Man has been cutting diamonds for over 700 years, starting with the most basic of cuts, the rose cut, which simply reflects surface light (bling). Modern shapes today adhere to critical angles that play with the light that enters the diamond. Understanding the contrast between facet junctions (scintillation), reflection (brilliance), and refraction (fire), a diamond can be fashioned to maximize its inherent beauty.

Most rough manufacturing today is assembly line production factories producing generic shapes. The craft has become more mechanized. Using automatics, lasers, and computer imaging, costs can be reduced and production can be increased. Advances are now being introduced to include robotics and water jet guided laser technology to produce these generic shapes.

In 1983 Mickey participated in a joint venture partnership, and the assets of the Sierra Leone Diamonds, LTD were acquired. This was a complete diamond cutting factory located in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The hope was to take the existing Sierra Leonean workforce and create a specialized manufacturing facility. It would be a factory that would maximize the full potential of locally mined rough being produced. Today this model answers the call for traceable, ethically sourced product that actually benefits the community it comes from.

Mickey is one of the few old school cutters who can take a piece of rough from start to finish. Using old and newer style mechancial equipment allows him to achieve more weight retention and a broader range of angles. This is necessary to produce more innovative cuts that cannot be achieved using limited modern automated equipment.

For almost fifty years now, Mickey has been manufacturing rough, repairing damaged stones, and recutting older ones to modern proportions. He has cut North American rough from the Arkansas Crater of Diamonds and Colorado's Kelsey Lake Mine, as well as Canadian rough. From South America he has cut rough from Brazil and Venezuela. He was a pioneer in cutting gem quality lab grown diamonds from Japan, and was the first to cut a Life Gem diamond. He put the finishing touches to the culet of the famous Archduke Joseph diamond.

Mickey is the only diamond cutter in Arizona, and still services the trade internationally to a select few discriminating clients.

Today Mickey is most excited about the future of his new diamond designs. In nature there are no two crystals the same. Manufacturing should respect those differences, shape, color, clarity, etc... The challenge is to produce signature pieces that respect these limited treasures of nature. The goal is to produce high performance, weight-saving, individual shapes that elevate this craft to an art form.