Well-known Donnybrook local wins Sapphire

By Alistair Gray

When I heard that Wayne Kelly had won a Sapphire, I asked him if he was about to take a tour around the world on his winnings. Sadly, he said no!

Wayne, well-known to Donnybrook locals as the president of the Pumicestone Gardening Society, has a passion for lapidary and has just won the prestigious Central Queensland Gemfields Lapidary and Craft Inc. 2023 Open-faceting competition.

I discovered that lapidary is gemstone cutting, polishing or engraving. A good lapidarist is highly sought after in the jewellery industry, particularly for their faceting skills where stones are shaped with a flat top and the rock’s faces (sides) polished and shaped down to a point at the bottom of the stone. The cuts enable the light to be refracted from both sides and inside the gemstone to show off the stone's beauty to allow use in rings and other jewellery.

In this case Wayne, as the competition winner, won the Sapphire he had faceted. The competition was tough in the annual contest, with double the entries from 2022. Fura Gems, Australia's largest producer of Sapphires, donated all the rough sapphires to be faceted by the entrants.

Wayne is a member of the Caboolture Gem & Mineral Club Inc. Other winners in the competition included- Novice – Sherri Wright and Intermediate – Steve Pitts, both from Gemfields Lapidary & Craft Club Inc.

Those interested in learning more about faceting and gem setting should contact Caboolture Gem Club, which meets at the Pioneer Village in Caboolture or the Bribie Gem Club at the Bribie Art Centre.