Brandon Messing is a lapidary artist based in Taos, New Mexico. His works primarily include faceted Quartz carvings, specifically Optical Quartz, Smoky Quartz, Rutilated Quartz, and Amethyst. These carvings, done predominately by hand using a flex shaft, flat lap, and poly-arbor, often include inlays featuring other colorful minerals such as Opal, Sugilite, Gem Silica, Turquoise, Ruby, and most recently, 24k Gold leaf. The facets are carefully aligned to optimize the natural reflective qualities of the crystals, resulting in beautiful geometric designs.
Brandon began carving in 2019 and apprenticed under New Mexico lapidary artist Greg King, who has been cutting cabochons for over 50 years. However, he did not leam to carve faceted designs from any one entity and is completely self-taught in his field of artistic expertise. His recent achievements include 3rd place in the Carving category of the Cutting Edge Awards (2023), hosted by the American Gem Trade Association, which was earned with a 145.49ct Optical Quartz carving featuring his signature “Portal Cut” and inlaid with Opal. His work has also been exhibited by American Gemstones at the Pueblo Gem Show (2024) in association with the University of Arizona, as well as at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos.