From gemstones to make-up and salt, the field of crystallography addresses a variety of minerals and their day-to-day uses.
In an effort to capitalize on the many uses of crystallography, David Gardner of David Gardner’s Jewelers will present a lecture on gemology and mineralogy at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. In conjunction, the museum will celebrate 100 years of modern crystallography with an exhibit that will be on display for the next three months.
Deborah Cowman, executive director of BVHM, chose to host the crystallography exhibit because of the value of studying aspects of crystals.
“There have been 28 different Nobel Prizes awarded in crystallography over the years,” Cowman said. “We have crystals in our daily life, like computer chips and make-up.”
Although the museum will focus on the science of mineralogy over the course of the exhibit, Gardner said his lecture would be directed toward the science of gems and the different possibilities with jewels.
“I hope to open eyes to all the different directions you can go with gemstones, understanding more about how that can be achieved,” Gardner said.
Gardner discovered his love for jewelry while working at a jewelry store, which helped him pay for his A&M education.
While working as a jeweler, Gardner said he decided to study jewelry more in depth, which eventually led him to the study of gems, also known as gemology. It wasn’t until after he graduated from both A&M and the Gemology Institute of America that he realized he had a talent in designing jewelry.
After realizing his affinity for both designing and manufacturing jewelry, he opened David Gardner’s Jewelers and Gemologists store in College Station.
Gardner said modern crystallography is the study of all crystals and minerals, whether used in jewelry or for more practical reasons like the production of make-up. What Gardner will be speaking about Thursday specifically, however, is the difference between minerals and gems and what qualifies as a gem.
“Only five percent of the mineral world qualifies as gems,” Gardner said. “It has to do with rarity, beauty and wearability — all three of those have to be there.”
Dean Wile, a certified gemologist from the American Gem Society, works closely with Gardner.
“Everybody thinks that red is ruby, green is emerald, and blue is sapphire, but there are so many other stones that are so neat that come in many different colors that people don’t realize,” Wile said.
Gardner said opportunities for gemologists extend beyond jeweling.
“Most gemologists are not jewelers,” Gardner said. “I don’t even know of another gemologist in this town.”