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Reprint by permission from Lapidary Journal, November, 1997
LIGHTING THE WAY Dave Burchett, of Boulder, Colorado, has long been open to the possibilities of combining cutting-edge technology with jewelry design. (See "Hooked on High-Tech," September 1996). For years, he’s been using computers to aid in the design process; now, he’s taken it a step further and is using laser technology to etch his techno-retro-cyber-designs into the surfaces of stones. The end result is that designs that were previously transferred to metal through a photo-etching process can now be applied to stones as well. From all manner of elaborate geometric designs, to flowers, petroglyphs, and even a signature, Burchett can carry an overall design theme or motif from one medium to another. "The basic idea is to take computer designs and use the laser to put them on gemstones," he explains. But he’s reticent about explaining further: "Then I use my own secret process to finish them." Having overcome problems of registration and dust removal, Burchett and Ashley McFadden, the laser’s designer, have come up with a template system that may eventua11y allow cut-and-paste inlays on cabochons. Until then, the Volkswagen-sized laser can transfer Burchett’s designs from metal to stone and back again allowing combinations that he couldn’t do before. "There’s almost unlimited design potential, " says Burchett. " The designs are exact down to .01 millimeters."
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