Steve Ulatowski did something that would more or less “begin” a life based on a leap of faith; he started his business, New Era Gems. That was 43 years ago, and by most accounts, that leap of faith has paid off, explains his wife, Jennifer Ulatowski.
Given his early exposure to the fascinating world of rockhounding and mineralogy and its many cast of experts and characters, it makes sense why Steve would leap.
“From what he’s told me when he was six or seven years old, his family lived near Los Angeles, and he stayed at a summer camp, and the man who ran the camp was a rockhound,” Jennifer explained. “One day, while Steve was out looking for rocks, he saw a different looking boulder, so he rolled it back to camp where the man cut it for him, and they found agate.
“Years later, the wife of the man at the camp, whose husband had died, gave Steve a slab of that same rock he found, rolled back to camp, and the man cut. He still has that slab.”
After that initial and life-changing introduction, Steve was hooked and hungry to learn and see more. By the seasoned age of 11, Steve had created his first gem cut, which he named after a girl he was sweet on. Soon after, he was faceting to make a little money. An early entrepreneur, indeed. Since that time his journey has included hunting for rough in locales thousands of miles from home, while working side-by-side with miners and dealing with mine owners directly; selling at many gem shows throughout the year in all corners of the globe; cutting and carving when and where he can; and meeting new people who inevitably become old friends in no time, according to Jennifer.
This story is from the January 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
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This story is from the January 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.
THE ACORN
The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"
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