Sussexite (very rare)

Item Description

Let me start by saying this is the LARGEST Sussexite gem that I have offered from Franklin. With the hundreds of species found at Franklin and Sterling Hill, there are only a few that are worthy to yield cut stones. A few that come to mind are Willemite, Zincite and Friedelite. Most species from Franklin are either too rare, too devoid of color or just too small to even consider cutting into gems. Sussexite is a relatively rare borate and is the manganese analogue of Szaibelyite. The material is rarely facetted into gems, and this is one of the few Sussexite stones that I've ever seen. This stone has a soft creamy pinkish hue with orange and beige zoning. The gem is translucent around the edges when backlit, and has an "Emerald" cut. This is definitely in the rare category, and with such an unusual color, it's a great stone for rare gem collectors. Retail value is $1070.00