Sunstone (fantasy cut by Brett Kosnar)

Item Description

Sunstone is the name given to gem quality / translucent Feldspar (typically Mmicrocline, Oligoclase or Labradorite) which typically exhibits warmer hues and an internal "shiller" due to inclusions of either Hematite, or in the case of the Oregon material, copper. I personally feel the Sunstone gems from Oregon are truly one of the most exceptional things I have seen from the United States. If you think about the fact that there are thousands of localities around the world for Feldspar, very few of them actually produce gem grade material, let alone colorful transparent material like this! The Oregon Sunstones come in a myriad of colors ranging from champagne/yellow, to 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 stone has a beautiful coppery-orange hue, which is not terribly common for Oregon Sunstone. The color is due to a minor amount of native copper in the stone. The gem has hexagonal shape, but the cut itself is what is called a "Fantasy" cut, where the underside/pavilion/culet area of the gem has actually been carved to create the beautiful geometric patterns you see when the stone is viewed through the table. This particular style of cutting is seldom seen in any colored stones on the market today. The gem was cut by Brett Kosnar of Kosnar Gem Co., who is a 4-time AGTA Spectrum Award winning gem cutter. Typically, many of the stones from this area have what is called a "shiller" which is a shimmer in the stone caused by metallic inclusions of previously mentioned native copper, but this stone is remarkably clean for the material. Don't miss out on this great, colorful U.S. gemstone. The high retail price on this gem is $524.00. Keep in mind that when it comes to U.S. gems, they're always high in demand, and it doesn't matter if it's Benitoite from California, Rhodochrosite from the Sweet Home Mine, Hiddenite from North Carolina, Red Beryl from Utah, Sapphires from Montana, etc., people are buying material from the United States at a higher rate than any point in history.