Dolomite (rare collector's stone)

Item Description

Dolomite is a fairly common mineral worldwide, but faceted stones are notably difficult to obtain. Gem quality Dolomite crystals aren't terribly common, but even when you find a piece that's suitable for faceting, it takes a skilled gem cutter to produce a good quality stone. Dolomite has perfect cleavage in three directions, and it's a bit more brittle than say Calcite or Rhodochrosite, so it can "crumble" apart more easily when it is being polished. I've had a few experienced cutters tell me that they prefer not to cut Dolomite, and would defer to other material in the same range of difficulty. This stone is a wonderful "Oval Brilliant" cut gem with nearly eye-clean clarity and colorless purity. You can see the high birefringence in the photo, as there are two sets of light reflections within the gem as the light splits rather sharply in Dolomite, even in a smaller stone. The gem is from the Peña Blanca Mine in Colombia, and is the only one of its kind we've ever had to offer in the auctions.