My name is Doug Menadue and I am a gem artisan based in Sydney, Australia. I specialise in precision gem faceting and gem carving. Presented here on this website is a portfolio of my lapidary works in what will continue to be an evolving series.

The mineral kingdom has long fascinated me. Some of my earliest memories are looking for crystals with my father in the rugged hills and bushlands surrounding Bowen, the small coastal town in North Queensland where I was born and raised. Today, this love of gemstones resides deep within me and informs the way I choose to work with them. From highly-polished precision cut gems to the undulating curves of crystalline carvings, my approach is carefully considered and unhurried. I draw on my imagination and creative powers to lovingly reveal the hidden beauty and diversity of colours inherent to these crystals sourced from within Australia and around the world.

Integral to my ethos is a deep and abiding respect and awe for the mysterious natural processes that both brought these stones into existence and allowed them to survive the many long years to our present day. Working with gemstones is not something that can be rushed. Shaping the raw material into transcendent jewels and objects of art is an act of devotion made possible through perseverance and using the tools, techniques and skills that I have been fortunate enough to acquire and continue to develop and explore.

I eschew the fast, mass-producing mindset of the commercial gemstone market in favor of a more intimate, thoughtful and respectful approach that I believe is at the heart of every true craftsperson. We are each given only a short time upon this Earth in which to perform our deeds and it is the manner in which we create, and what we create, that reflects our individual spirit, our dreams and love, and hopefully endures long after we are gone. Energy follows thought, actions express priorities.

It is my hope that these small works will continue down the years and bring beauty, joy and wonder wherever they may journey and into the hearts of whoever may hold them.