Quartz (var: Chalcedony -

Item Description

A few years ago, Kevin Kessler with Stellar Lubricants found some beautiful gem grade Chalcedony in the Mojave Desert, which now carries the trade name "Baxter Blue". The material has a distinctive periwinkle color, and can range from nearly opaque to gem quality. Most of the material is translucent, but a small amount is suitable for cutting gemstones. This particular stone was faceted by Phil Osbourne and has a traditional "Round Brilliant" cut. It's gem quality to be sure, but has a somewhat ethereal internal wispiness with an almost "cloud"-like appearance. It's one of the finer quality and overall larger faceted gems I've seen of the material, and would make a great addition to any gem suite, a Quartz collection, or would be suitable as the center stone for a beautiful piece of jewelry. 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.