Diamonds can be a girl’s best friend, but for Coralyn Whitney, they are more of an addiction.

In fact, sparkling yellow diamonds in a storefront window is what lured her to become a jewelry designer.

The retired University of Washington bio-statistician professor was strolling through Seattle when the diamonds caught her eye and she wandered into Turgeon-Raine Jewellers. She became a very good customer of the store.

“I’m addicted to diamonds, they are my favorite stone,” said Whitney, whose artwork will be available at her Kirkland home during the eighth annual Kirkland Artist Studio Tour (KAST) on Mother’s Day weekend, May 7-8. The self-guided tour will feature more than 55 local artists. “But a well cut diamond – not all diamonds are created equal.”

And as a gemologist, Whitney knows the science behind a well-cut diamond.

“If you cut it right – that’s where the science is,” she explained on a recent afternoon in her studio, with drawers, bins and boxes full of assorted stones, beads and other jewelry components. “What gives it its sparkle and scintillation is the fact that the light goes in, bounces around inside the stone and then comes back out and meets your eye.”

An Ohio native, Whitney grew up on a farm, collecting the most interesting rocks she could find.

She later pursued her master’s degree from Florida State University and worked as a medical researcher. She retired from the UW, where she had a joint appointment with the Dental School and the Bio-Statistics Department.

“Math and science is my forte – they have always intrigued me,” said Whitney, who stumbled upon her artistic passion later in life.

Her fascination with diamonds and gems after retirement led her to pursue her gemologist degree at the Gemological Institute of America. She points to a row of binders on a shelf in her studio.

“I learned everything in there on diamonds and colored stones and gem identification,” she said, noting she knows where stones are mined, how to determine the quality of stones and how stones undergo treatment. “But the biggest thing is how do you identify a stone. How do you tell a natural ruby from a fake ruby – not so easy.”

She is passionate as she discusses the elements that make up certain stones, including alexandrite, another favorite. She even helped the Smithsonian Institution fund alexandrite for the museum’s gem collection. The color-change gem stone turns a raspberry color indoors and radiates a teal blue in the natural sunlight.

“Alexandrite is just one stone, but the element chromium is spread out differently and that’s why it is two different colors, depending on the lighting situation,” explained Whitney, who is also an accredited jewelry professional. “Chromium is also responsible for making ruby red and emerald green. But it’s how the molecules are actually clustered together inside the stone.”

That is what excites her, she says, and why she is passionate about her jewelry designs. Whitney hand-crafts her fashion jewelry using fine quality gemstone beads and pearls of all shapes and sizes. Fashion pieces include both the transparent gems such as amethyst, citrine, clear quartz, chalcedonies, and occasionally rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds, to name a few. Opaque gemstones are extensively used, such as tiger eye, lapis, jaspers, and agates.

For fine jewelry, she creates her own beaded designs. But there’s a method to her bead designs, too.

“Typically people think, oh, it’s just beads, you just slap them together and you can make jewelry,” said Whitney. “But it’s not just slapping it together because number one you have to design something, but more so, you won’t go into any bead store here, you won’t find these beads, you have to go to special shows to get it.”

All other fine and high-end fine jewelry designs are crafted by master jewelers, utilizing gems Whitney has personally selected at shows for fine quality and uniqueness.

Whitney, who has been involved with KAST since 2007, says it’s a lot of fun when people stop by her studio to see her jewelry and ask her about her artwork.

Husband, Dwight Gadd, added “The nice thing about the tour is that kids who want to buy something for mom – Coralyn can cover that price range too. But if dad wants to buy something really nice for mom, well we’ve got that too.”

For this year’s tour, Whitney will have some finer items for sale between $1,000-$1,500. However, most of her jewelry pieces are under $100. Some highlights include vintage lucite beads, spring colors and paper beads made by Ugandan women.

For a special Mother’s Day touch, Whitney will also give each mother a carnation during the tour.

More information

The KAST runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 7-8 at various Kirkland homes. For more information, visit www.kirklandstudiotour.com