Emerald ("Trapiche" habit)

Item Description

Emeralds have been beloved for centuries for their beautiful color. There are not many places in the world that produce fine gem quality Emeralds, Colombia being the leader in terms of quality and production. Additionally one of the rarest forms of Emerald are the highly sought after Trapiche Emeralds. This quote is taken from Emerald1: "Trapiche Emeralds are completely in a class by themselves. Their six spoke-like carbon "rays" emanating from a hexagonal center with the areas in between filled with lively emerald green makes this a gem you'll never forget, once you see one. These rays appear much like asterism, but unlike asterism, they are not caused by light reflection from tiny parallel inclusions, but by impurities that happen to form in the same pattern. The earliest reference to Trapiche emeralds was in an 1879 French mineralogical bulletin. It was more than 36 years later before it appeared again, remarkable because such literary greats as George Kunz were writing much around the turn of the century. Gemological examinations show that the Trapiche is a single crystal--not a twinned specimen as once thought. In 1970, an analysis of MUZO´s Trapiche emerald by Nassau and Jackson, found that the principal coloring agent was vanadium". This particular piece is a nice representative Trapiche Emerald with above average color and form showing the classic six-ray habit. Weight is 0.30 carats.