0.47 ct. Malagasy Sapphirine
Color: Medium Dark Very Slightly Greyish Green-Blue
Clarity: Eye Clean to Slightly Included
Origin: Betroka Dist., Madagascar
Cut: Cushion
Treatments: None
Measurements: 4.6 x 4 mm
Sapphirine is an uncommon silicate mineral that owes it's unusual name to the fact that its color range can overlap that of Sapphire. Though Sapphirine clearly falls into the 'rare stone' category, it is a relatively durable stone with a Moh's hardness of 7.5. This makes it one of the few rare stones which are capable of being used in jewelry and admired as more than a gem confined to a case or stone paper.
Until now nearly all gem Sapphirine came from Sri Lanka in the form of rather dark inky blue stones. Quite recently a new find of gem Sapphirine in Madagascar has been producing a small amount of rough capable of cutting what are surely the best looking stones for the species. The dark to very dark tone is significantly lighter in these and the stones are a pleasant slightly teal-ish color. Interestingly, this is not the same deposit producing large (but entirely non gem grade) specimens that have been in the mineral market recently. Remarkable stones, the rough is thus far heavily included and clean gems are extraordinarily rare. We have secured a fine example here, great color and very close to eye clean. One would never suppose this lovely color as Sapphirine prior to this find.