AuxArcs LLC: They Dig Gems!

Joseph and Cynthia Hughes, are from Fairfield Bay and have been accepted into the Arkansas Craft Guild in jewelry and lapidary, working primarily with gemstones, rocks, and chainmail.

“I started into the lapidary arts with a small rock tumbler that my wife gave me for our first Christmas together. After tumbling and polishing a few batches of agates and jaspers I was hooked on the beauty that is brought out with polish. After getting inspired by the tumbler, I purchased my first faceting machine and took a faceting course from the Columbia Willamette Faceter's Guild, Portland, OR in 2013. I have been teaching myself through books and online tutorials ever since, cutting and polishing gemstones.”

From the dirt to faceting discs, this husband and wife team specializes in self-mined and cut North American gemstones. “We 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.”

By visiting the mines, they get to be fully hands-on from the time the dirt gets washed away until the last polish is applied, using the natural shape of the rough stone as a guide to its final shape and style.

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.

“When not finding or cutting gemstones, I create jewelry from scratch. Jewelry making found me when I picked up a book about chainmail. It intrigued me, so I purchased some Jump-rings and made a chain... and then another. I realized it was not a passing phase and started spinning and cutting my own jump-rings from raw wire. I taught myself a variety of weaves and began mixing metals in various weaves to design my own intricate pieces of jewelry.

I am currently working on creating a suite of chainmail jewelry featuring combinations of metals and colors for a modern, elegant look.

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