About the Author

Hello, my name is Ford. Beginning in 1975, I leveraged a business and accounting education and some trade certifications into a 35 year long and varied career in the Jewelry industry. I drifted into this field because I have always been fascinated by geology. From gem crystals to slabs of patterned marble there is a never-ending discovery of colors, textures and patterns produced by combinations of different elements under enormous pressure, tremendous heat and long timespans. They are wonderfully beautiful, natural works of art and it has been inspiring to be able to work with them. Along the way, I collected bits and pieces of information that became an integral part of communicating, understanding and working in this very specialized field in which I became an expert. From my early experience on the retail side of the industry I collected information that supported the romance and the history of jewelry and gemstones. From my studies in Gemology and my experience as an instructor and diamond buyer I collected information crucial to the scientific identification and trading of gem materials. From my pearl wholesaling business, I collected all sorts of bits and pieces about the organic materials used in fashion and adornment. Then, while manufacturing jewelry, a host of different things became important. The various metal standards, different setting styles and even little things like ring rings sizes etc. became a part of everyday conversations. As a supplier to an international clientele and a foreign language speaker one must be flexible. Different countries have their own cultural and historical sets of measurements creating many different standards. How do you compare them? I was constantly making conversions of one kind or another and, whether it was from 9K to 18K or ounces to grams, there was only so much conversion information I could keep in my memory. As a result, I collected even more references. I collected so many gemstone and jewelry specific sets of information that I found I had more than fifty pages of odd, specialized bits of information that you could never find, all the same place. I have compiled that entire set into a searchable reference guide on this website. I have also made it available in the form of a searchable 75 page pdf reference book that can be downloaded - even onto your smartphone. I hope you like it and can make good use of it. If you care to comment I will be listening – there will be later versions. If you want updates without end, just please let me know what you think and I will put you on my list for automatic update. Ford K. Dotterer Jeweler and Certified Gemologist