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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: