Rose Cuts!

27 Apr 2021By P. TorracaGemcutting, Journal

I was thrilled to find out some of my work and comments were featured in a recent article by Dianna Jarrett on Rapaport’s Jewelry Connoisseur website: https://jewelryconnoisseur.net/everythings-coming-up-rose-cuts Dianna does a great job given an overview of the rose cut design from it’s historical roots to it’s current use in jewelry. It’s not a long read … Read More

Simplicity: Ice Flower Round

18 Jul 2019By P. TorracaDesigns, Journal

I’ve become fascinated with simple gemstone designs. There is something amazing about how just a few well placed facets create a complexity of reflection. That’s the challenge of my Simplicity Series of designs: defining an outline and eye-catching face-up with the fewest facets possible. For my Ice Flower design, I chose to stick with the … Read More

Charybdis Square

18 Jun 2019By P. TorracaDesigns, Gemcutting

The two mythical sea monsters, Charybdis and Scyllia, opposed Odysseus as he tried to cross the Strait of Messina. Some scholars now believe Charybdis was actually a large whirlpool, a true monster for real life sailors. I’ve always like the idea of a sea monster (being an avowed landlubber), but found myself thinking about whirlpools … Read More

Malawi: Chicken Legs

26 Dec 2018By P. TorracaGem Travel, Journal

This is my friend Chicken Legs. His given name is Peter, but he’s known for his poultry eating prowess, so his friends dubbed him Chicken Legs. We ran into CL while walking one of the Lilongwe souvenir markets; he was one of the many hopeful sellers aggressively vying for our attention & Kwacha (Malawi currency). … Read More

Malawi: Ntenje

23 Nov 2018By P. TorracaGem Travel, Thoughts

Early in our May 2018 trip to Malawi, we were invited to visit a small farming & mining village in the Ntenje region, roughly an hour south of Lilongwe. The villagers had discovered rhodolite garnets in their fields and were actively mining in between farming seasons. From the highway, the village was no different from … Read More

The Stone Behind the Win

13 Sep 2018By P. TorracaGemcutting

While traveling in Malawi last May, I had the opportunity to buy some gemstone rough. The great majority of stones offered were of little interest, but we were shown one parcel of superbly color aquamarine that made us all look twice. Aquamarine rough this color is not common and always in demand. As is usually … Read More

Malawi!

10 May 2018By P. TorracaGem Travel, Journal

It’s my last day in the US before I slog through long layovers and lengthy flights on my way to Malawi. Malawi is a sliver of a country in Eastern Africa, just below Tanzania and above Mozambique. As part of the “Mozambique belt”, Malawi shares a similar geology to Kenya, Tanzania. Gem traders have long … Read More