RARE COLLECTOR GEMSTONES (fall 2010 update)

US$ € EURO ¥ YEN £ POUND CAN$ AUS$
(click on a page number to go to that page:)

page 6 / 9 - prev - 124 specimens selected - next - bottom - back to the Galleries

RLKG10-176 - Sapphire - $ 175
Sri Lanka
thumbnail, 6.7 x 5.3 mm ; 1.40 carats

share specimen

Sapphire from Sri Lanka [db_pics/new2010/rlkg176a.jpg]

Sapphire from Sri Lanka [db_pics/new2010/rlkg176b.jpg]

Sapphires is one of those gems that comes in virtually every color of the rainbow. With that said, the most recognizable color of Sapphires by far is blue. I've seen literally every shade of blue known to man exhibited in Sapphires, and they are still some of the most popular, durable, colorful and highly sought after gems on the planet. This stone has a beautiful light blue color, and actually is a bit of a bicolor stone as it shows colorless areas as well. The stone is virtually eye clean and has a Step Cushion cut, which is not common for Sapphires.

RLKG10-164 - Hauyne - $ 260
Eifel Mountains, Germany
thumbnail, 4.3 x 3.5 mm ; 0.22 carats

share specimen

Hauyne is one of the most sought after rare gems on the market today. The material belongs to the Sodalite group, but most species in this group rarely occur in such intense color stones like Hauyne. Obviously, the color is what attracts collectors, and the scarcity of the material makes for incredibly high prices per carat. These stones are often very small, and gems over 1 carat are extremely difficult to obtain. This little gem is a beautiful royal blue color stone that is ONLY very very slightly included and has a Rectangle cut. Most of these gems have some sort of inclusions, but this has superb clarity for the material. Virtually all the facet grade Hauyne in the world comes from the Eifel Mts in Germany where is forms in basic vulcanism rocks. A very rare stone with a tremendously beautiful color worthy of any collection.

RLKG10-165 - Andalusite - $ 50
Bahia, Brazil
thumbnail, 7.9 x 5.0 mm ; 1.32 carats

share specimen

A wonderful, bright, well-cut, virtually eye clean, trichroic red, orange and green Emerald cut gemstone of Andalusite. The pleochroism of Andalusite is distinctive, attractive and truly helps to easily identify the material. It is difficult to find stones such as this one with great saturation and multi-color display! This is a relatively large stone for this material and is from an old stash of rough from the 1960's.

RLKG10-167 - Aquamarine - $ 100
Brazil
thumbnail, 11.0 x 7.0 mm ; 1.98 carats

share specimen

Aquamarine from Brazil [db_pics/new2010/rlkg167a.jpg]

Aquamarine from Brazil [db_pics/new2010/rlkg167b.jpg]

Beryl comes in virtually every color of the rainbow. This particular gem is a beautiful blue Aquamarine from the Brazilian gem fields. This stone is virtually eye clean and has a light "aqua blue" color. The stone has a Pear cut. It's a good size stone for a pendant if you so wish, but it would stand alone as a great single stone in a shelf or gem box. Gem quality Aquas are becoming more and more difficult to buy (for reasonable prices) from Brazil, and it seems that the cost of these gems keeps going up every year.

RLKG10-168 - Spinel - $ 40
Burma
thumbnail, 6.0 mm ; 0.85 carats

share specimen

Spinel from Burma [db_pics/new2010/rlkg168a.jpg]

Spinel from Burma [db_pics/new2010/rlkg168b.jpg]

Spinel is another gem that comes in a great range of colors. Most people are familiar with the Ruby Spinels, but a large percentage of Spinels out there are not red. This stone is an attractive, virtually eye clean, baby pink color, Round cut gemstone. This gem has a very attractive hue, as it is not at all grey or black in appearance. It is difficult to find superb quality pink Spinels, espeically in this size, because of political upheaval in southeast Asia. It appears that these stones will soon be very very hard to come across and the days of the good Spinels may be dwindling.

RLKG10-169 - Renierite - $ 85
Congo (Zaire)
thumbnail, 9.3 x 4.7 mm ; 1.72 carats

share specimen

Renierite is a rare sulfide that is NOT often cut into stones. It's not to say that it is difficult to cut, but you just don't see facetted sulfides. This stone shows the typical iridescent appearance that this material is known for. This is one of the very few faceted stones of Renierite that I have offered. This gem has a Rectangle cut, and is opaque, but the material is never gem quality. A cool rare gem that would make a great addition to any collection.

RLKG10-170 - Peridot - $ 225
Pakistan
thumbnail, 8.6 x 7.9 mm ; 3.08 carats

share specimen

As Peridot goes, the world's supply of gem material received a serious boost about 10 years ago when the first great gem Peridot crystals started coming out of Pakistan. This material is some of the finest color I've seen for Peridot and the sheer size of some of the gems that have come out is amazing. For the size, this is a rather intense green color for Peridot. In fact, you rarely see Peridot gems with such a rich color like this, they're usually much more pale. It's a great size stone from this area, combined with the fact that the stone is virtually eye clean makes it a very good gem for collectors. The cut on the stone is a Emerald cut.

RLKG10-158 - Star Sapphire - $ 900
Sri Lanka
thumbnail, 8.7 x 6.3 mm ; 2.07 carats

share specimen

Star Sapphires are among the most highly sought after of all the Sapphire varieties. These stones are cut when thin, fibrous inclusions are are oriented inside of the Sapphire crystal at the correct angle to properly show off the "legs" of the star. When these inclusions are numerous enough to make the stone translucent or opaque, they allow light to be reflected in such a way that a star floats across the top of the stone with movement. It is an amazing phenomenon that is only seen in a few gems around the world. The actual "legs" of the star in this stone are fairly sharp, with no breaks and decent consistency. The stone also exhibits a beautiful light blue-purple color. A great Star Sapphire gem from one of the premier localities for the material in the world.

RLKG10-159 - Axinite - $ 550
Pakistan
thumbnail, 12.5 x 8.5 mm ; 3.27 carats

share specimen

Axinite is typically considered a collector's stone, and is rarely found in gems this size. This is a pretty honey-brown color gem face up, but shows a lilac hue when viewed through from the pavillion. The stone has a "Pear" cut. Axinite rarely forms in crystals that are gemmy or thick enough for faceting. It is indeed a very rare gem considering that rough is extremely difficult to find not to mention that this area of Pakistan which produced this material is producing very little of this material. To find an Axinite gem over 1 carat is very impressive, let alone over 3 carats! It is difficult to find this material in clean stones, so inclusions are accepted by most collectors and dealers. This stone is has slight inclusions, but the distinct trichroism is easily seen when the stone is rotated in different directions. Axinite is actually hard enough that it can be worn in jewelry, though it is a bit brittle. A great rare gem for any collector.

RLKG10-162 - Tourmaline - $ 175
Brazil
thumbnail, 10.5 x 6.5 mm ; 3.22 carats

share specimen

Tourmalines are some of the most diverse and popular gems out there. They're one of the few gems that occur in natural bicolor stones as well. The majority of bicolor Tourmalines on the market today are Afghani or Brazilian in origin, and remain as some of the most attractive in the gem world. The stone shows a vibrant blue-green color and is only very very slightly included. Tourmaline is classified as a "Type 3" gemstone, because inclusions are almost always present, and accepted by dealers and collectors, so when you find a stone like this, it's certainly better than the majority of Tourmalines on the market.

RLKG10-157 - Fire Opal (with Contra Luz color flash) - $ 225
Mexico
thumbnail, 11.1 x 10.1 mm ; 3.40 carats

share specimen

Some of the most well known Fire Opal in the world is from Mexico. These stones are among some of the biggest, brightest and most intense color Fire Opals from North America. There has been a surge in the price of fine quality Fire Opal from Mexico in the last few years, as the material seems to be more and more difficult to obtain, especially in such vivid stones like this one. This "Oval Cabochon" cut gem has a golden color, but the most impressive aspect of the stone is the fact that it shows the highly desirable and seldom seen COLOR FLASH or "Contra Luz" effect which is the multicolor "rainbow"-like array that is seen when strong light is transmitted through the stone. Now the color flash is best seen in sunlight or with a strong flashlight against a black background, and this stone was photographed under a strong flashlight to show the color flash. When strongly lit, the stone shows flashes of blue, green, red and gold. These flashes of color are only seen in about 1% of all Mexican Fire Opals ! It's a very attractive stone, and would make a great piece of jewelry, or would stand on its own as a beautiful gem.

RLKG10-156 - Benitoite - $ 175
San Benito County, California
thumbnail, 4.4 x 2.5 mm ; 0.21 ct

share specimen

Benitoite from San Benito County, California [db_pics/new2010/rlkg156a.jpg]

Benitoite from San Benito County, California [db_pics/new2010/rlkg156b.jpg]

Benitoite is one of the most popular rare gems around due to its vivid blue color and the fact that it was only found at one locality in any significance. The great Benitoite mine is now completely defunct and for all intents and purposes, will never produce these stones again. Benitoite is actually the state gem of California, and the price of fine gems has been on the rise since the demand is still high. This stone has a rich blue color with a very slight purple overtone and a Modified Emerald cut. The stone is virtually eye clean, and for the size has GREAT saturation of color.

RLKG10-155 - Diamond - $ 425
Africa
thumbnail, 3.2 x 3.0 mm ; 0.20 carats

share specimen

Diamonds occur in virtually every color of the rainbow (including black) and are prized for the extreme durability and fire. This particular stone has a strong yellow color and is only very slightly included with a Rectangle cut. I cannot say for certain if the color is natural, but it is certainly vibrant for the species. It would fit nicely into a faceted Diamond suite.

RLKG10-154 - Diamond - $ 335
Africa
thumbnail, 4.7 mm ; 0.26 carats

share specimen

Diamonds occur in virtually every color of the rainbow (including black) and are prized for the extreme durability and fire. This particular stone has a light honey color and is only very slightly included with a Triangle cut. The color in this gem is natural, which is rare in most colorled Diamonds. It would fit nicely into a faceted Diamond suite.

RLKG10-153 - Bastnasite - $ 1750
Zagi Mountain, Pakistan
thumbnail, 10.6 x 7.5 mm ; 3.81 carats

share specimen

Within the last few years, the locality at Zagi Mountain in Pakistan has provided collectors with some of the finest quality and amazingly gemmy Bastnasite specimens. Typically the species forms in relatively thin blades and was never suitable enough for cutting stones. The new find in Pakistan has produced some very thick crystals for the species, many of which are of gem quality. The stones cut from some of these crystals are extremely rare and highly prized by collectors. They often have some sort of inclusions, and completely eye clean gems are very hard to find. This particular stone is nearly eye clean and is a beautiful gem with a standard Pear cut. It also exhibits a color change showing an orange color in incandescent light, but actually shows a yellowish-green color under the light of "energy saver" (mercury-bearing) light bulbs. This stone would fill a spot in any rare gem collection, and considering that very little of this material has come to the market recently, it's a great time to snag one of these stones before the prices get much higher.

(click on a page number to go to that page:)

page 6 / 9 - prev - 124 specimens selected - next - top - back to the Galleries

Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

Powered by http://mineralwebsites.com

Mineral Specimens by species; or by specimen id.

All Content and Design ©1996-2012 The Arkenstone

Powered by http://mineralwebsites.com