Emerald ("Trapiche" habit)

Item Description

Emeralds are amongst the most well-known yet elusive gems in the world. That's not to say that Emeralds per se are rare, but fine GEM quality stones are certainly much harder to find than the majority of commonly known gems. Colombia is the world's leading producer of gem quality Emeralds, but it's not only the transparent material that inctices collectors. 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 MUZOÇs Trapiche emerald by Nassau and Jackson, found that the principal coloring agent was vanadium". This particular small thumbnail specimen is a good representative Trapiche Emerald with excellent color and form!