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About Gemstone Devotions
The Call
When a lapsed Catholic who had been practicing Zen and Advaita for the past couple of years is suddenly given the idea to make prayer chains, specifically rosaries, you kind of take notice. Hitherto I had been honing my recent craft of gemstone faceting (thanks Don!) but without any real purpose, though that problem would soon be settled...
And so it was lying awake in bed one early July morning (2025), the sun still asleep, when the thought was suddenly given me; a still, small voice beckoned me to make rosaries. I both puzzled over this and gratefully accepted it; as someone who was adverse to prayer, yet somehow my heart felt at ease, even joyous. And later that day, as if to resolve any lingering doubts, I recalled an event from earlier in the week during a hospital visit which I now see as a foreshadowing of my newfound vocation. One of the women in admissions had a large rosary tattoo on her forearm which I had commented on; up til then the admit process was not going well with another person, but now everything went smoothly as this woman took over with a smile, filling me with that same warmth of heart I would be graced with days later when receiving 'The Call'.
Things then evolved quickly over the next several weeks, accompanied by more synchronicities assuring me I was on the right path while continuing to shape it AND me. Ultimately Gemstone Devotions was formed; to both create and promote the beauty of the Marian Rosary as a Way to draw closer to Jesus -- to love Him and to love like Him more perfectly.
My Journey
Making rosaries literally led me back to my Christian roots AGAIN and saved me from total despair; no longer a seeker for over 15 years, finally a traveller on the path. But it wasn't always easy, and this would not be the first time grace rescued the prodigal. It all started in my late twenties as I began the 'spiritual quest' in earnest after a prolonged undiagnosed illness. Months later I awoke three different nights the week of New Years at exactly 3:33am. Eventually I consulted a gifted [unused] Bible from years earlier and happened upon Jer 33:3 -- "call unto me and I will show you great and glorious things you have not known." This and a few other synchronicities brought me back to the Church, abadoned since childhood.
Over the next 6 years I devoured the writings of Thomas Merton; rearranged job commutes to attend Daily Mass; and was active in our local parish. Yet something was missing which I eventually realized -- a relationship with God. My inner life had not changed in all these years. I was basically the same, merely exchanged "the bar for the Church" to be cliché. And so I left in search of some vague idea of a felt/lived experience of the Divine. I wandered from Tai Chi Chuan and Zen, to periods of near atheism amidst the Existentialist Philosophy of Nietzsche and Sartre, and back again. But something always seemed missing; looking back now, I was obviously lost.
While 'The Call' planted me firmly back on the Way, it was reading an unexpected line in a book on nonduality months earlier that set things in motion. The author abruptly mentioned that what was missing for him (in his spiritual practices) was devotion, by which he began to recite the name of God (japa mantra). I too felt a sort of void (Augustine's God-shaped hole?!), so for me it was devoutly uttering the Name of Jesus, and later the Jesus Prayer of Orthodoxy.
Now, trying to reconcile my deepening love for Jesus with a decade of Eastern philosophy, I began reading books on Jesus and nonduality. Consuming these somehow led me to reading the Gospels and not too long after the grace to make rosaries -- but I don't pray the rosary; I mean, I don't even attend any type of religious service. Yet gradually over a few weeks, all of this miraculously changes too. Seemingly daily something I said I didn't believe or wouldn't do, was overturned just as easily until eventually I am back in the Church; praising God, loving Jesus, and yes, daily praying the rosary. Amen.
The Craft
While the majority of my prayer chains are the traditional 5 decade Marian Rosary, I also offer smaller versions for automotive rearview mirrors as well as chotkis for recitation of the Jesus Prayer.
All prayer chains are individually handmade, featuring semi-precious gemstones faceted for the sterling silver cross pendants (typically 1\2 ct, 5mm finished gem) with amethyst and rhodolite garnet being the most popular. I typically use 8mm and 10mm beads and try to maintain a large variety to accomodate custom requests -- from simply elegant black onyx and rose quartz to exotic pink tiger eye and African turquoise.
Each rosary takes approximately 5 hours to create and is (literally) prayerfully packaged for you. In the future I hope to expand by offering icons with embedded gems, stay tuned!!