jakorte's blog

I was standing at a display table at the Southfield International Gem and Jewelry Show, meticulously comparing three matched sets of faceted oval cut green amethysts.

A voice behind me commented, “Those are beautiful prasiolites. Where did you find them?”

I turned to find myself looking up at a tall young man. Smiling, I pointed to the table in front of me which had another six sets displayed.

“Ah,” he said, “Not that smart of a question, huh?”
“Of course it was a smart question.” I laughed, “You don’t know unless you ask!”
“I haven’t bought any of these yet,” he said as he pondered the boxes. “It so exciting to find new colors. I’ve been collecting for a while. Since I was 10 years old, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
“A gemologist?” I inquired. “A lapidary?”
“Yes,” he answered with an incredibly contagious big bright smile.
By now, I had estimated his age between 16 and 18. “I think you’re going in a good direction. Good luck!” I said as I smiled back, and moved on.

A few tables later I found myself in front of 4 trays of loose individual prasiolites in assorted shades and cuts. “Just a moment,” I told my friend as we picked through the gems, “I need to go back and let that young man know there’s more up here.”

I wove my way through the crowd, tapped him on the shoulder, told him what I had found, and then turned around and headed back. Shortly after I returned to my sorting spot, my friend took off. That’s not unusual – it’s hard not to get distracted by shiny things at the gem show, so I assumed something caught her eye.

Not finding the shape I wanted in the shade I wanted, I looked around a bit after decided I was finished. I was a little surprised when I saw where my friend had gone. She was talking to that same young man.
When she came back I asked, “So, did you get his name?” (I knew she would have, that’s just how she is.)
“Yes,” she said.
“You should have given him your card,” I commented.
“I did,” she said.
“I think he’d make a great apprentice,” I offered.
“I told him that,” she said.

A few days later I asked my friend later what made her go back and offer her assistance to him:
"I just thought of a way to help and think that someone that eager to learn should be helped and nourished."

Yeah, she’s an angel, too.