PATRIOTIC PRIDE

Exploring Jerry Muchna’s Salute to America in Faceted Quartz

- BOB JONES

Quartz is one of many common gem materials that can be faceted. With a Mohs hardness of seven, found in crystals of enormous size, and often water clear, quartz is an excellent material to use in learning the art of faceting because it is inexpensive and forgiving.

Quartz does have a small problem, a conchoidal fracture. Though quartz will fracture, its hardness allows it to forgive a mistake so that a cautious artist can work the mineral with care. One real advantage is that quartz is inexpensive and available in crystals of excellent size and quantity. The cost of equipment would be a more significant deterrent to faceting.

PATRIOTIC INFLUENCE

With November upon us, it’s a time when patriotism is even more robust; as the country practices the right to vote, and we honor military veterans on Veteran’s Day. These things and more also make it the perfect time to share the story of Jerry Muchna, a long-time rockhound and revered faceter, whose patriotic gemstone carvings are unmatched. He was born in 1905 and sadly passed away in 2000, at the age of 94. Although he was too young to serve in World War I, “the war to end all wars,” he developed a very strong sense of patriotism as a teenager, growing up in a small Midwestern town.