Fluorite (unusual color) (cut by Jay Medici) (ex Jim Houran Collection)

Item Description

The Bluffton Stone Company Quarry in Ohio is your typical dolostone quarry, but it has the distinction of producing some beautiful Fluorite crystals. The crystals from this locality can range from purple to a golden "root beer" hue (like those from Clay Center), but this particular gem has a unique and distinctive YELLOW hue, the likes of which I have not seen. That's not to say that yellow Fluorite is rare, but I haven't seen one like it from the Bluffton Quarry. This particular gem was cut by Jay Medici, who lives in Ohio and is one of the great "soft stone" gem cutters in the world. Jay is renowned for his ability to facet minerals like Fluorite and Calcite which are soft, contain multiple cleavage planes and can be a general pain for most other cutters to properly facet. This stone is a great example of Jay's cutting featuring a gorgeous "Modified Trillion" cut with a beautiful return of light when viewed through the table. There are some very slight inclusions, which is more than forgivable for a stone of this size (over 21 carats). A fantastic gem from an unlikely locality that would make a superb addition to any collection. This stone is accompanied by a printed gem report from The Gem Trader, validating its authenticity. From the collection of Dr. James "Jim" Houran, noted thumbnail mineral collector, gemstone collector and a speaker at our annual Dallas Mineral Symposium. Jim is the Managing Director of AETHOS Consulting Group. He's a 25-year veteran in applied psychological research and a published expert on peak performance, online testing and interpersonal and organizational compatibility. He has authored over 150 articles, and his award-winning work has been profiled by a myriad of media outlets and programs including the Discovery Channel, A&E, BBC, National Geographic, NBC’s Today Show, USA Today, New Scientist, Psychology Today and Forbes.com.