you.
To contact Jerrold
Green Email: JGreen@CherryPicked.com
|
 |
|
"...if
there is anything to cut in an important gemstone, I go to Jerry Green before
anyone else - I consider him to be the best in the industry. Sometimes I'll see
a killer stone in my travels and lo and behold - very often, it's something
Jerry had on his cutting wheel."
Joe Menzie,
Joe Menzie Inc.
|
|
"...one
of the few acknowledged experts on Padparadsha (sapphire) in America."
Modern Jewelers Guide
to Colored Gemstones
|
|
"...only
the finest gem cutter was worthy to cut $1,500,000 worth of raw Emeralds for
Park Avenue jewelers Traber & Hoeffer - they chose Reginald C. Miller,
Inc."
Better Living Magazine
|
|
"Reginald
Miller, Inc. one of the few American dealers to have ever visited Mogok (Burma)
in 1960."
Modern Jeweler Magazine
|
|
"Respected
New York dealers, Reginald Miller, Inc. pioneered marketing completely newcomer
stones like Tanzanite & Tsavorite."
Jewelers Circular
Keystone
|
|