10.77 ct. Michigan Celestite
Color: Colorless
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Maybee, Michigan
Cut: Rectangular Radiant
Treatments: None
Measurements: 14 x 10.6 mm
An absolutely superb US rarity. The vast majority of faceted Celestite is cut from Malagasy rough, specimens are available and cutting rough can be had. Even then, keep in mind that faceted Celestite falls well into the 'rare stone' category, it is soft and difficult to cut. Back to the origin however; once in a great while we find a stone cut from an old piece of Michigan rough. Yes, we said Michigan! Not a state that is know for producing much in the way of transparent gem material. A quick search will turn up the info on this deposit, it is well known and documented.
Now, even on the rare occasion we have found a good faceted Michigan Celestite (maybe once or twice in the last 10 years!) we never hope to find one in excess of 10 carats. This is quite large for the material - once again, quite possible with Malagasy material, but the Michigan specimens just rarely have these larger areas of gemmy transparency. The cutting is a precision US job and is beautifully done - as is the polish. Very bright and attractive example and actually a very very faint blue color - a great US rarity.