Sunstone (ex Marvin Rockey estate)

Item Description

The wonderful gem quality Sunstones from Oregon truly do not get the appreciation or attention they deserve in my mind. There are two key aspects of this material that make them so important. First, they are transparent Labradorite Feldspar - which is notably rare in nature as the vast majority of Feldspar around the world is completely opaque - but they can be COLORFUL to boot ranging from yellow, orange, red, green and even blue in rare cases. Aside from the extremely rare blue variety, the most hard to find color of this material in good size stones is red. This "Round Brilliant" cut stone has a beautiful copper-peach hue, only seen in a small percentage of Oregon Sunstone (most of them have a very light champagne hue). The color is caused by copper content, which is also rarely seen in Feldspar. There is also a tiny bit of "shiller" inside the stone, which is a shimmer that is seen when the stone is rotated in the light. This material is becoming very difficult to find anymore in any size or quantity, so don't miss out on this one. There has been a surge in the price and demand of gemstones from the United States recently, and things like Benitoite, Red Beryl, Hiddenite, Montana Sapphire and even Oregon Sunstone seem to be on the rise across the board as few gems are available, and lots of people are buying them up. 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.