Idaho Cut measure moves to full Senate

BOISE — A proposal to adopt the Idaho Cut as Idaho’s official state gemstone faceting pattern earned the unanimous support of the Senate State Affairs Committee on Friday.

“This is such a great way to start the morning,” said Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum.

Senate Bill 1311 adopts the Idaho Cut as the state’s official gemstone cut. However, the bill is also intended to honor the life of Quincy Douglas Howell, who created the pattern.

Aaron Quincy Howell, Quincy Howell’s grandson, told the committee that a cut is defined as an assembly of facets.

“That’s where the art form is,” he said. “Facets can be arranged in an infinite number of ways. It’s the fleeting pursuit of the artist to arrange them in such a way that it brings out tremendous beauty.”

Each facet is a precise geometric shape that’s ground into the surface of a gemstone and then polished. The goal is to highlight the beauty and color of the stone.

However, Howell said his grandfather also left certain surfaces unpolished at times, just to see how it affected the interplay of light.

“He was always experimenting,” he said. “He faceted nearly 7,000 gems in his life. He’d get boxes in the mail from all around the world. I remember a box of rough (uncut) rubies coming from Russia.”

Quincy Howell was born in 1908 and passed away in 1992. He grew up “dirt poor” in a family of 11 kids. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He was always a rockhound, Howell said, but didn’t take up faceting until later in life.

“While in the Air Force he decided to express his art through faceting,” he said. “He became world-renowned — and this was before the internet, when it really meant something to be world-renowned.”

According to family lore, Quincy Howell was posted to Thule, Greenland, at one point in his career. He took along a faceting machine and a cigar box full of amethysts to teach himself the craft.

In an email message, Quincy’s son, Steve, described his father as “an artist in stone and light.” He eventually became a master faceter and won awards for his designs. He never stopped experimenting, either, naming different cuts after each of his kids and grandkids.

But the Idaho Cut was his masterwork.

“He saw it as the most beautiful cut he’d ever put together, so he named it after the state he loved,” Howell said. “We hope you’ll consider this gift — and (SB 1311) is more about the gift than it is about Quincy. We think this Legislature won’t regret passing the bill.”

Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, expressed his appreciation to Howell and his family for bringing the bill forward.

“This is such a great story,” he said. “It’s a great story of American opportunity, of Idaho opportunity, but it’s also a story of what happens when you pursue excellence. That’s a great, great example for every Idaho child today.”

The legislation now moves to the full Senate for further action.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.