Scapolite

Item Description

The famous quote from John Sinkankas was "gems are minerals after all". In our continued efforts to promote the importance of gemstones for ALL collectors, we want to give mineral collectors a chance at a rare cut stone that complements a choice mineral specimen from a classic locality. Some of the finest mineral collections in the world are accompanied by gemstones that either complete a "rough and cut" set for certain specimens, or simply show the beauty of particular species when they are faceted. We are offering this stone as an opportunity for collectors to expand their horizons and purchase gemstones that would supplement crystallized specimens in their collections. I think it is important for collectors to know that faceted stones can expand one's interests in minerals and can add a certain reverence to the hobby of collecting minerals. Scapolite is not a species, but is often assigned to gems as it is more recognizable to most collectors. The actual species are Meionite and Marialite. Nonetheless, Scapolite is one of those stones that you rarely find in large cut gems. It is very very difficult to find clean gems that weigh over 5 carats. This stone is a very nice because it is a superb, ligyt yellow color, very very slightly included, good sized, "Concave Emerald Brilliant" cut gem. This Tanzanian material is fairly new to the market, but already seems to be in very short supply in recent years. This is a very fine collector's stone and it looks much better in person than it does in the photographs. The cutting is very good, and the color is beautiful.