Tracy Kovalench
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 05/98) - Geologist Regan Chernish moved to Yellowknife to exercise his mineral-spotting expertise, but the self-proclaimed rock hound extends his stone skills way beyond discovery.

He's a kimberlite surveyor with a particular passion for gem cutting.

For the past eight years, Chernish's self-taught hobby has evolved into a secondary means for survival. Balancing his geology studies at the University of Alberta with mail-order instruction manuals, Chernish found odd jobs repairing jewelry and customizing stone settings immediately after graduation.

A means for "bread and butter," Chernish's gem-cutting career was cut short after he received an offer in his field in Yellowknife.

"I was getting restless," says Chernish. "I had to get out in the field."

A diamond explorer by trade, Chernish prefers to focus his personal work on rocks with a little more color.

His studio reflects all shades of the light spectrum, glowing with gems like amethysts, sapphires, opals and emeralds.

Chernish receives most of his treasured stock from travelling friends, mail- order distributing companies and trusted contacts from around the world. His multinational collection comes from as far away as Montana, Brazil and Mexico.

Although the majority of his stones may be foreign to the Northern frontier, Chernish hints it may just be a matter of time and a degree of demand before diamonds are joined by their colorful counterparts on the mineral market.

"They just found diamonds recently and people have been walking over them for 40 years," says Chernish. "When I'm out prospecting, I'm always keeping my eyes open for gemstones."

His attentions have recently turned to chrome dioptide, a lime green mineral found around Lac De Gras. It's a soft mineral that could be suited for earrings or pendants, says Chernish.

He also sees a plausible market in ornamental polished granite stones, which are found within city limits in many shades of pink.

With entrepreneurial ideas in mind, Chernish will be speaking to gem shaping students at Aurora College this fall. He hopes to meet more people in the business as well as spread the word that gem carving is not just a one-time how-to course.

"The fundamentals are pretty straight forward," says Chernish, "but it takes years to get it right."