Sphalerite (rare)

Item Description

Sphalerite on a worldwide scale is not rare, but GEM quality material is seldom seen on the market, especially these days. Currently, Bulgaria is probably the best active region in the world right now for producing gem quality Sphalerite. Some of the best gem quality green, yellow and orange Sphalerite in the world is found in the Madan Region of Bulgaria. This particular gem has a "Round Brilliant" cut and a lively greenish-yellow hue. Sphalerite is beloved by collectors due to the fact that it has some of the highest dispersion among all non-precious gems. Gem Sphalerite has a refractive index of 2.37 which is just below Diamond, and allows for brilliant refraction of light in well-cut stones, creating small rainbow like interior reflections. When you view this stone under halogen lighting or in sunlight, you can see the bright shimmering splitting of white light into its constituent colors in prisms and rainbows inside the stone. It's nearly eye-clean (very very slightly included), which is important for Sphalerite as not only is it a transparent sulfide, which is rare enough, but inclusions are almost always present. A great collector's gem, and well worth the starting bid for the size.