Trapiche Sapphire

Item Description

Here we have a very good sized, polished oval cabochon of Trapiche Sapphire from Thabeikkyin. The piece has a dark silvery color, against and nearly black background, but it's well-formed and distinct, and you can clearly see it in reflected light. The piece weighs 34.47 carats. Valued at $1,600 retail. For reference, the word "Trapiche" is typically used to describe certain Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds with a specific hexagonal form showing "spokes" that radiate from a central point in the crystal. Trapiches best seen when viewed down the "c" axis of the crystal, and I think they have only been reported in hexagonal / trigonal minerals. The actual word comes from the name of a Spanish mill consisting of wooden spokes or rollers that were designed to extract the juice from fruit, including olives, dating back to the Middle Ages. After a bit of research, I found that the term was used in the gem/mineral world back in 1879 when Emile Bertrand used it to describe Emeralds from Colombia. The dark six-sided star shaped patterns seen inside the crystals are similar to the actual spokes of a trapiche machine. These rays appear much like asterism, the only difference being that they are fixed and do not move. A Trapiche is the result of the hexagonal shape of the crystal, where the darker impurities interrupt the growth of the crystal and are pushed to the center of the crystal and then radiates out in the six directions of the corners of the crystal. From the collection of Bill ("Burma Bill") Larson of Fallbrook, California. Bill is a well-known gem and mineral dealer as well as a miner and collector. Bill traveled the world for decades in search of fine gems and minerals, and was directly involved in the in-person acquisition and importation of superb specimens and stones from Myanmar (Burma). You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/