8.56 ct. Cat’s Eye New Jersey Willemite
Color: Medium Light Greenish-Yellow
Clarity: Opaque
Origin: Franklin, New Jersey
Cut: Round Cabochon
Treatments: None
Measurements: 11.1 mm
While we certainly pride ourselves on finding obscure and unexpected stones we do occasionally encounter a stone that we would never have imagined. This is just such a piece; massive, generally opaque Willemite is found together with Hodgkinsonite and Franklinite in New Jersey and the material is sometimes cabbed as it has good color and is extremely fluorescent. We’ve had this type of material before, but we are really at a loss at to why this stone has just enough transparency to actually show chatoyancy. It is certainly a weak moderate eye at best, but is distinct - it is well centered and moves nicely. Hopefully the photo, above left, does this justice as we wanted to capture the effect without overstating it. If you see the eye in the photo, then you will definitely be impressed in person as it is somewhat more pronounced. Outstanding piece and one we do not expect to repeat!