Richard P.
Homer
Graduate Gemologist
"A gemstone is an emotional symbol of love, self, and success. Because it represents matters of the heart, it should speak to the heart. A gemstone should be crafted to the highest standards to radiate its own unique beauty and personality from within." This is the cutting philosophy that accomplished lapidary artist Richard Homer brings to his Concave Designer Gems™.
Richard is a singularly focused artist and one of the rare individuals who has chosen every career path to prepare himself as an artist, inventor, and craftsman to elicit the very best in each gemstone he cuts. A hobbyist since childhood, Richard started his professional career in 1974 cutting gems to pay his way through college and earning a degree in Geology from Kent State University in 1977.
After earning his Graduate Gemologist Diploma in Residence from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1979, Richard continued his career in the retail, wholesale, appraisal, and manufacturing arenas garnering a wealth of experiences and expertise. In 1984, he accepted a teaching position at GIA in both the Resident Colored Stones Program and the Jewelry Manufacturing Arts department. All of Richard’s experiences and qualifications have influenced his unique approach to gem cutting and his ongoing quest to create gem designs that speak to the soul.
"A man of few words, prize-winning cutter Richard Homer lets his gemstones speak for themselves. Optimizing color and light return is every gem cutter’s primary objective because that’s what consumers notice when they hold a stone in their hands. So when cutter Richard Homer proved he could ratchet up a gem’s brilliance by an average 100% in any standard shape through new techniques in cutting, the international gem world took notice. The foundations of faceting were shaken to the core. Lapidarists and other gem experts wondered just how he did it", reports Robert Weldon of Professional Jeweler Magazine.
A member
and officer of Gem Artists of North America, (GANA) , Richard is
recognized as a pioneer of the concave-cutting technique. As an award-winning
gem
artist, Richard Homer of Kent, Ohio, radically curves and cups facets
along the pavilion, girdle, and table of traditionally shaped gemstones
to make them explode with light and color.
Concave facets work so well because they become convex on the inside of the
gem, returning light along the whole surface of the curved facet, instead
of in one direction as with flat facets. His style is geometric and crisp,
although he has evolved into more free-flowing girdle outlines such as
his trademarked paisley pear, concave arch, and concave arabesque cuts.
Nonetheless, the hallmark of his work is remarkable brilliance.
Richard considers his most noteworthy skill his creativity in new design, which
often requires new cutting techniques and procedures that in turn require
specialized tools that he creates to suit his needs. In fact, Richard specifically
allocates eight hours a week to engage his mind in creative tooling and
its applications to new gem designs, allowing him to stay on the cutting
edge of lapidary art.
He enjoys working with a range of gems from Amblygonite to Zoisite, each
one of which he knows inside and out, allowing him to recognize a good
piece
of rough and how to get the best out of it. "He can make average material
beautiful and rare or wonderful material downright stunning", asserts
David Zoltan of David Zoltan Designs in Austin, Texas. A belief validated
by Richard’s having won 15 American
Gem Trade Association Cutting Edge Awards. He has also set records
cutting one of the world’s largest gemstones; the 20,769ct Adiël
Topaz and some of the rarest, including Tashmarine, Kyanite,
and Paraiba Tourmaline.
Richard Homer can be contacted by calling 330.673.0071, or by email at rhomer@concavegems.com
©2003 ConcaveGems.com