"Through the eyes of gem miners, a precision faceter, and a visionary jewelry designer,
we will reveal a powerful story that follows a gem from mine to market."
Join us for a private test screening of Sharing the Rough,
hosted by Dave McConnell, owner of The King's Jewelers in Walnut Creek.
This will be the very first showing to a public audience,
Q & A follows with Director Orin Mazzoni and cast members Roger Dery & Dave McConnell.
Imagine my disappointment when I received this invitation and was unable to make it to the event. Well after thinking long and hard I remembered that my Tucson roommate Ann Marie might be available - YAY!!!
While in Tucson this past February for the gem shows, I was privileged to view the teaser sample of Sharing The Rough, a unique movie directed by Orin Mazzoni about the gem industry. After that small taste, I was eager to see the completed movie. I had the opportunity to do just that last night at a private test screening.
Sharing The Rough tells the story of a green Garnet gem (affectionately called “The One”), from its birth as a piece of rough in an East African mine through the faceting process with gem cutter Roger Dery and then its creation into a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry by designer, Mark Schneider.
All of these scenes expose priceless bits of knowledge that many people in the jewelry industry don’t even know about, much less the average person. Through this film the viewer will get to witness it all first hand.
Along the way you are taken into a basic mine, you meet the miners and their families and learn about their passions and the incredible struggle to find the gems in the earth. You are witness to the buying process from gem brokers and you come to understand how rare and special a large quality gem really is. Once “The One” is purchased, you observe the creative process of the gem cutter deciding on the shape of the final stone and taking down the 49 carat rough to a 13.65 carat faceted beauty. The story wraps up with the designing and fashioning of the final piece.
After the screening, Orin Mazzoni (Director), Roger Dery (Faceter) and Dave McConnell (Associate Producer) took to the stage to answer questions and ask for feedback. They all seemed to take to heart the advice and constructive criticism that was offered from the audience.
The film, as it was screened last night, was a gem in the rough itself. The photography and sound are well done and hold a lot of promise. There were typos in the subtitles, the color needs correcting and the sound needs to be sweetened. It is way too long and drags from too much talk at some points. The reason for last night’s screening was for the film’s creators to get feedback from the audience.
Their passion for telling this story is obvious. In fact, they hinted at making a sequel with another gem from another location.
I look forward to seeing the results of this next phase of editing the film which I hope will involve faceting its raw edges and designing it into a polished finished piece.
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