Carving Gems Is This Jeweler’s Passion

Since 2012, jewelry making has become her primary occupation. Today, her carving of a labradorite sunstone from Plush, Ore., is part of the Smithsonian’s gem and mineral collection in Washington, D.C., and her work has won more than 20 prizes at the American Gem Trade Association’s Spectrum Awards.

“She’s not afraid to try anything unusual and unique,” said Kimberly Collins, the trade association’s president. “Her jewelry and carvings are a feast for the eyes.”

In 2013, Ms. Sarna won the association’s Carving Award for L’Heure Bleu, an abstract carving of a 703-carat blue-violet tanzanite set on a sterling silver base. (L’Heure Bleu, or the Blue Hour, refers to the twilight between sunset and darkness.).

Ms. Sarna had purchased the stone the previous year while visiting a mine in Tanzania’s Merelani Hills, the only place that tanzanite is mined. Her visit was orchestrated by the Tanzanite Foundation, an industry organization.

Ms. Sarna said she always intended to sell the piece and give the proceeds to support eye care for the Masai, the ethnic group that lives in the mining area. Since Guinness World Records last year recognized the sculpture as the world’s largest cut tanzanite, she now plans to auction it in the spring, although details of the sale have not been settled.

Though Ms. Sarna’s one-of-a-kind gems and jewelry occasionally are available for purchase at museums and galleries, she primarily sells on her website and by appointment in New York and Portland. Her prices vary widely. For example, she priced the Sunrise pendant, a Mexican fire opal carved to enhance its orange hues, at $2,000 while the Pink Petal Brooch, which included 537 diamonds, sapphires and amethysts set in 18-karat white gold, was $118,000.