For the past several years I’ve been freelancing for publications in the gemstone and jewelry industry. I became captivated with the glitz of the jewels, the fashion, the dazzling, shining colors. Two weeks ago I went to Tucson to the world’s largest gemstone and jewelry trade show in the world. And I’ve come away with a new perspective.
Call it a crisis of faith, but as I’ve been sitting here recollecting the different things I witnessed, I just keep thinking what does it matter? This is jewelry for gods sake. Shiny baubles. People in this industry are taking themselves way too seriously.
I started writing for this trade while living in China and inadvertently became caught up in one of the latest “gemstone controversies” in relation to a stone known as Tibetan sunstone. Questions arose to its authenticity. Did it really come from Tibet? Is it a natural stone or has it been treated? I sat through a presentation from one of the players who has been studying the stone. I came across jewelers selling the stone. I’ve heard so many different opinions.
Mostly, though, I’ve been watching the drama unfold from a distance. Accusations fly.
I have tried to talk to people from different parts of the industry, but because of my part and the piece I did write about my experience, they won’t talk to me.
This all seems petty beyond belief.
A few days ago I sat in a room with a woman in a tears. Her husband of 46 years was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I recently read a book about Paul Farmer, a Harvard doctor who has devoted his life to bringing medical care to the poorest residents in Haiti. People are dying of AIDS and breast cancer. Children are starving. People are losing their homes and living on the streets. Life is too precious, too uncertain and too valuable to waste on an argument about jewels.
I still love my career and I still love to travel. I still want to write about miners and mining areas, about the culture of gemstones and jewelry.
But, I’m backing out of some of this. Do I want to look back on my life and see one of my biggest accomplishments as being part of a jewelry and gemstone controversy? I’d like to make a positive difference in the world however small. I’d like to teach someone to read or help an alcoholic find help. I want to live my life on a higher plane than I have been.
I’m stepping back. I’ll leave the fighting, the arguing, the small-minded bickering about jewelry and gemstones to those who care. I will not be part of this any more.