Hughes, Joseph

From the dirt to my faceting discs, I specialize in self-mined and cut North American gemstones. By visiting the mines, I get to be fully hands-on; from the time the dirt gets washed away until the last polish is applied,
allowing each stone to guide me to its final shape and style.
When not finding or cutting gemstones, I create jewelry from scratch. Starting with raw wire, I spin and cut
my own jump-rings and weave them together to create intricate pieces of jewelry.

This husband and wife team "travel from our home in the Ozarks to the gemstone mines of North America digging, panning, sluicing, sifting, and breaking boulders, searching for nature's treasures with our own hands.” Every AuxArc faceted gemstone is cut by Joseph. Cabochons are cut and polished by Cynthia. No outside cutting services are used; all of the stones are cut in house, though some international stones are used. Their Artisan jewelry is created from scratch by both Cynthia and Joseph, who are devoted to being good and ethical humans.