Home /  About Gary's Gems/    Our Products and Services/ Rings and Crosses/Gemstones / New Items / Designs
Violins

one of the original computer diagrams

About Gary's Gems
Gary's Gems is a custom manufacturer of fine jewelry, especially faceted stones, custom mounts, and other unique jewelry.  Blue topaz, the state gemstone of Texas, is available cut in the Official State Gemstone Cut of Texas, the LONE STAR CUT (see history below).  This faceting design can be cut in any available stone (except diamond) by our master faceter, Gary Worden. 

HISTORY of the LONE STAR CUT
      The Lone Star Cut was designed during December 1973 and January  1974 by  Dr. Paul W. Worden, Jr.  and his brother Gary B. Worden, a science teacher and faceter.    Dr. Worden , a physicist at Stanford University was visiting his brother in Texas for the holidays and wanted to learn to facet.  Gary took him through the basics and Paul designed and cut a five pointed star in a small synthetic golden sapphire.  Not satisfied with the excessive reflections in this stone,  Paul returned to Stanford and redesigned the cut with the aid of a computer.    He sent the result to Gary  to evaluate, finalize and cut.  The result: a perfect five pointed star, not dim as with other designs cut  below the critical angle or left unpolished, but bright and reflective, visible immediately from as far away as the stone is clearly visible.
       The angles for the pavilion make the star a type of corner reflector, which means any light striking it is reflected back to the source.  Therefore, what you see when you look at the star is actually the reflection of your eye.  The rest of the pavilion facets are designed to let light from other reflections escape, enhancing the star even more.  The striking appearance of the star is due both to the fact that it is a corner reflector, and the fact that the rest of the stone is not.  A deviation of only a degree from the calculated angles and much of the effect is lost.
       Rather than try to copyright the design,  which could be thwarted with only a few minor changes,  it was decided to first publish it  (Gems and Minerals magazine, Feb. 1977-No. 472, pages 8,67).      A cousin of the brothers, Win Brown, then a Midland County commissioner and also a faceting enthusiast, suggested getting the star design adopted as the Texas State Gemstone Cut.    Win convinced Midland Rep. Tom Craddick to successfully sponsor a measure, House Concurrent  Resolution #97, which was signed by Governor Dolph Briscoe on May 25, 1977.   Dr. Paul W. Worden and his brother, Gary B. Worden, are mentioned in the document as "two native Texans".   In this way the design is free to be used by anyone with the equipment to cut it.    A copy of  H.C.R. #97 follows: