Gem Quiz

I’m A Softy in Hard Beauty’s Clothing

My saturated reds, oranges and yellows are stunning.

Published

1 year ago

December 7, 2021

Chris Burslem

JUMP ON THE northbound Mohs Express, and you’ll find me sharing the platform at Station 3 with calcite and coral. Yes, I’m a softy — a condition that has doomed my aspirations to become a beloved jewelry gem. It’s a tragedy, really, because on just about every other front, I shine. I offer stunning optical properties in a range of superbly saturated reds, oranges and yellows (and more). Yet instead of glistening from the hands and necklaces of the rich and famous, I wallow in rock collectors’ cabinets. I was named in honor of an 18th century mineralogist.

Who am I?

It Was Time to Make a Decision. It Was Time to Call Wilkerson.

Except for a few years when he worked as an accountant, Jim Schwartz has always been a jeweler. He grew up in the business and after “counting beans” for a few years, he and his wife, Robin, opened Robin James Jewelers in Cincinnati, Ohio. “We were coming to a stage in our life where we knew we have to make a decision,” says Jim Schwartz. He and Robin wanted to do it right, so they called Wilkerson. The best surprise (besides surpassing sales goals)? “The workers and associations really care about helping us move out own inventory out of the store first. It was very important to us.”