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  Perfection gained through imperfection

by Menahem Sevdermish
July 12, 2012


Everybody knows that a diamond, like eternal love, is forever. But colored gemstones hold their own pretty well, and when it comes to relationships sometimes go the extra mile.

Colored gemstones, with their massive variety, have an unrivaled ability to inject color and character into what otherwise may be grey and mundane connections. Frequently they are barometers of a couple's collective personalities, levels of affection or lack thereof, and also their states of mind.

Several years ago, I cut a beautiful Kashmir-color, heart-shaped tanzanite of 33 cts. After heating it I discovered that it had quite a bad black inclusion in its center, coupled with a small crack.

From experience, I suspected that this stone was going to stick around for a long time, and that it would be quite difficult to sell at my originally planned asking price. You see, I had thought the rough was clean and somehow the flaw in the center appeared only toward the end of the production process. All of us industry veterans have had experiences like this.

As it does each year, Tucson-time rolled around. As we prepared our booth, on a whim I decided to place the attractive but imperfect blue heart-shaped tanzanite at the center of the display.

It was toward the end of the first day that I noticed a couple approaching our booth. When they got closer I saw a large woman holding hands with a considerably smaller man. They had big smiles on their faces.

The lady ignored all my spotless gems. She grabbed her partner gently by the shoulder, pointed at the tanzanite and declared: "My heart, I finally found my heart." I took the gem out of the display and gave it to her to hold. She had this special glow on her face; the glow you know is the sign of a sure sale.

But I knew I had to tell her. So I said: "You know, this gem has a black inclusion and a small crack in the center. It's not perfect."

She looked straight into my eyes and said, "Pal, my heart isn't perfect either. It also has a black spot in its center. How much is this stone please?"

I told her my price, which was not exactly cheap, and informed her that I had bought it as clean rough, hence the high amount. She said she was well aware of tanzanite prices and that she would take it.

Up to this point everything had been going fine. But then suddenly, her little partner exploded. "How dare you?" he shouted. "I've already bought you hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gems this year. You just don't know your limit." And he spun around and walked away.

I looked at the lady. She had tears in her eyes. She told me she was very sorry. Embarrassed, just as she was, I grabbed a 5-ct. Zambian gem amethyst and gave it to her. I told her not to take what had happened to heart, and to see this amethyst as a token of friendship. She hesitated, but took the stone and left.

I put the tanzanite back into the display, but after several minutes removed it. I could not bring myself to show it for the rest of the show. Don't ask me why. I could not have explained it.

On the last day, literally a few minutes before the show closed, I suddenly saw the same couple running toward our booth. The small man was smiling broadly and was clearly relieved to have found me. "Here you are," he said, out of breath. "We couldn't remember where your booth was. We just asked another dealer we met whether he, by chance, knew you. He pointed us here and thank goodness we have found you. I came to buy the heart for my girl."

Looking at the display, his girl's face dropped. "Oh, no," she cried in dismay, "it isn't there. You've sold my heart to somebody else."

I looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "Lady I wouldn't sell your heart, even if somebody offered me double the price. It was yours from day one. I've waited for you."

While I was writing the invoice and her cheerful partner was writing the check, she asked, "Aren't you wondering why we're back here?"

"Madame I'm not asking but you can tell me if you wish," I said. I looked at her partner, and his smile disappeared as she started to talk. "I was so upset with him the first day that it drove me mad," she said. "And then I suddenly remembered that all the money we have is mine. All of it! He doesn't have a penny to his name. We're always pretending that he buys me gems, but it was always my money he spent! After our argument, I called the bank to stop his allowance and told him that I am taking his Porsche away. Look how that did the job."

I gave the gem to him, to give it to her, and once again both their faces lit up. Through its imperfection it was a perfect stone for an imperfect couple. Colored gems can do that.

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