Corundum var. Ruby (synthetic - Kashon Labs, 1990s)

Item Description

This specimen is part of the 2020 Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium benefit auction, with proceeds benefiting Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and mindat.org. Thanks to all of our participants!

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, August 24, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

Click here for a video of this specimen!

In the early 1990s, there was a worldwide drive to synthesize gem quality ruby in several countries. In Austin, the Kashon Laboratory met with success using an unusual method that actually generated ruby as crystals, instead of sheets. As I recall, the result was accidental, and not economic compared to other synthetic ruby growth techniques that were soon developed in San Francisco and in Germany (and thus, very few ended up being made). This was, to my memory, the best that I bought and sold in the early 1990s of this material, a perfect and balanced thumbnail-sized specimen consisting of a rosette of perfect, undamaged crystals like a ruby flower. It was sold to Richard Mushlitz, who recently passed away, and has held it for nearly 30 years. I ran into these while in college in Houston, and was taught about them by collector Stretch Young, who obtained some of these from the Kashon lab in Austin through his connections in the tech industry at the time. The crystals are sharp, lustrous, and very transparent, with a rich and deep color that is hard to photograph. Photo by Jingnan Zhang.
Donated by The Arkenstone in memory of Richard Mushlitz. Valued $500-1000, even as a synthetic, as a mineral curiosity.