1.32 ct. Tourmaline with Copper Schiller
Color: Dark Green
Clarity: Slightly Included (Copper)
Origin: Brazil
Cut: Rectangular Step
Treatments: None
Measurements: 8.9 x 4.5 mm
A very interesting and rare inclusion gem - Tourmaline with platelets of native copper. This stone was part of a very limited find of this material a number of years ago in Brazil. Previously the only documented examples of copper platelets as inclusions in Tourmaline occurred with some of initial finds of Paraiba Tourmaline in the 1980's. There is a great photo of a Paraiba with precipitated copper in Gems and Gemology, Fall 1994, pg. 180. The platelets in this gem have the same morphology and have been identified as copper.
An essentially perfect example from this find, the stone has a deep green bodycolor which contrasts beautifully with the golden schiller effect. The cutting does an excellent job of maximizing this - even in low light, the schiller is evident. You can see how dynamic the piece is in the photos above - a slight movement to the correct angle and the flash becomes quite apparent. An absolutely unique gem and quite rare - a cuprian stone in the purest sense.