Peridot (large rare locality gem)

Item Description

Peridot is a well-known gemstone because it's the birthstone for August, but there truly aren't many places in the world that produce fine gem material. A fair amount of the world's supply of gem quality Peridot (especially before anything came out of Pakistan) is in the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. The material is well-known for its vibrant green color and great clarity. Most of the stones you'll see from this locality are under 1 carat in weight, but this gem is well over that weight (more than 8 carats!), which is a big deal for the material. One rarely finds confirmed San Carlos gems in this size on the market. The stone has a beautiful saturated green hue, with some visible inclusions, but for a stone this size, you really can't expect it to be completely clean. The cut is a unique "Freeform" shape, kind of a pseudo-briolette, but certainly a one-of-a-kind cut, I can't remember seeing anything else like it. The San Carlos gems are by far the most famous and finest quality Peridot gems from any locality in North American, and arguably the Western Hemisphere, and stones of this size are incredibly hard to find. Valued at $1,746.00 retail.
This stone is from the estate of former Phoenix area dealer Marvin Rockey. Rockey's Gems was a significant business in the early days of Arizona lapidary material, and he was a prominent dealer and buyer in the Arizona area of local lapidary and carving material from throughout the state, including Bisbee, the Ray Mine, Miami mines, and the Peridot finds on Indian lands in the 1950s-1970s. This stone was kept back from the retail stock for its quality and beauty, in a tray of special material, and was found in his estate (sold to us only recently). Today, these are not only rarely seen but of a highly desirable old quality, and sought after by collectors and gem / jewelry enthusiasts alike.