About Us & Our Work
Meet the Cutshalls
Logan Cutshall
Logan has been following in his father’s footsteps since a very young age. At 13, in conjunction with his dad, he was awarded an Honorable Mention AGTA Spectrum award. Around the same time he worked to develop the iKrave line of silver designs, some of which we still make today!
Logan made his profession official by earning a Geosciences degree from Virginia Tech and receiving his Graduate Gemologist certification from GIA. He interned in Southern Kenya with the late Campbell Bridges – the discoverer of Tsavorite and Tanzanite – mining tsavorites in the Scorpion Mine.
In 2019 Logan was awarded a First Place in Objects of Art in the AGTA Spectrum Awards for his piece Treasure Hunt. Treasure Hunt is currently on display in the showroom.
Carolyn Cutshall
Carolyn married into the business from a seemingly unrelated field with a BFA in Theater Performance and an MS in Arts Administration. But she has found an outlet for her theatrical knowledge in designing and decorating the store and seasonal window displays along with pictorial advertisements and photo shoots.
Carolyn can be found in the showroom most days- working with clients on new design ideas or working on her newest venture- The Cozy Fox Estate Jewelry. She is currently enrolled at GIA working towards earning her Graduate Gemologist certification.
Ed Cutshall
After deciding not to become the the fourth generation dentist, in 1975 Ed Cutshall changed career paths entirely and chose to attend GIA, the Gemological Institute of America to earn his Gemologist classification. From there he entered the jewelry industry and by 1977 he was designing and designing and making jewelry of his own.
Ed was the first non-Japanese national to ever place in the International Pearl Competition, taking Second Prize in 1985 and has been awarded an AGTA Spectrum award First Place in 1990. Ed holds the patent for the Jubilant Crown facet pattern used in both diamonds and colored gemstones. He is personally involved with creating almost every piece in our portfolio.
Claire Cutshall
Claire, the ever steady heart of Hunt Country, remembers almost every piece she’s ever sold!
Claire has been our precision lapidarist for over 25 years, studying under master cutter Sean Sweeney. She loves colored gemstones and has a wealth of knowledge about gems, jewelry trends, and the industry that she is happy to share.
Claire is most often found at her cutting bench, adding to our inventory of colored gemstones for future projects. She keeps her hand in the running of the showroom, appraisals and commissions, just not every day…after 45 years, she’s earned some time at home!
Our Commission Process
When you are looking for a special piece you can’t find anywhere else, even in our ready to wear inventory, you need a team that can take your inspirations, ideas, lifestyle, and budget and create a unique, heirloom quality piece just for you. Hunt Country is that team. Our commission process has been honed over 45 years and we excel at listening and hearing what our clients want and then taking that all the way to a durable, beautiful wearable piece of art.
We take custom commissions in 18K gold-yellow, white, and rose- and platinum. Costs vary widely, but in general custom commissioned work begins around $1200.
Explore our Manufacturing Process
Hunt Country hand makes all our pieces, both custom commissioned work and work for our own ready to wear inventory. But what does that mean?
We’ve created this series of videos to help illuminate how we create each of pieces of jewelry. Join us as we facet an aquamarine and design and hand make a setting for it
Chapter 1: Cutting Our Aquamarine
1.0 Mozambique Aqua Rough
This video shows a 360 degree view of the aquamarine piece of rough used for our video series.
1.1 Pre-dop Introduction
The second video here explains a little about the piece of rough used, what we are looking for and see in the rough and what comes next.
1.2 Dopping the Aqua
This video shows how we dop the aquamarine in preparation for cutting.
1.3 Cutting the Pavilion
This video features Claire Cutshall cutting the pavilion of the aqua.
1.4 The Transfer
This video shows Ed Cutshall transferring the aqua on the dop from the pavilion to the crown in preparation for Claire to finish cutting the crown.
1.5 Cutting the Crown
Cutting the Crown and the finished Aqua.
Chapter 2: Designing and Making the Ring
2.0 Introduction to Wax Carving
In this video, Ed Cutshall demonstrates the basics of our wax carving technique.
2.1 Designing in Wax
This video features Ed Cutshall carving the design for our Aquamarine ring. From a sketch to a completed half-ring, this shows the process of carving a piece in wax.
2.2 Disassembly and Spruing
This video covers how the prototype gets disassembled and how it gets sprued in preparation for casting into silver.
2.3 Casting the Prototype
This video shows how the wax half-ring prototype is cast and prepared to be molded.
2.4 Molding and Half Ring Assembly
This video shows how a prototype is molded and then two wax half-rings are assembled into a wearable ring.
2.5 Working in Pink Gold
With the half rings assembled, the 18K Pink Gold portion of this ring will be cast into metal, cleaned up and the seat for the aquamarine prepared.
2.6 Back in Wax
This video shows the final waxwork in preparation for all of the white gold accents for the aqua ring.
2.7 Finishing and Assembly
At long last, the aqua ring is brought to a finish!
Policies
FAQs
All photos featured on this website are the property of Hunt Country Jewelers unless otherwise noted. All photos used in private communication with a client are property of Hunt Country Jewelers unless otherwise noted.
Photos of finished Hunt Country jewelry or loose gemstones may be posted, shared, and pinned as long as credit for both the design and the photo is accredited to Hunt Country.
Photos of unfinished jewelry or wax models may not be posted, shared, or pinned without express permission from Hunt Country. These photos are for clients use only during the commission process.
Financing is available for in stock, Hunt Country Jewelers inventory items or loose colored gemstones that have been cut in house. Financing is not available for loose diamonds, loose gemstones not cut in house or commission work. Financing is available under the following conditions:
– 20% down payment at the time of the purchase
– 90 day maximum layaway period
– 3 equal payments totaling the remainder after the 20% deposit
– 3 layaway payments will be automatically charged to your credit card on the day of your choosing in the 3 subsequent months
– Layaway item will be available for pickup or will be mailed on the day your last payment clears
Special order items, including loose gemstones and diamonds, and Commissioned Jewelry are non-returnable.
In stock Hunt Country Jewelry is returnable within 14 days for store credit or refund, minus any credit card transaction fees. All returned jewelry must be in the same condition as sold in. Damaged or changed jewelry (including sizing by anyone other than Hunt Country) will not be accepted as a return.
A longer return period may be extended for gifts purchased in advance, i.e. Christmas or birthday. Please let us know your time frame for gifting and we’ll do our best to accommodate your request.
Hunt Country is happy to consider photos and sketches of other designer’s work as ‘inspiration’ for your commissioned pieces of jewelry. We will not, under any circumstance, copy the work of another designer directly.
We expect and appreciate the same professional courtesy for our designs.
It varies. A commissioned piece is priced out according to a formula combining materials and labor, so the final price will depend on what materials you choose and how much labor is involved with creating the piece.
Generally speaking, commissioned jewelry starts at $1200.
18K gold is 75% pure gold vs. 14K which is 58.3% pure gold; we feel the extra gold density in 18K translates into more longevity for the piece.
It’s nicer to work with, adds value to your jewelry, and extends the life of the piece.
Our current wait time is 12-14 weeks. It doesn’t take that long to make your piece, but it does take that long to get to your project in the line and then make it.
The timeframe does depend on a few things; it is your responsibility to communicate with us in a timely manner about things like approving a wax, or dropping off your stones so we can begin work. We can’t stick to the timeline if we are waiting 3 weeks for you to come in and see your wax. If you make changes to the wax that may add some additional time; complex designs sometimes involve extra steps like separate carvings and castings that can add time, as well.
We have never missed a wedding and very few birthdays, and the Christmas season can be especially busy but we do everything we can to make deadlines. But please do not spring projects on us that are dependent on a deadline! We do accept rush jobs if the shop calendar allows for it, but there are fairly heavy fees associate with jumping the line. You will save money if you plan in advance
Because it was mass produced, probably overseas, and we can’t compete with those labor costs. We are an American small business and we pay American wages. Our pieces are individually handcrafted by two Master Craftsmen and our gemstones cut by some of the best lapidaries in the country. It’s not always the case, but we’re pretty confident that our work will last longer and hold up to wear better than most mass produced commercial pieces. We never skimp on stone quality or service; our pieces appear delicate, but are never flimsy. We have a small footprint and don’t need a large slice of the market, but we do need a big enough piece of the pie to feed our families and we refuse to compromise on quality to cut costs so we can achieve that.