LOS ANGELES, CA.- The exceptional creations of virtuoso gemstone carver Gerd Dreher are among the highlights of the Lapidary Works of Art, Gemstones, Minerals and Natural History auction on May 17 at Bonhams Los Angeles.

Dreher’s exquisitely detailed animal carvings make his works among the most sought-after masterpieces of the lapidary arts. He produces fewer than 10 carvings per year and has a waiting list of collectors to whom his newest creations are pre-sold.

One of the featured works is a gem silica chrysocolla and malachite carving of seahorses estimated at U.S. $25,000-30,000. Showcasing the highest degree of German craftsmanship, Dreher used an exemplary specimen of gem silica chrysocolla with an extraordinary translucency and evenness in color. Aside from the layers of vivid green malachite and milky quartz exposed on the reverse side, the dorsal fins of the carved seahorses are 18K yellow gold and the eyes set with small cabochon sapphires.

Another by Dreher is a four-color tourmaline carving of a tropical fish on a rock crystal quartz base, estimated at U.S. $20,000-30,000. Measuring eight inches across — around the size of a small dinner plate — one can only imagine the size of the original Madagascar tourmaline crystal before the fish was carved out of it. It has a beautiful natural color graduation transitioning from green, blue, white to red. Decorated with 18K yellow gold fins, the fish is removable from the rock crystal quartz backdrop. The rock crystal is of near-optical quality, reverse intaglio carved to depict a coral.

Gerd Dreher
Born in 1943 in Idar-Oberstein, Dreher is a fourth generation animal figure carver. His family has been involved in the art of engraving and carving gemstones for nearly 200 years. A long-established family tradition of producing hardstone and gem animal carvings was begun in the 19th century and by the early 1900’s their name was synonymous with that of the jeweler Carl Fabergé.

Dreher is a keen, observant naturalist who maintains a massive video library of animals in motion. His devotion to realism in muscle and animation is what sets his carvings apart. In 2004, a major retrospective exhibition of 60 works entitled The Gem Carvings of Gerd Dreher: A Fabergé Legacy, was held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Making the catalog a collector’s item, too
The curating of the 315 items and their layout in this year’s sale catalog is a novel one in the auction world. It provides a rich learning experience for those collectors interested in gemology and mineralogy — many faceted stones and lapidary items have been juxtaposed with a natural crystal of the same species to underline the rarity of crystallography, form and clarity in each case.

“This diverse auction is rounded out with decorative objects made of minerals suitable for either residential or corporate interiors, and several fine fossils, including a fossilized palm frond from Green River Formation, Wyoming, estimated at $45,000-60,000,” said Director of Natural History Claudia Florian.